Golf Outing Success

⛳🏒 A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THE PHANTOMS GOLF OUTING A SUCCESS! 🏒⛳

This past Saturday marked the return of something that had been missing from the West Michigan Phantoms Hockey calendar for several years — our annual golf outing.

After going a number of years without an outing, Ryker Barber stepped up, took charge, and made it happen.

Putting together an event like this takes a lot more work than most people ever see. There are tee times to coordinate, players to organize, teams to put together, prizes to arrange, sponsors to contact, details to communicate and plenty of last-minute pieces that have to fall into place. Ryker took on that responsibility and helped bring the Phantoms back together for a full day away from the rink.

The result was an outstanding turnout at Three Fires Golf Club, with 12 teams of four — 48 golfers in total — taking part in the outing.

For a group that normally spends its time together in hockey equipment and around the rink, it was great to trade the skates for golf clubs for a day and enjoy some friendly competition, laughs and a lot of great memories.

The weather, the golf, the conversations and the atmosphere all came together for what turned into a fantastic day. Some teams probably played a little better than others, some shots definitely went places they weren’t intended to go, and there were probably a few scorecards that deserved a second look — but none of that really mattered.

What mattered was getting everyone together again.

The Phantoms have always been about much more than just the games we play on the ice. Over the years, some of the best memories have come from the road trips, parties, events and time spent together outside of hockey. Saturday was another example of what makes this group special.

For that, we owe a tremendous THANK YOU to Ryker Barber. Ryker didn’t wait for somebody else to organize it. He stepped up, put the pieces together and brought back an event that had been absent for several years. Seeing 48 golfers show up and enjoy the day was a pretty good indication of just how successful that effort was.

We also want to extend a huge THANK YOU to X-Golf Holland and X-Golf Grandville for supporting the outing, helping sponsor the event and providing a fantastic prize package. Support like that goes a long way toward making events like this possible and giving everyone a little something extra to compete for throughout the day. We greatly appreciate X-Golf Holland and X-Golf Grandville being part of the return of the Phantoms Golf Outing and helping make the event even more memorable.

And, as anyone who has been around the Phantoms for very long probably could have predicted, the day certainly didn’t end when the final group walked off the golf course.

The festivities continued afterward with an after party hosted by Michelle and Ian Evans, and they deserve a very special THANK YOU of their own.

Michelle and Ian opened things up for everyone and provided the perfect place to keep the day going. What started as a golf outing turned into an evening of more laughs, stories, drinks, conversations and memories that continued well into the night.

Their hospitality was greatly appreciated and was the perfect way to finish off an already great day.

When everything was finally over, the biggest takeaway wasn’t who shot the lowest score or who took home a prize.

It was simply how much fun everyone had being together.

After several years without a golf outing, Saturday proved that this was an event worth bringing back. Twelve teams, 48 golfers, one great day at Three Fires Golf Club and an after party that kept things going long after the clubs were put away.

So once again, a huge THANK YOU to Ryker Barber for taking the initiative, doing the work and making the return of the West Michigan Phantoms Hockey Golf Outing possible.

THANK YOU to X-Golf Holland and X-Golf Grandville for the sponsorship and prize package.

THANK YOU to Michelle and Ian Evans for hosting everyone afterward and keeping the party going well into the night.

And finally, THANK YOU to all 48 golfers and everyone else who took part in the day. Your participation is what made the outing such a success.

After several years away, the Phantoms Golf Outing is officially back — and it was worth the wait.

Great golf. Great friends. Great memories.