2024 An Even Dozen

2024 – An Even Dozen

The 12th Annual Cider Cup was held on October 19th and 20th at the Cynthiana Country Club. The weather was perfect for the 2nd year in a row, much to everyone’s delight (especially the older guys).

There were 50 golfers (including alternates/subs) competing this year. The largest group ever assembled. There were 7 rookies, four on the Red Team (Andrew Day/Ethan Jackson/Matt Kilpela and Zach Hernandez) and three (Eddie Feeback/Josh Ashbrook and Owen Stephens) for the Blue Team. Overall, the Rookies found it tough sledding, contributing 8 ½ points while going 7-16-3.

There were also some returning Cider Cuppers that had missed a session or two. For the Red Team, Robbie Cox and Scott Bolin returned along with the Whalen brothers (Rus & Hank) for the Blue Team.

We once again were treated to a great breakfast coordinated by several of the wives.

The numbers were significantly in favor of the Red Team. Taking all 50 players into account, the Red Team had a Total HDCP of 218.9 versus the Blue Team which came in at 249.7.

The Red Team was looking to even up the series after last year’s Blue Team victory, giving them a 6-5 advantage in the competition.

As we paired up the Scramble Format on Joseph Ammerman’s front porch Thursday night, the Blue Team threw out a couple of surprises that constituted a couple of audibles for the Red Team. Most notably, the unexpected teaming up of both the Renaker and Whalen brothers. The Red squad assumed one of those, but not both. The Red Team countered and were able to win the session by 1 point.

The 18 Holes of Chapman ensued and just like last year, both teams played to a tie and ended with just a one-point difference after Saturday’s 24 matches.

Some callouts from Day 1:

Scramble
- 5 of the 12 Matches were decided on the Final Hole with the Red Team winning 3 and tying 1.
Chapman
- Not as many matches went to the final hole here.
- Several lopsided matched here, but none as big as the 8&6 route by Hank “Baby Jesus” Whalen/J.Ammerman over Winkle/Kilpela.

The Saturday night event was held at The Station. It was well attended and extremely well handled by their staff. We also raised some money during our silent/live auction, player donations, etc.

Bob Ammerman and Conor Taylor won the “Ray Sparks Award” for going 3-0-1 and being the highest point producers last year.

We were once again treated to Monty belting out his Irish Pub Song entitled “The Drunk Scotsman” and a new poem written by Nate Sowder, but more on that later.

Sunday morning’s devotional was led by Taylor Hill and from my perspective, he may just have locked down the job full-time. Very well done with a great message that I continue to think about several days later.

Once again, the Red Team continued their dominance in Alternate Shot with a 2-point win in the Sunday Morning Session. The Red Team has won 8 of the 12 Alternate Shot competitions and tied 1 for a lopsided 8-3-1 record in the event.

Some really tight matches and great story-lines that need to be told over the off-season.

Both Teams headed into the Singles with the Red Team up 19 ½ to 16 1/2 . It would take 30 ½ points to win the Cup, meaning the Red Team needed 11 points and the Blue Team needed 14 in with 24 total points up for grabs. The Blue Team was loaded in their “A” Group and the Red Team was hoping to win 2 points out that grouping but fell short only garnering 1 ½. The rest of the day was an absolute battle with the scoreboard showing a path to victory for both squads.

In the end, the Red Team held on for a 3 point win which is incredibly tight when you realize that there are 60 matches played and if only a match or two had flipped or few halved it would be an entirely different result.

The overall series now stands tied at 6-6.

Some stats from the event:

The Sanders brothers went 7-0-1 combined with Beau going 4-0-0.
Brian Kinsey and Mike Lenox went unbeaten with Kinsey going 2-0-2 and Lenox going 2-0-0 in what he said “may” be his last Cider Cup.
We’ve now had 84 players participate in the Cider Cup.

In the 12 years of existence, 525 points have been scored in the Cider Cup and only (3) points separate the two teams.

Financial Impact:

The days leading up to the event, the CCC was extremely busy with most participants being “Cuppers” fine-tuning their games.
On Friday, the day before the event, we generated $656 in revenue (carts, food & beverage) to those trying to get in one last practice session on a miserable day that wouldn’t have generated near that amount had it not been for the Cider Cup.
The Station at Biancke’s had over 20 Cider Cuppers show up to eat, drink and be merry on Cider Cup Eve which was a great boost for a local business. (Not to mention Saturday Night)
The Cider Cup 3 Day weekend generated:
- $6158.68 in Revenue for the CCC
- Over $2500 in Revenue for Biancke’s
- $350 for John Daniel Herrington
- $500 to the Folds of Honor
- After all the bills were paid, we generated $3086.57.00 for charity and pushing us well past the $44,000 mark!

Congratulations to both teams. There may be a winner each year in points, but there are no losers in the Cider Cup.

Thanks to:

Grant Howard for his work on the course. Everything was great!
Joseph and Emily Ammerman for opening their front porch to us on Thursday night for the “Pairings Party”.
Amanda Aldridge and staff – awesome as always.
Rees Feeback, Brian Kinsey & Kelvin Winkle, Shain Stephens and Austin for their help on Friday with setup.
Our wives, friends and families for their supporting us in this event.
Tiffani Sparks, Jennie Sparks, Rebecca Stephen, Brandi Dawson and the untold others that provided an incredible Saturday morning breakfast event.
To the Cider Cup Rookies. Thanks for playing. I hope the experience was all you hoped it would be and you’re looking forward to next year as much as the rest of us.
Your generosity. It is overwhelming.

Finally, I want to thank all you for playing. It is without question my favorite golf event of the year and I hope it continues long after I’m gone. I’m amazed at the longevity and momentum of the competition as it seems to get better each year.

I asked several players “what is it that makes this event special to them”, because Austin and I don’t want to stop doing it right. Everyone stated a lot of the same things such as the charity aspect, not HDCPS used, not playing for money, match play, the Saturday breakfast and several small touches that make it so fun. As I listened to all of them, I could only keep coming up with one thing. Truly what makes the Cider Cup so great is “EACH OF YOU”. Somehow, someway, this group has quickly become a family and I couldn’t be more humbled and proud to be a part of it.

Please check the website at www.cidercup.com for more stats and information.

God bless each of you and your families.

Ray Sparks

The Cider Cup

A poem by Sir Nathan Sowder

On a dew-soaked course at break of day,
The Cider Cup calls, we’re on our way.
With irons and woods and a steady hand,
We fight for pride, for team, for the brand.

Each drive is fierce, each putt’s a test,
A battle fought with skill and zest.
The greens run fast, the fairways tight,
But we came to play, to stand and fight.

With every swing, with every cheer,
The taste of victory’s drawing near.
It’s not just golf, it’s something more—
A rivalry steeped in legend and lore.

The High Noon’s flows, the tension’s high,
Beneath a wide October sky.
The stakes are steep, the glory sweet,
With every stroke, the heartbeats meet.

Each player knows it’s do or die,
No room for nerves, no asking why.
It’s not the game, it’s what’s at stake—
The chance to win, the chance to break.

And when the final putt is sunk,
With nerves of steel and passion drunk,
We’ll raise the Cup with hands held high,
Underneath the autumn sky.

It’s guts, and love, and glory,
One teams mortal chance at fame,
The legacy is a competition,
And Cider Cup is its name!