 For most Utah golfers, the only way to cope with a cold winter like this one is to dwell on good rounds of the past and look forward to duplicating them. Of course, some golfers have better memories and higher standards than others. Jack Rupe is one of them.
In his case, replaying that incredible round in his mind takes him back more than a year, to November 2005. So this is somewhat of an old story, but it absolutely needs to be told. Rupe played the back nine of Glen Eagle Golf Course in 27 strokes. That was half his age, at the time. That’s 9 under par. And he parred the 10th. He finished with a 63 that day, which is not a course record because he was playing only from the blue tees, but who cares? The “27” is the stunning part, a figure that even folks like Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Schneiter Jr. cannot remember anyone achieving on a par-36 nine. Background, part I: Every Monday, roughly 20 golfers meet at Glen Eagle golf course. They throw $20 into a pot, pick teams and tee it up; usually playing a Chicago format that rewards birdies. They’re pretty serious players. This was the week of Thanksgiving and the greens had been aerated, but the fairways were still in good shape and there was no talk of using winter rules. These guys play the ball down. Background, part II: Who is Jack Rupe? The best answer is he’s one of those Utah golfers who can really play, even if you may not have heard of him because he’s not a frequent tournament player, although he did win the 2005 Schneiter’s Bluff Amateur. He was playing well, making one birdie and one bogey on the front nine, with a par on the fourth, where his house lines up with the blue tee box. But he was a little frustrated, because remember, taking the money in a Chicago format requires a lot of birdies for Rupe, who plays off a zero handicap. Rupe was not happy when he lipped out for a birdie at the tenth. He was five feet off the green in two at the par-5, 11th, and rolled in a bumpy putt for an eagle. That’s how it all started. He made a five foot downhill putt at the 12th, an 18-footer uphill at the 13th, a left-to-right 15-footer at 14 and a 6-footer at 16. OK, this was getting serious. He was playing with Dean Devries, Dave Casteel and Jim Card, and “those guys started to get really quiet,” Rupe said. It also started to hit Rupe about what he was doing. He had made a conscious effort to “play subconsciously,” but now he started to think about it. Which meant he played intelligently, using a 4-iron off the tee at the 330-yard, par-4, 17th, where he knocked his approach shot 18 inches from the hole and made another birdie. Now he needed another birdie for a 27, as he came to the 490-yard, par-5, finishing hole. It’s often a three-shot hole, even for good players, because of the huge pond in front of the green. But Rupe wanted to be aggressive. After a drive into the left rough, he had 237 yards to the hole, downwind—just right for his 7-wood. His shot bounced over the green and onto the cart path. From there, he chipped up and made a 9-footer for the amazing 27. “I’m glad it happened to me,” he said. Some of the guys suggested that he call Golf Digest or some other publication. “I’m not calling them,” he replied. So the round remained something of a secret for a long time until Ken Cromwell contacted Fairways and said some publicity of Rupe’s feat was overdue. No kidding! Maybe it came during a “casual” round, but those Glen Eagle players would never use that word. Maybe it did not come from the back tees, but those nine holes still covered nearly 3,000 yards. And Rupe played them in 27 strokes, going nine under par on his last eight holes. That’s an unreasonable standard for the rest of us, but it does illustrate what’s possible if we just keep showing up and playing. “I wish it could happen to everybody,” Rupe said. That’s just the kind of thought that can help get us through the winter. |
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