In 1937, Bing Crosby created a golf tournament that he called “The Clambake”. This tournament preceded the existence of the PGA Tour. His intention was to invite his Hollywood pals that enjoyed playing golf to a weekend of partying and playing a team-format tournament along with professional golfers. The tournament was originally played at Rancho Santa Fe Country Club near his home in San Diego. Sam Sneed was the first winner for a prize of $500. In 1947, Bing moved the tournament to the Monterey Peninsula. The same tournament still continues today as an official PGA Tour stop as the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach.
Seven years ago, I hosted a tournament in Cape Breton that I called "The Lobster Boil”. There weren’t any Hollywood stars, golf professionals, or spectators… just a bunch of hacks from Toronto duking it out for bragging rights. Everyone who came loved golf. It was a Ryder Cup Team match play format that spanned three days of golf at The Lakes Golf Club near our family bungalow and Cabot Resort on the other side of Cape Breton Island. For most who had never been to Cape Breton, they got a taste of the island's beautiful scenery and more importantly, its friendly hospitality.
This will now be the sixth year holding the event. More than 75 different guys have been out to Cape Breton over the years to play. We did have a taste of celebrity in 2016 as two Scots turned Canadian Music Stars, Johnny Reid and Alan Frew captained their respective teams at the Battle of Inverness. We’ve had hundreds of great matches, good times, and memorable stories over the years.
To live up to the tournament's name, we always have a traditional Lobster Boil dinner. As in previous years, after eating lobster shoreside at our family bungalow, and with a few brews in hand, we'll head up the hill to the short game practice facility that Matt, Ben, and Logan built. It was built for practice, but also keeping in mind that there may be some late night wagering over chipper, putter and a beer from time to time. So we put in some lights and a beer fridge. The Big Break Style competition tests our golfing skills with some of the same challenges you see on the Golf Channel.