Thursday, October 18 was a good day for golf. The sun was shining, the air had the right amount of autumn crispness and although the wind might have been too strong for some, there’s nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in a Chattanooga lawyer.
Nearly four-dozen local attorneys on the 18th ascended to the Lookout Mountain Golf Club for the Chattanooga Bar Association’s annual golf tournament. At stake in the four-person select shot tournament was bragging rights far more coveted than those earned in any local court and prizes for the top three teams.
A single stroke separated the winning team and the runners-up.
Winning first place with a gross score of 57 were Neil Brunetz, Gary Gerbitz and Larry Cash of Miller & Martin. Placing second with a gross score of 58 were Jeff Granillo, Jeff Maddux, Hal North and Mike St. Charles of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel. Placing third a mere two strokes out from first place was Mark Litchford, David Elliott, Chuck Fischer and Tom Gautreaux of Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison.
To make things interesting, the CBA also gave out prizes in a special skills contest in which every golfer competed individually. Craig Allen of Leitner, Williams Dooley & Napolitan won a VIP Republican parking pass for landing the ball closest to the hole on hole 6; Elliott won two tickets to the UT vs. Alabama football game for being closest to the hole on hole 13; and Brunetz won a pair of UTC men’s basketball tickets for having the straightest drive.
“On behalf of the Chattanooga Bar Association, we would like to thank all of the participants in the 2012 golf tournament for their support,” Lynda Hood, executive director of the Bar, said.
Hole-in-one contests were held on all four of the par 3 holes, but no one claimed any of the prizes, the most expensive of which was the 2013 Lexus ES350 that would have been donated by Lexus of Chattanooga had someone made a hole-in-one on hole 13, a 165-yard drive.
Before hitting the links, golfers fueled up on fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and other foods provided by the Bar. The day ended with a relaxing wine and cheese social.
Sponsors included Lexus of Chattanooga, Hall & Associates Court Reporting, Scientific Expert Analysis and this newspaper.
Donating goods, services and prizes to the event were Bratcher Winery, Carter Distributing Company, Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company, First Tennessee, Republic Parking, Riverside Wine & Spirits, which is owned by Chris Bratcher, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Hood also thanked the following volunteers for their help watching the hole in one locations and driving the drink cart: Jill Crouch, Pam Fleenor, Marcie Pettit, the Honorable Christie Sell, Michelle Waters, Seth Wilson and Sheila Wilson.