The Bill McGahee Cup Has Been Ambushed!

You might've noticed a new Ambush format in the January issue of Golf Digest. Instead of featuring one buddies trip, we're now chronicling three groups roughly 10 months per year. We'll keep them focused on useful trip details -- where, when, what courses, why and how much it all costs -- with a few of the best anecdotes.  After the recent release of the January issue, I had to share this e-mail from Frank Olive, a member of the Bill McGahee Cup, one of the three groups featured in this month's Golf Digest:

On behalf of the Bill McGahee Cup, past and present participants included, a Texas-sized THANK YOU to you and your staff for this month's Ambush. I had the fortune (some would consider it a misfortune) to witness, at a newsstand in the middle of a Philadelphia airport, a grown man (Nick Cristiano) in full pilot's uniform, combining a hoot and a holler, with a cross between a jig and a mini marathon burst. (Remember, we're talking about my slightly round Italian friend.) All of this as Nick noticed the latest issue of Golf Digest and proceeded to rip it from the rack. With magazine in hand, he turned each page with great anticipation in hopes to catch a glimpse of something or someone familiar. As he turned to page 69 his eyes got bigger, his facial expression went from anticipation to joy, and then he shouted, "There's the cup!"

______[#image: /photos/55ad735dadd713143b424db9]|||Olive_1.jpg|||__As he read the article, facial expressions changed with each line. Once he was finished, I asked, "Is it OK?" His response, "Are you kidding me? We are one of thousands of entries, and we made it. This is fantastic." ____ ____Next, out came the phone, and after a quick call to his dad, Nick Sr., our oldest participant of The Cup, Nick proceeded to send a string of text messages and phone calls to the rest of the group. As he spread the word, I led him in the direction of the Orlando gate. Nick was working the Philly-Orlando flight and joining me at home -- "The Villages" -- that evening on his layover in Orlando.  We had planned this overnight the week prior, once we realized our schedules conveniently crossed paths and we'd have time for a quick morning 18. Never knowing that Philadelphia would receive one of the first issues of Golf Digest. (Who says timing isn't everything?) Well, for the next hour, anyone within a reasonable distance, saw and heard Nick's big-hearted, fast-talking side. ____ ____To quote our fearless leader, "Wait until I show Bay Oaks and Timber Creek; future bookings, no problem. After all, who would turn down being a part of the now worldly renowned Bill McGahee Cup?" ____ ____I also envision, for years to come, a little extra skip in Joanne Hogarth's step as she prepares our "everything but the kitchen sink breakfast." ____ And Donna McGahee and the girls, they will be speechless. Kudos for the Ambush concept. Thanks again to you and your staff for this great moment. As you can see, this article was well received and deeply appreciated. Sometimes the simpler things in life have the greatest affect. Oh, by the way, you still owe us a visit and a picture with the group. You and your staff have an open invitation to our festivities. But, since we know you're a busy man, maybe a group picture in your blog will satisfy.

____[#image: /photos/55ad735dadd713143b424db6]|||Olive_2.jpg|||Please extend a joyous holiday season to all, __Frank Olive    Thank you for the note, Frank. Congratulations on the years of camaraderie that is the Bill McGahee Cup. --Matty G. If you want to submit details of your annual buddies trip, to be featured in an upcoming issue of Golf Digest, click here.