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Outside of two-man best-ball tournaments, there aren’t many opportunities for an amateur to compete in a team event. That’s what makes the U.S. Senior Challenge, a national senior team event happening this week at Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club, so unique.
The tournament, which dates to the mid-1980s, ends up feeling a lot like a college golf tournament. State teams are made up of four individuals, with the best three scores counting toward the team total in each of three rounds. While one team champion is crowned, individual champions will be named in each of four age divisions: senior, super senior, legends and super legends. World Amateur Golf Ranking points are also awarded.
Hobe Sound, a private golf club in South Florida, rarely opens its doors to outside events, so the venue certainly upped the intrigue for the U.S. Senior Challenge.
“We do select them very carefully,” general manager Jason Hayes said, “and our interest with this was we just felt that bringing some of the best senior amateurs to the club and putting our course to the test was something that was very interesting to us.”
Hobe Sound underwent a 2019 redesign by Tom Fazio II and as part of that renovation, several native, sandy areas were restored.
“We’re on a sand ridge that runs through this area – through several prominent golf courses up here,” Hayes said. “So we have a lot of areas of those exposed native areas, of native sand, which can be very challenging if (players) don’t find the fairway because they’re in soft, sugar sand.”
The renovation also opened up the golf course more than it had been previously, which brings the elements into play.
“If it gets windy, due to how open the golf course is, it can get pretty challenging,” Hayes said.
The other challenge lies in undulating greens that, at tournament speed, can be tricky for any level of player.
Hobe Sound really gets interesting, Hayes said, on the back nine – especially by No. 13.
“You have a couple long par 3s and some challenging holes there with very large native areas to navigate,” Hayes said.
Hobe Sound was certainly a draw for the U.S. Senior Challenge field, particularly East Coast teams. The tournament typically bounces around the country giving teams made up of players from the same state the opportunity to travel together and to feel a regional advantage when the tournament comes to their area of the country.
“As we move, there’s a core of about eight to 10 teams that no matter where we bring the event, they will travel with us,” said Mike Quinlan, president and executive director of the U.S. Senior Challenge organization.
Each year before the tournament, a Challenge Man of the Year is named in an effort to recognize a person whose life has been exemplary in family, business, and golf. This year, Quinlan was that man. The 72-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who also currently serves as the president of the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association, has done much to elevate the U.S. Senior Challenge into a national event, largely by drawing in the help of other associations. The Sun Country Amateur Golf Association, in cooperation with the U.S. Senior Challenge Board of Directors and Golfweek, handles tournament operations.
“The partnership we created four years ago has really blossomed to the point where this year is the first time the tournament has completely filled since probably 2009,” Quinlan said.
“We have 26 teams, from all over the country, and it’s just – really looking forward to this year’s event because it’s a wonderful venue that we were very fortunate to be able to partner with. Great time of year in Florida and it should be really an exciting event.”
Those 26 teams are made up of 104 players, with 22 states represented. Before this year, no more than 18 teams had ever competed in an event.
In this year’s field, the farthest player will come from Seattle. That’s another interesting wrinkle to the U.S. Senior Challenge: The majority of teams are formed by a state captain representing participating states, but in some cases, teams may not meet until they show up for the practice round. That’s because individuals who are not part of their state’s team can also compete in the tournament, and organizers work to group them into teams from the same state, when possible, or regionally.
A team winner and runner-up will be crowned as well as an individual champion for each age division. The 54-hole event begins April 28.
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