The 1999 James E. Vos Memorial Tournament was monumental for several different reasons. First, after having played a hybrid version of Bay Harbor in 1998, the full 27-hole contingent of Bay Harbor was open in 1999 allowing the 1999 tournament to be played along its Links and Quarry nines for the first time ever. Second, the tournament was at the height of its popularity. No less than twenty-four players participated in the 1999 event which was staged over four Boyne courses: Bay Harbor, Monument, Heather, and Ross. Third and most notable, 1999 is known as the highly contentious "Year of the Tie." Those fortunate enough to have played will never forget the "The Tie." Hard fought, ultra competitive matches were played out over four rounds, pitting mostly Grand Havenites vs. Grand Rapidians--a model the tournament had followed for years. When the final putt was dropped, the matches ended in a tie. Having no official tie break rule, the Grand Haven team fairly assumed the tournament would follow Ryder Cup rules with last year's winning team--which they were--retaining the trophy. Having just busted their rumps over four rounds, the Grand Rapidians cried "foul," stating no such rule had ever been discussed. An intense "discussion" followed with no real solution attained for many years to come. Thankfully, the tiebreaker rule no longer applies since new teams are picked every year.
If you are a returning tournament participant, see if you can spot yourself in the photo, which was submitted to the Calvin Spark by Steve Spoelhof. It ran in the Fall 1999 issue.
Sadly, we miss some of 1999's player participants including Nick VanderWal, the Spoelhof contingent, Ryan Kanis, Ron Idema, and John Groenhuis. Perhaps we will gather them all back for the tournament's 25th anniversary in 2012.
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