Get pitted in Southern California this winter!
Join me and other golf sickos from The Refuge for the 1st Annual DBL-DBL Invitational. Take a chance at being crowned ”Campionem Ursa Anni”. Keep in mind, this is way more about the hang than it is about the golf.
Tee times have officially been locked down for up to 32 attendees, with the following details:
When: Friday and Saturday, February 23rd and 24th, 2024
Where: Soule Park Golf Course – Ojai, CA
There is plenty out there on Soule Park. It’s a William F. Bell design, renovated by Gil Hanse in 2005.
https://www.soulepark.com/ / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG-zHgb9XCA
Time: Tee times begin at 10:00am both days (9 minute intervals)
Cost: $160-200 (TBD; will have an official price in the range advertised by mid-December) for both rounds total, including green fees, cart, and range balls
I will start collecting entry fees sometime between mid-December and the first week of January (I will post those details once I’m ready to start collecting; Soule Park expects one payment for the group so you won’t be able to pay the green fee to the course directly)
Format : Quota Net – Full Handicap (Gross Bogies=1pt, Pars=2pts, Birdies=4pts, Eagles=8pts; you are highly encouraged to pick up once you reach double bogey if you are potentially holding up play) and if you have no interest in competing and just want to play with fellow Refugees and hang, that is more than ok… just tell your fellow competitors to “stop harshing my mellow bro” in your best Californian accent
Prizes : Winner - The DBL-DBL Champions Belt and the Official Scottish Title of “Lord” or “Lady”
Runner-Up - The Silver Medal
Charity: Desert Autism Foundation (working on how to do some gentle fundraising for a cause close to my heart with zero expectation for anyone to make contributions; IT IS NOT, AND WILL NEVER BE, a prerequisite to attend
Lodging/Food: Attendees will be responsible for these on their own dime. I will be staying at Casa Ojai Inn ($200-250/night). There are Marriott/Hilton options down in the Ventura/Oxnard area in the $150-200/night range. just keep in mind the road up to Ojai from Ventura isn’t big and has a little stretch of windiness. My hope is to have as many people stay in the Ojai area as possible to avoid the inherent risks of driving at night in an unfamiliar area for many of you. Ojai can be pricey but there should be a couple options on AirBnb or at local hotels that are doable for most financially. I will leave the lodging decision to each of you individually.
Walking/Riding: Soule Park is very walkable (some elevation changes but not too wild) and accepted if you choose. But please know that you will be expected to keep pace with the group in front of you whether you walk or ride. So, think very hard about that when making that decision. Push carts are available on a first-come, first-serve basis (they have a decent amount). I will be a pace of play fascist, so don’t make me send you to the gulag.
Travel: For those potentially flying in for the event, I recommend either LAX or Burbank (BUR). With no traffic Ojai is a one and a half hour drive from LAX and about one hour and fifteen minutes from BUR. Plan on 2-2.5 hours for the commute to set the expectation properly. BUR can be faster if there is heavy traffic on the 405 out of LAX. Please make arrangements understanding that the greater Los Angeles area is a VERY congested area of the world and can be a nightmare with traffic. There is no guarantee that traffic from Burbank will be smooth either. I highly suggest arriving on Thursday, Feb 22nd if you are flying to give yourself the peace of mind in allowing yourself less stress in commuting to the Ojai area. I cannot stress this enough, if you choose to try to fly in early Friday morning to either airport with the idea that you will make your tee time, I can almost 100% guarantee you that you will not make your time. Plan accordingly.
The goal originally was to have one round at Soule Park and one round at Rustic Canyon. Rustic Canyon has been difficult to book something with as they are an extremely busy public course, and I started this process a bit too late. I have decided to host it solely (no pun intended) at Soule Park for this first run of the event. In future years, I hope to incorporate Rustic or have both rounds there if they can make the tee times available to me. This is obviously contingent upon future interest in the event.
My hope is to have as many people as possible/interested attend a dinner at one of the restaurants in the Ojai area (Zaidee’s at Soule Park is the current front runner and I have a reservation for 30 currently) the evening after the 1st round. Depending on when people arrive, I will try to figure out a couple bars/hangouts for Thursday night and also for Friday night after dinner if anyone is interested in taking advantage of the short time we’ll be together.
!!!VERY IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ!!!
The signup sheet is below. This is an “Invitational” that will be open to all. BUT, for the first running of this (and potentially into the future) first crack at signing up will go to MONDAY NIGHT ZOOM attendees and I will open the sign-up to those interested that haven’t attended the Monday Night Zoom after a short grace period for those that have. I have already reserved spots from the Monday Zoom Crew attendees in the Google Sheets Doc below that have already expressed interest. I ask you to check the list and if I have already signed you up, please make sure to fill in the info I didn’t enter for you. If I don’t have you down it is because I haven’t seen an expressed intention of attending. So, Monday Night Zoom folks please take advantage of the early sign up period to guarantee your spot.
If you are NOT someone that has attended the Monday Night Zoom, I ask you to respectfully wait until I give the ok to sign up. I will push you down into the waitlist if you are not a Monday Night Zoom attendee if you sign up before I give the go ahead.
MONDAY NIGHT ZOOM CREW - You have until December 5, 2023, to take advantage of the Early Sign-Up for the event. After that, the sign-up will open to the Nest/Refuge at-large.
I hope to grow the event into a slightly larger group in the future should there be interest in doing so. But, considering the short time frame I had to plan and the short notice I’m giving everyone before the event, I felt 32 was manageable and potentially possible to get to attend. If there only ends up being a dozen of us, so be it.
SORRY FOR THE LONG POST. Just wanted to get as much info down as possible.
i ain’t reading all that
i’m happy for you tho
or sorry that happened
If you have any questions feel free to hit me up in the DM’s.
