2017 Rooming List Announced

Lewiston, MI--The tournament committee today announced the rooming list for 30th annual James E. Vos Memorial Invitational. Participants in the 2017 tournament will be staying in the single and double villas located on property and just a short walk from main lodge and pro shop. Players who participated in the 25th anniversary tournament will remember these villas as the same lodging used five years ago. The only difference is everyone stayed in double (4-person) villasfor the 2012 tournament. Most of this year's lodging is in single (2-person) villas.

Herewith the rooms and participants assigned. The numbers assigned to each grouping are not actual room numbers. If you wish to switch room assignments from what is below, work that out directly with the resort staff, not with the executive committee.

Villa 1
Jack Vos
Sam Vos

Villa 2
Jon Vos
Max Vos

Villa 3
Jim Vos
Tyler Vos

Villa 4
Tony Vroon
Anthony Vroon

Villa 5
Dan Rosema
J.D. Rosema

Villa 6
Mark Vandenberge
Phil Vandenberge

Villa 7
Thom Anema
Steve Elenbaas

Villa 8
Dan VanderWal
Chris Grek

Villa 9
Richard Anema
John Anema

Villa 10
Jeff Tanis
Owen Tanis

Villa 11
Ken Terpstra
Jim Warners
Bob Warners
Jim Baker

Villa 12
Mark Rice
Rodger Rice
Dave Tanis
John Topliff

30th Anniversary Tournament Teams Announced

Lewiston, MI--The tournament executive committee today announced the teams for the 30th playing of the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational, now just a few weeks away. The executive committee made the decision to select the teams in advance to save time and create event efficiency in what will be a very busy weekend with tight schedules.

Once again, families will face off against families. This year, the Rice's, Vos', Vroon's, and Tanis' will tee it up against the Anema's, Rosema's, Vandenberge's, and Warner's. Both teams have additional "adopted sons" to round out them out and even the competition. Very few strokes separate the handicaps, but as we've seen in the past, that rarely matters. Grit, determination, who's playing well that week, and luck play a huge role in determining the winning team. Who will it be this year?

Herewith the teams for the 2017 James E. Vos Memorial Invitational.

Team A/Handicap (final team name tbd; see below)
Anema, Dick, +30
Anema, John, 26
Anema, Thom, +14 (but playing to a +8)
Baker, Jim, +14
Elenbaas, Steve, +13
Grek, Chris, +9
Rosema, Dan, +6
Rosema, J.D., +18
Terpstra, Ken, +15
Vandenberge, Mark, +16
Vandenberge, Phil, +20
Vander Wal, Dan, +9
Warners, Bob, +17
Warners, Jim, +16

Team B/Handicap (final name tbd; see below)
Rice, Rodger, +22
Rice, Mark, +10
Tanis, Dave, +12
Tanis, Jeff, +10
Tanis, Owen, +17
Topliff, John, +16
Vos, Jack, +20
Vos, Jim, +7
Vos, Jon, +10
Vos, Max, +11
Vos, Sam, +5
Vos, Tyler, +23
Vroon, Anthony, +27
Vroon, Tony, +20

Team names will be selected at the Wednesday evening Gathering event (approx. 9:00pm Saturday evening, details to follow in another post). It is a tournament tradition the reigning MVP retains the right to select his team's name between either the Fairway Finders or the Recovery Shots. We will wait to see what reigning MVP, Bob Warners, chooses....

To save time and create efficiency, the executive committee will also develop in advance the pairings for the entire tournament. Stay tuned for further details.

2017 Handicaps: A Mixed Bag

Byron Center, MI--While the 2014 and 2015 tournaments saw a general downward trend in player handicap indexes, the 2016 tournament stopped that trend completely. Going into 2017, most every returning player's index stayed level, or within 1-2 strokes of their starting 2016 handicap index. There were exceptions, however, as there always are.

Both Dan Rosema and Jim Vos will see their 2017 indexes plummet a full five (-5) strokes from 2016. Both played exceptionally well in the 2016 tournament.

Dan Rosema blitzed Treetops, going 85-77-78-80 for an 80 average, dropping his index from +11 to +6.

Jim Vos came in as a +12, based on a very old set of scores, and quickly kicked that old index to the curb. His opening round of 76 on the Jones course was the lowest round of the tournament (matched the next day by Sam Vos) and served notice to everyone that Jim Vos was BACK BABY!!!! He cooled off slightly but still put up a strong 76-82-85-82 for an 81 average and a 2017 index of +7.

Sam Vos had another super-strong tournament, going 79-76-77-83 for a 79 average and the lowest handicap index in the field (+5). Way to go, Sam!

Normally, sending one's handicap index upwards significantly is not a good sign, but two players perhaps know something the rest of us don't.... Both Jack Vos and Dick Anema will enter the 2017 tournament with indexes six strokes higher than they began the 2016 tournament.

The ageless Dick Anema went from +24 to +30.

And the Wise-one, Jack Vos, also sent his index up six strokes, going from +14 to +20. We normally don't celebrate those accomplishments, but here's the secret: this year's tournament will be played at Garland which historically has wreaked havoc on player scores and handicaps. The smart ones may well just be these two, who have set themselves up with higher-than-normal handicaps going into tournament play on some tough courses. We shall see.

All this sets up for a terrific 2017 tournament. Indexes and tee assignments are below. Tees assignment indicate tee played in the tournament to achieve the current handicap index. Rookie handicaps are estimated.

Name, Tee, Index
Dick Anema, Red, +30
John Anema, White, +26
Thom Anema, Blue, +14
Jim Baker, White, +14
Steve Elenbaas, Blue, +13
Chris Grek, White, +9
Mark Rice, Blue, +10
Rodg Rice, Gold, +22
Dan Rosema, Blue, +6
J.D. Rosema, Blue, +18
Dave Tanis, Gold, +12
Jeff Tanis, White, +10
Owen Tanis, White, +17
Ken Terpstra, White, +15
John Topliff, Blue, +16
Mark Vandenberge, Blue, +16
Phil Vandenberge, White, +20
Dan Vander Wal, Blue, +9
Jack Vos, White, +20
Jim Vos, Blue, +7
Jon Vos, Blue, +10
Max Vos, Blue, +11
Sam Vos, Blue, +5
Tyler Vos, White, +23
Anthony Vroon, White, +27
Tony Vroon, White, +20
Bob Warners, White, +17
Jim Warners, White, +16