It was the 20th year of the Raymo Cup! We celebrated our men’s family golf outing in the Lake Okoboji area in Iowa.

The Raymo Cup started 20 years ago at Pebble Creek in Becker. Little did I know then that I would be spending every spring there covering the state Class A golf meet. That first year it was just me and my oldest son Joshua and my brother Greg and his son Nicholas. Nicholas was in high school then. We have met every year since then and have grown to about a dozen of us. My brothers, our sons, our sons in law, and maybe one day our grandsons will join us. We take turns hosting the Raymo Cup.

My brother Greg hosted this year and he lives in Worthington MN. He decided since its the 20th year to move it just across the border to Lake Okoboji. I had only been there one time when I was a young boy. I had no idea how big Lake Okoboji was. It’s an amazing place. Lots of people vacationing and many resorts and eating places on the lake. We stayed at the Arrowwood Resort just off the lake. We had 1st floor rooms facing the Brooks Golf Course. We all arrived on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. We golfed 9 holes on Thursday, 18 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at different golf courses. We golfed early in the morning so we could have some pontoon and lake time in the afternoons. In the evening we went out for a nice dinner and hung out at the resort in the evening.

My brother Greg brought his pontoon so we spent the afternoons on the lake. The lake was full of all kinds of boats. We anchored in a large bay with hundreds of other boats. I love people watching and I was in the right place for that. Young and old were having so much fun. Lots of families enjoying time on the lake. My nephews like country music, so we were playing that loudly on our pontoon. We needed to rest in the evenings, our age is starting to show. It was a great place to host our Raymo Cup.

I look forward to the Raymo Cup every year because I don’t get to see my brothers and nephews very much during the year. So its a great time to catch up with them and have some fun. My nephew Nicholas won this year and he gets the Carrell Coat and the Rosemary Trophy. Named after my dad and mom. They were all about family. It was a great dude’s weekend!!Next year JT is hosting and so we will be golfing in the cities.