The second annual Northport Creek and Northport Point golf tournament was held August 21, bringing together members from two groups once again to share in the beloved sport.
14 players from each club participated in the 9 hole scramble at Northport Creek Golf Course, a change from last year’s tournament location held at Northport Point. Chris McCann, Director of Golf at Northport Creek, assisted with setting up the friendly, noncompetitive tournament. Janie Goodspeed, Pam Brown, Don Smith and Marcia Smith walked away as the winners this time around, with Don and Marcia being the back-to-back champions from the previous year. The game was followed by a luncheon provided by New Bohemian Cafe.
Harry Zoccoli, a Northport Creek member and another organizer of the event, said besides the tournament providing a place for people to meet and have fun, it was also an opportunity for many players from the Point to play at Creek golf course for the first time.
“It was fantastic. Last year, none of us had played at Northport Point, so we’re going into the gated community and playing on an exclusive golf course and that was very fun. Some got tours of the Point and they supplied us with a great luncheon and camaraderie. Then we did the same for them this year,” Zoccoli said. “It was great to show them around our course, and they were very impressed with it. So it was a learning experience in both years for different people going to a different venue and meeting new people. That’s always great to do.”
Ross Biddiscombe, chair of the Northport Point Golf Club, organized the logistics for the event for players from the Point. He said now that they’ve established a tradition, they can work on making the community event something that continues into the future and possibly expands in terms of offerings for other Leelanau clubs and sports.
“We’ve created a Northport community of golfers. We have two courses in town. It’s a small town. We should all be able to play together, enjoy each other’s courses, each other’s games and friendly banter,” Biddiscombe said. “It’s just what golf is supposed to be… It’s like friends meeting up together every year. So that was super, and we’re already planning next year, and maybe we’ll have other events that we can do in the golf world to make the bond even stronger.” Biddiscombe said they typically hold the tournament at the end of August keeping in mind other events scheduled at golf courses in the same month and when most people are in town to participate. Alternating golf courses every year, the next big game will likely be held at Northport Point.
“I’m happy just making sure the golf thing works at the moment… So we’re not stretching to do something bigger and better, we’re quite happy with the way it is, but never say never,” he said. “Harry’s got lots of ideas and I’ve got lots of ideas, so we’ll see bubbles up.”
