Helicopter at the opening ceremony. #TourSauce opening ceremony

I attended the 8th annual Birdies for the Brave charity golf tournament last Friday to represent No Laying Up. It was a phenomenal day out at TPC Stonebrae with the course in excellent condition in preparation for the annual Stonebrae Classic Web.com tour event in late July (past winners include Tony Phenom Finau). Stonebrae superintendent Dave Davies and his crew put on a fantastic event with over 95% of the proceeds going directly to the sponsoring non-profit organization highlighted below.

No Laying Up was thrilled to add some fun to the 1st tee with the 2nd annual #TourSauce competition, and I appreciate Dave and Colonel Terry Bare of the Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County allowing NLU to participate in the annual scramble again this year and help spice up the post-scramble raffle and silent auction with No Laying Up merchandise. I left the event humbled by the strong bonds forged by those who have served, and I hope I can continue to support veterans both at home and abroad through the No Laying Up community. Lastly, a YUGE shout out to Aubrey of the VTC, our resident Vanna White/#TourSauce judge! Her quick grasp of the subtleties of each #TourSauce move ensure a fair and balanced judgement was made for each group coming through.

#TourSauce Competition Tent. Come one come all.

History and Outreach

Founded by Phil and Amy Mickelson in 2006, Birdies for the Brave is an outreach program dedicated to supporting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. On site this year were several organizations that support combat wounded veterans and their families including:

Some Gave All – Joey Graves Foundation: Established by Kevin Graves to honor his son, Spc. Joseph A Graves – KIA 25 Jul 06 Baghdad, Iraq. The Some Gave all Golf Bay Area golf tournament is September 14th.

Navy Seal Foundation: Dedicated to supporting Navy SEALS and the intensities associated with serving as a SEAL or having a family member serve.

UnitedThroughReading: Very creative organization uniting U.S. military families who face physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together.

The Range scene pre-round. Plenty of guys getting there #RangerRick on before they fired up the chopper.

The Fringe

As for the golf, the Colonel and I played a 6 man (yes, a six-some) scramble shooting 17 under with the help of mulligans purchased for $5 each. Needless to say, we got several GREAT looks at birdie putts on each hole, and oh how demoralizing it is when none of those 6 putts goes in. Also, we only reached one par-5 in two – #LPCP.

Here are a few more thoughts from a great day on the links:

  • Scrambles encourage lazy golf (especially off the tee when someone in your group already put one in the fairway freeing everyone else up to go after the ball), which leads to lost balls (in my case YUUUUUGE misses high and right). The Colonel had about 5,000 used golf balls donated before the tournament, and I was playing Precept Laddies most of the day. What a throwback! Who needs a box of $50 Pro-V1…Not this fuggin guy!

Precepts for Days!

  • Speaking of the Colonel, check out this move he puts on this 8 iron on the 7th. I think we made the putt on the 5th try…#Tasty

Colonel getting #Steep on an 8-iron colonel2

  • TPC Stonebrae requires accuracy off the tee and the ability to miss to the right spots on large, mound infested greens. It reminds me of a mountain courses in Highlands North Carolina and North Georgia I played in High School where a flat lie in the fairway is a luxury, which adds subtle complexity to what look like easy shots. The course weaves through rocky outcroppings and California tumbleweed with significant elevation changes from hole to hole. If you have reciprocity as part of TPC course, I’d highly recommend making the trip to Hayward for a round at Stonebrae.

Below is a bit more footage from last Friday. God Bless America:

Phenomenal day out @TPCStonebrae for @BirdiesForBrave. Too bad I #LPCP#Stinks#AmateurTrajpic.twitter.com/IzLg5Tmd2N



— Neil Schuster (@ngschu) June 18, 2016

It’s a bit blurry, but here are the official #TourSauce competition guidelines.

Textbook #TourSauce Group winner. Delayed #TourSauce IMG_4558