Lee Griswold
It is interesting to look back at the history of the four major golf championships here at the Ranch and to speak to Lawry Cohen who has been a resident for more than 21 years. The championships are the Club Championship, the Senior Club Championship, the Robson Cup, and the Match Play Championship.
The Club Championship: This is a two-day event, and it is based on the lowest gross score of the players in the Championship flight. Winners have been Lawry Cohen, 10 times, 2004-2007, 2009-2013, and 2015; Bill Tillman, two times, 2008 and 2014; Mark Dean, two times, 2018 and 2021; Tom Kajewski, 2003; Jim McCracken, 2016; Guy Bent, 2017; Michael Taylor, 2019; Ross Riley, 2020; Scott Eskridge, 2022; Raymond Kanemeir, 2023; and Monte Mahan, 2024. The Club Championship was played from the black tees from 2003 through 2014 and moved up to the blue tees in 2015.
The Senior Club Championship: This is a two-day event and is based on the lowest gross score of the players in the Senior Club Championship flight. It is played from the gold tees, and you must be at least 72 years old as of Sept. 30 of the year the event is played. Winners have been Guy Bent, two times, 2021 and 2024; Lawry Cohen, 2022; and Monte Mahan, 2023.
The Robson Cup Championship: This is a two-day event and is awarded to the participant who shoots the lowest net score of all the players, regardless of which flight they participated in over the two days. Winners have been Clint Carter, 2004; Ray Cushman, 2005; Dale Hakel, 2006; Larry Hauser, 2007; Thomas Tapleshay, 2008; Larry Sykes, 2009; Ron Fleckenstein, 2010; Dwight Evans, 2011; Tom Goyette, 2012; Paul Bull, 2013; Bob Leach, 2014 and 2015; Ted Dunson, 2016; Lyle Nevius, 2017; Dennis Stark, 2018; Mike Hodson, 2019; Tork Torkelson, 2020; Doug Street, 2021; Martin Loiselle, 2022; Steve Remley, 2023; and Jeff Stieber, 2024.
The Match Play Championship: This is a flighted event, and flight winners play each other, providing an overall champion. Winners have been Lawry Cohen, 2023, and Doug Street, 2024.
I spoke with Lawry on his championship play here at Robson. He explained that he feels very blessed to have the skills when it comes to golf and to the success he has had over the past 60-plus years of playing our great game. Interesting facts: He has nine holes-in-one (seven here at the Ranch), and he is the resident course record holder from the black tees, 67. I asked him what his greatest advice would be to an aspiring golfer, and he said, “The best ball striking never makes up for poor putting.” His point was that to score in golf, you must be a good putter, regardless of what tee you play from.
On a personal note, Lawry went on to say that golf has taken its toll on his health. As he explained, the human body was not designed to swing a golf club. In closing, he said, and I quote, “It is not what you accomplish in life. It is what you overcome.” He has certainly had a memorable journey on green grass.