Last year we started a new tradition and event here, The MBIP Invitational Wee Tee Miniature Golf Tournament. Sadly, Wee Tee is closing next month (the last two days are fund-raisers for OSF and they are June 3rd and June 4th) so we decided to have our second and final invitational tournament this week and get some photos of a Peoria institution that will soon be a memory. Okay, enough sadness, let’s grab our balls and get golfing!
The Golfers
Adam (Last Year’s MBIP Tournament Champion): Adam is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a record 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes. Adam focused on the major championships (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship), and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, including last year’s MBIP Invitational Tournament.
Amber: According to Adam Schupak of Golf Week, "No one did more to popularize the sport than Amber. Her dynamic presence singlehandedly took golf out of the country clubs and into the mainstream. Quite simply, she made golf cool." Jack Nicklaus said: “Amber transcended the game of golf. She’s more than a golfer or even great golfer. She’s an icon. She’s a legend. Amber is someone who is a visionary in this sport. She took the game from one level to a higher level, virtually by herself.”
Joe: Joe turned professional at the age of 21 and a year later he had already won the Masters Tournament. Joe won this tournament in a record-breaking performance, winning by 12 strokes while pocketing $486,000. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings two years after turning professional. Throughout the 2000’s, Joe was the dominant force in golf for over a decade and later was the top-ranked men's golfer in the world.
Jon: Jon is an American professional golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Jon is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability. In 2016, Jon was ranked as the fourth greatest player of all time by Golf Magazine. He is one of only five golfers to have won all four major championships currently open to professionals (the Masters Tournament, The Open, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship).
Marty: “You'll get nothing and like it!”
The Golf Course
The 18 hole miniature golf course here at Wee Tee is called, Rocky Top Miniature Golf Course. It’s a well-kept, state-of-the-art course which is both challenging and fun for golfers of all ages. In addition to the miniature golf course there’s also driving ranges and automatic baseball batting cages. Wee Tee has been in operation since 1949. Kelly and Bruce Mehl have owned and operated Wee Tee since 1985. Wee Tee is closing and the last two days of operation are June 3rd and 4th. I’m hoping to be there on the 4th to document the last day at Wee Tee, so stay turned for that!
Tee Time
Nice towel, John, but not that kind of tea...sheesh! Let’s try this one more time...
Tee Time
Okay, this is more like it. There’s the entrance to Wee Tee right over there so let’s go in and get this tournament underway. That’s Cameron working at the cashier stand and check it out, he’s got our balls and scorecard in his hand! Perfect, time to get our clubs and come out swinging!
We each chose a club and then posed for a group picture that Cameron took of us. From left we are: Yours Fooly, Amber, Chuck, Joe, Jon and Adam.
The Opening Swing By Chuck
Chuck couldn’t stay for the whole tournament, so we had him hit the opening ball to start us off! Nice shot Chuck and now it’s time to begin The Second MBIP Invitational Wee Tee Miniature Golf Tournament!
The Front Nine
Here we are all taking our first swings on the green! Amber started off with a hole in one right off the bat! Very impressive! We decided to go with a four stroke rule for the tournament, if you don’t make the shot in four strokes, you do the drop of shame in the hole and we move along. Judging from last year’s tournament and score, I’ll be no stranger to this drop of shame!
This is a really nice miniature golf course here at Wee Tee. It’s expertly maintained and groomed and it’s really a fun and relaxing place. I’ve been coming here since I was in grade school and it’s the only miniature golf course in Peoria I’ve ever been to. I’m going to start checking out some of the others in the area and look for a new spot for next year’s tournament. I’ll be doing a little tour this summer of different miniature golf courses, so of course, stay tuned for that! Everyone is doing great today and the game is moving along briskly thanks to the four stroke rule. I’m glad for that because my mind is already on the 19th hole!
Adam was nice enough to be the scorekeeper and here’s the totals for the first nine holes: Adam is in first place with a 24 score, Amber and I are tied for second place with a 25 score each and Joe and Jon are also tied with a score of 27. This tournament is a close one and it looks like anyone can win it! Okay on to the 10th hole!
The Back Nine
And here we are at hole number 10. It’s been rainy this week and we lucked out with a perfect night for golfing!
One of my favorite things on this golf course is the cave so I got a group shot of everyone inside of it. Last year Adam made a hole in one on the 18th hole and we all gathered round to see if he could do it again. Sadly, unlike Steely Dan, he did not do it again! Oh well, it was a masterful try!
Now time to tally up the scores and see who’s this year’s MBIP Miniature Golf Champion and Runner-Up! I’d say this would be a good time for a drum roll! Oh Ringo...
Thanks Ringo! And now, ladies and gentlemen, we proudly present the 2017 MBIP Miniature Golf Champion and Runner-Up....
MBIP Miniature Golf Champion and Runner-Up
Jon is the new MBIP Miniature Golf Champion with a final score of 50 and Amber is the Runner-Up with a score of 52! Congratulations to both of them! Joe and Adam tied for third place with a score of 54 and I came in last place with a sad score of 55. Looks like I lose again, just like last year! Oh well, at least I’m consistent! But wait, there’s one more award to go before we hit the 19th Hole and that award is...
The Most Valuable Player Award
The Most Valuable Player Award goes to Amber for rescuing Jon and Joe’s balls on this hole (insert your own punch line here.) She valiantly rescued the balls with her club and even stuck her hand in that thing, something I wouldn’t have the courage to do in twelve lifetimes! Nice work Amber and congratulations on being this year’s MBIP MVP! Now on to...
The 19th Hole Dinner At The Bullpen Bar & Grill
We decided that The Bullpen Bar & Grill would be a nice place to kick back and enjoy some dinner and refreshments at and once we got inside we noticed this poster on the wall! Ha! How did they know we were coming here?
They get a good crowd in here on Thursday nights, but the place is huge, so there’s almost always a table available and this night is no exception. There’s a shot of everyone at our table and the MBIP Camera kind of fuzzed the photo a little bit. Oh well, I’ll give the MBIP Camera a little break, it had quite a workout on the golf course!
Our pretty and friiendly waitress is Jade and she quickly brought us a tray of drinks and then took our dinner order! Nice service in here!
Well, well, well, look who’s sitting nearby, it’s my Godson Brian and his wife Courtney! They have an anniversary coming up and I know this because their wedding is documented right here on the blog and I can’t believe that was almost four years ago! You can look at that post by clicking right here. Happy early anniversary Brian and Courtney and we’ll have dinner soon!
Thursday night they have half price pizza here at The Bullpen, so we got three pies along with some mozzarella sticks and an order of sweet chili wings. Everything was delicious and a perfect end to a fun evening!
All the golfers got a special prize for participating from Relics Gifts! Thanks to Amber, Joe, Jon, Adam and Chuck for playing in this year’s tournament and to Wee Tee for supplying decades of fun and good times! Good luck to the current owners, Kelly and Bruce Mehl and thanks for maintaining and operating such an oasis of fun through the years! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Post: The First Annual MBIP Invitational Wee Tee Miniature Golf Tournament.