My favorite course played in 2024? The one where I played for a WWE belt

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By: Nick Piastowski

December 21, 2024

Belt

The Chippo prize

Nick Piastowski

At GOLF.com, recreation — and playing play — is simply a portion of the gig. Here, arsenic we count down the last days of 2024, is simply a look astatine immoderate of the favourite courses our staffers played complete the past 12 months.

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Ethan brought a WWE title belt. He took it retired of his backpack, and, complete beers, we toasted. 

Our Chippo crippled now had its greenish jacket, its Wannamaker, its claret jug. 

But who would triumph it?

Maybe Ethan. You apt person an Ethan. And a Matt. And a Matt. And a Todd. They’re my summertime golf-trip fivesome, each either people school, precocious schoolhouse aliases assemblage friends. Since the mid-90s, we’ve been doing our expedition successful immoderate shape successful Wisconsin, our home, though for the past 3 years, we’ve driven up to Green Lake, successful the halfway of the state, to walk a quartet of days aliases truthful and play a quartet of courses — Lawsonia Links (which you tin read astir here), Lawsonia Woodlands (don’t hide to look for the location of the Culver’s owner), Mascoutin (which you tin read astir here) and Tuscumbia. 

The second you will now publication astir here, arsenic the awesome GOLF.com unit shares words connected their “favorite courses played successful 2024.” Tuscumbia is simply a classic, Midwest woodlands track. Has a saccharine log clubhouse, too.

And is location to Chippo. 

What’s Chippo? You apt person a Chippo, a crippled that you concoct after the play of the play trip. Maybe it involves cards. Maybe darts. Whatever. But it has competitory value. You must win. You must clasp text-chain bragging authorities until the adjacent year’s trip. Our Chippo formed connected our first travel to Green Lake, erstwhile we discovered that our rental location was astir a par-5 distant from the separator of Tuscumbia — and a green. Let’s locomotion complete astatine dusk, we thought. Bring 1 club, 1 ball, nevertheless galore drinks. Pick wherever you want astir the short grass, closest to the pin wins a point. We play until we can’t see. I won twelvemonth one. Ethan won twelvemonth two. Serious worldly now. So we needed a trophy. 

Enter the belt. Ethan had bought a artifact WWE title, past affixed the words “World Chippo” supra the connection “Champion” already written connected it. Oh, hellhole yeah, to quote Stone Cold Steve Austin. 

But who would triumph it?

Jack Hirsh astatine Goat Hill Park's 5th tee.

This cult-classic play people ripped my bosom retired — but I still loved it By: Jack Hirsh

Year 3 was heated. There were shots deed from astir the green. There were shots deed from 50 yards out. But those were easy. We besides deed complete trees. And complete port-a-potties. And from crossed the street. (Don’t worry, we were careful.)

All of which, collectively, I played the best. Yes, 4 months later, successful the mediate of December, I’m some penning this communicative — looking down astatine my belt. 

So cheers to play trips. 

And cheers to your type of Chippo. And your type of a WWE title belt. 

And cheers to your people that turns a unsighted oculus to letting you and longtime friends play your Chippo and triumph your WWE title belt. Tuscumbia will everlastingly beryllium a favourite for this reason. 

I besides can’t hold to defend. 

Nick Piastowski

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is simply a Senior Editor astatine Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, penning and processing stories crossed the play space. And erstwhile he’s not penning astir ways to deed the play shot farther and straighter, the Milwaukee autochthonal is astir apt playing the game, hitting the shot left, correct and short, and drinking a acold brew to lavation distant his score. You tin scope retired to him astir immoderate of these topics — his stories, his crippled aliases his beers — astatine [email protected].