Hurdzan/Fry Environmental Golf Design of Columbus, Ohio held its 8th Annual World Invitational Championship Sept. 5 and 6. The event, held each year since 2000, is typically played on two Hurdzan/Fry designs in geographically compatible locations. This year however, because of its remote location it was held at just one course, Bully Pulpit in North Dakota. Bully Pulpit Golf Course selected by Golf Digest as 2005’s Best New Affordable Course lived up to its billing and provided a most enjoyable, but stern test for some 75 participants. Located just south of historic Medora, this 18-hole course is set in the beautiful North Dakota Badlands. Some courses impose themselves on the landscape; Bully Pulpit conforms to the land.
Deon DeWitt, a member of the maintenance staff at Bully Pulpit was this year’s low gross winner with a 36-hole total of 157. The low gross championship is a two-day scratch event played from the back tees. With winds in excess of 40 mph at times, Deon’s score is truly impressive. Past low gross winners include golf professionals from several Hurdzan/Fry designed courses including: Billy Cleveland of The Ledges in Huntsville, Ala., Cleve Coldwater of Glenmaura National in Moosic, Pa. and Dave Tiedemann of Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Westerly, R.I.
In addition to the low gross event there is a daily four-person team handicap event, and first place on day one went to the team of Mike & Peggy Bullinger, and Jim and Sherry Heyer. The Bullinger’s and Heyer’s are summer residents of Medora, and Peggy is a member of the Medora Foundation Board of Directors. Day two’s winners from NMP Golf Construction of Montreal, Quebec Canada included, Mario Poirier, Luc LaLonde, Martin Lambert, and Richard Perras.
In addition, the Hurdzan/Fry USA Chapter of Keepers of the Green, a fraternal organization of golfers that keeps alive the timeless traditions and heritage that make golf special, holds two 9-hole events, one in the spring and one in the fall each year. The event is played with five hand-made wood shaft golf clubs. These events are our principal fundraisers as entry fees and contributions help us purchase wheelchairs for people who otherwise cannot afford them or have no means to obtain one, especially power wheelchairs.
This year Hurdzan/Fry USA worked with St. Josephs Hospital and Health Center of Dickinson, North Dakota, and Stark County Social Services to help provide two wheelchairs for deserving individuals. One custom wheelchair is for a young man with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), and the second wheelchair is for an elderly lady who needed a new manual chair.
Hurdzan/Fry USA Keepers of the Green member Ken Wright, superintendent of Devil’s Pulpit and Devil’s Paintbrush golf courses in Toronto, Ontario Canada, won the fall tournament played at Bully Pulpit. Wright won with a total of plus 9 points in the modified Stableford event.