Blue-Gray at Secession, October 19-22, 2005

The annual Blue-Gray event at Secession is the best tournament of the year, the one I'll always build my calendar around.

At its simplest, Blue-Gray is our national club's "Northern" members playing the "Southern" members. To fill out the teams we've been known to designate Texas as "north" and a New Jersey carpetbagger a "southerner," but, what the heck? There's always next year.

Three days of better ball competition, alternate shot, "emergency nines," great food and a bit too much drink.

What I like best about Blue-Gray is a course and house full of people you see only once or twice a year, friends who love golf the way I do, who are much better at telling stories than I'll ever be, and just enough friendly competition to keep us all grinding and joking and smash-mouthing each other to become better friends after it's all over.

You also see some interesting fashions. This year's story included three trends. (Hope not!)

1. Shorts that were too long for short guys, long enough to recall the term "clamdiggers," but now (and with this group) better described as "capris" for men. Tom Whitten and Steve McCarthy were singled out (and I laid low).

2. Collars turned up, giving the Providence-or-Hamptons-in-the-Summer look to a lot of members. The hair has to be just right in the back to pull this off. And, surprisingly, a couple of guys managed it. Maybe six members in all with this look this year. (Hope it doesn't last.)

3. And this. Sighted just after the bagpiper's walk and before the cannon's blast on Friday night.

Only at Blue-Gray. I hope I never miss another...