The Resort Tournaments
Minnesota Green at Alexandria Country Club
For nearly 100 years the three weeks in late July and early August the competitive golf scene in Minnesota has moved up north for the ‘resort tournaments’. Anyone who has played competitive golf in Minnesota has played the Birchmont in Bemidji, first played in 1931, the Resorters in Alexandria, first played in 1922, or the Pine To Palm in Detroit Lakes, opened in 1926. The tournaments have always been popular, driving tourism to the three resort areas. Over the decades there have been many colorful characters walking the fairways at the three tournaments.
Through the years many great golfers have played in them. George Boutell, then the number one amateur in the country, played in the early 1960s, winning in 1962. Future PGA Tour players Bill Israelson, Jack Rule, Mike Morley, along with current PGA Tour player Tom Hoge all won one of the resort tournaments. Home town boy from Alexandria and future number one player in the world, Tom Lehman, also won along with Walker Cup Team members Jim Sorenson and John Harris.
The three weeks begin with the Birchmont at Bemidji Town and Country Club, a 6550 yard course. This tournament is located the furthest from the Twin Cities cutting down on the media attention. However, Bill Israelson, a two time Birchmont winner, who hails from Bemidji claims, “It’s the best course.”
All three tournaments are motivators for young local players. “Brian Eggersdorf, a local Bemidji guy, won the Birchmont in 1966. He was the first from Bemidji to win. It was a inspiring for kids in Bemidji,” said Israelson. “We must have had 20 kids working on their golf. The result was a string of state high school golf championships. I’m sure the same thing happened after Rick Gorham from Alexandria won the Resorters. Before that we never thought we could win a resort tournament.”
All three tournaments have a format of medal play qualifying followed by 18 hole matches.
There have been many stories about matches won and lost. None more so than the quarterfinal match at the 1976 Resorters between 17 year old Mark Norman from Bloomington, MN and collegiate star Ed Fiori.
Fiori was a 23 year old senior at the University of Houston. In 1977 he was the medalist at the PGA Tour qualifying and won four times on the PGA Tour. Fiori was one of the premier players in college golf. From Downey, CA he came to Minnesota at the invitation of his college roommate Mark Haugejorde in hopes of winning money in the calcutta, held in conjunction with each of the events.
A calcutta involves the selling of players, is a violation of amateur status, and since it is gambling, is also illegal. Generally the owner of a player will share his winnings with the player. Thus a player who wins or goes deep into the tournament can make money, particularly if he buys himself at the auction. Such was the plan for Fiori and Haugejorde.
“Fiori asked me what it would take to qualify?” said Hougejorde. “I told him 150 would get in. That’s what he shot.”
Paired with Fiori in qualifying was 17 year old Tom Lehman. “Fiori showed up on the first tee in tennis shoes, cut off pink jeans, white T shirt, and a straw hat” said Tom. “He was so good. He aimed at the bunkers.”
Fiori’s theory was, if his qualifying score was high, the price he would sell for at the calcutta auction would be lower. Buyers would think he was off his game, not playing well, thus would be unwilling bid up the auction to his true ability. His score of 150 was 11 shots off the qualifying medalist Bill Israelson’s score of 139.
The plan worked well as Fiori and Haugejorde were able to buy Fiori for $900 in the calcutta. $900 was a kings ransom for college kids in 1976, but by winning the tournament they might win $15,000 or more from a pot that probably exceeded $50,000.
Following first and second round wins, Fiori drew 17 year old Mark Norman from Bloomington, MN. Norman, the 1975 junior player of the year in Minnesota, would go on to Centenary University to play with teammate Hal Sutton.
“I knew Fiori from college tournaments in Texas,” said Bill Israelson. “If we both won our matches we would face each other in the semi finals. He told me he would give me $1000 to throw our match. I told him he had not won his match against Mark Norman yet, but that I would not throw a match.”
Fiori attempted to intimidate Norman from the first tee, telling Norman he “Had no chance to beat me.” He then added, “But if we happened to be close on the 15th tee he would give me $1000 to lose the match.” said Norman. “My father who was standing next to me said, ‘We don’t need the money’.” Norman continued. “On the 14th hole he attempted to get me disqualified because my caddie, high school friend Joe Stansberry, was playing in the tournament.” The appeal was disallowed and play moved on.
Standing on the 17th green Norman was one down. He had a 30 foot putt for birdie that he had to make, as Fiori hit his shot two feet away for birdie. If Norman missed and Fiori made his short putt the match was over.
Norman’s putt rolled toward the hole, to the edge of the hole and, in Fiori’s opinion stopped, so Fiori hit the ball back to Norman. “The ball was going in the hole and you knocked it away,” said Norman. Fiori had not given Norman an opportunity to see if the ball would fall in from the lip. At the time a player was given 10 seconds watching the ball to see if it would fall into the hole.
“I was there watching,” said Israelson. “There was no way the ball was going in the hole. It was uphill into a strong wind.” Fiori made a foolish mistake.
Tom Lehman concurred. “ It was not going in.”
A giant argument ensued resulting in the local golf professional, John Basten calling the head of the Minnesota PGA Rules Committee, Walt Gardner. “Loss of hole,” ruled Gardner after due consideration.
Being told he suffered a loss of hole penalty Fiori was livid.
“I want a real rules official not just some guy,” Norman told me Fiori said. “I want the USGA to rule.” Within ten minutes PJ Boatwright, head of rules for the USGA was on the phone. Boatwright promptly ruled in Norman’s favor. “Norman wins the hole because Fiori interfered with the ball.” Thus instead of winning the match two up with one hole to go, or at worst going to the 18th hole one up, he was now even on the 18th tee. Since Fiori made his short putt, had he let Norman walk to the hole to see if the ball would fall in, which it was not going to do, he would have won the match.
By now word had spread throughout the club, resulting in an enormous crowd watching the final hole being played.
The 18th at Alexandria CC is a par 4 at 340 yards. Down wind it played particularly short. Both players were on the green in two. Norman sized up the putt and knocked it in for birdie, Fiori studied his putt, stroked it and missed. The crowd erupted when Fiori’s putt failed to find the bottom of the cup.
Fiori’s final act in Alexandria was to give the middle finger salute as he stormed to his car and down the road.
In the ‘60s it seemed the calcutta drew as much interest as the tournament itself. The auctions took place at the club and, while it was not advertised, calcutta night was a big part of the week.
The total pot grew every year, some exceeding $100,000, as gambling laws were ignored. A small group of Minneapolis businessmen led by Bud Nolan, devised a way to gain an advantage in the tournament and thus the calcutta. Hire a great player.
Over the decades this theory had been explored many times. College players from around the country would play and sometimes do well. However nobody had ever been imported who had won all three events.
A great player would still have to play well, but with seemingly lessers Minnesota and North Dakota competition, it was a good theory. As most found out, there are good players everywhere and on a short golf course anybody can play well.
Kenny Pinns was the hired gun in 1965. I have no evidence how Nolan and his group came upon him. It was possibly on a junket to Las Vegas, where he lived after leaving Chicago. Kenny Pinns is the only person I have ever known who made a living gambling playing golf. He was a great player.
It was a different world in the ‘50s and ‘60s as big time gamblers would roam around the midwest taking part in golf games for big money. Kenny Pinns lived in that world. He once told me he didn’t turn professional because “he could make more money playing as an amateur.”
“We didn’t have a driving range in Bemidji, so he just hit wedges practicing,” said Bill Israelson. “I watched him hit wedges. He was a great wedge player.”
Bud Nolan and his partners hired Pinns to play the three tournaments. He was reportedly paid $1,000 per week. Nolan and partners bought Pinns in each calcutta. A gambler like Pinns would negotiate a percentage of the calcutta pool also.
Pinns proceeded to win 16 matches in a row, playing 52 under par during the stretch, while only making one double bogey. He won all three tournaments.
There are several states that have similar golf tournaments. There is the Barbecue Circuit in North Carolina, the Cocktail Circuit in others. There are common threads that run through them all. They are fun, relaxed, a week of partying on shorter, fun courses.
By the early ‘80s the calcutta of earlier days calmed down, possibly because the pots had grown so large local authorities could not ignore the illegal activity. The calcutta still exists today, but tends to be held off site and with much smaller pots. History has shown that eventually every calcutta will have a problem, as Ed Fiori attempted to prove.
The Detroit Country Club, home to the Pine To Palm, in Detroit Lakes is a short course by today’s standards at 6150 yards from the back tees. However, “It’s an amazing match play course,” University of Minnesota Golf Coach Justin Smith said. “From the boards they have created displaying the names of past winners of the divisions you can see the pride in the event.”
“Our guys have played the last several years,” said Coach Smith. “The competition is good and the team bonding is great. One of our alumni has a cabin. Everybody stays at the cabin.”
“The courses require a lot of strategy in match play,” said Israelson. “When do you get aggressive and when do you play for the middle of the green.” All three resort courses and events have stood the test of time. The Birchmont, Resorters and Pine To Palm are as popular as ever on the Minnesota golf scene.
For families with cabins near the events and home town residents the resort tournaments are the big week of the summer. The events have been a fun competition generating great stories in A Life In Golf.
Bemidji Town and Country Club
Detroit Country Club, Detroit Lakes, MN
