Not Winning....Again!

To quote the great Ricky Bobby, "If you ain't first, you're last".  By his definition, Barry and I finished last in the NASA Golf League this season (We actually finished 2nd).

Some of our hardware from years of the NASA Golf League

I started working at Lockheed Martin back in 1998.  One day a tall goofy guy in my group sticks his head in my cube (yep - I had a cube at the time - YUCK!) and asks me if I play golf.  I said yes and he asked me if I wanted to be his partner in the NASA Golf League.  I had never played in a golf "league" before, but I was game.  We've been league partners ever since.

Accepting our trophies at the 1999 NASA Golf League Banquet

Barry had been playing in the league for a couple seasons prior to asking me to be his partner.  I don't know if his previous partner left or what, but Barry wasn't picky about who he got, he just needed somebody.  Our team already had a name - Tin Cup.  I hated it, but it wasn't a big deal.  I actually made a deal with Barry that if we won the league, I could re-name the team anything I wanted the next season.  I'm sure when he agreed he didn't think we really had a shot.  Well, we did end up winning the league and I made him stick to the deal.  I actually teased him with names like "The Sexecutioners", but ultimately settled on "Wandering Albatross".  Most people think it sounds like a pretty stupid name for a golf team (Barry included at first) but it's actually quite clever and has a double meaning.  Three under par on a hole is called an albatross (or a double eagle by some) so it has a golf connotation, but it also has a cooler meaning.  I got the term from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Coleridge.  In the poem, the wandering albatross that the sailors kill becomes a harbinger of death and despair - exactly the feelings I want to convey on our opponents.

At the 2008 NASA Golf Tournament - We actually finished 2nd in this very large event playing with a couple of ladies that really didn't play golf.

From 1998 to 2011, Barry and I have competed in the league 13 seasons (we skipped one year due to scheduling conflicts).  I love the format.  There are usually between 25 and 30 teams of two golfers.  Each week you play against another team head to head in a stroke and match play format with a total of 10 points awarded in each match.  There are two points awarded for team stroke play total, and two points each for the A players head to head in both stroke and match and the B players head to head in stroke and match.  The match totals can end up anywhere from a 10-0 beat down to a 5-5 split and anything in between.  All the players are handicapped so golfers of all levels can compete.  The format makes it interesting because even if you're losing your stroke match badly, you still have to focus because you could take points in your match play or help your team stroke total.

We play every Tuesday evening with a shotgun start at around 5.  The 9-hole format takes about 2.5 hours to complete and it's also a very social league with NASA employees and contractors from many different companies.  We've switched courses a few times over the years, but I really enjoy the one we are at now - Timber Creek.

Barry and I have had a successful run, and that's putting it mildly.  We've won the league 7 times in our 13 seasons, and also have had some success at tournaments, but we're in a bit of a dry spell over the last three years.  We finished 2nd - 4th - 2nd over that time frame - not bad, but not good enough for that 8th championship.

This year's 2nd Place Trophy

I've won a lot on the golf course, but the best thing I've gotten out of the league is a great friend.  That tall goofy guy from '98 is still tall and goofy, but he's been a great friend for nearly 14 years now and I don't expect that to change (don't tell him though - I like to keep him on his toes by threatening to replace him every year).