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Mike Sudoma\/Free Press<\/p>\n
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Duane Sharpe tees off as Lawrence Chang (middle) and Daryl Antoniuk (right) watch and comment on the drive at Bridges Golf Course.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some didn\u2019t meet until junior high and others joined later, while going to university in the early 1990s, but the roots of the yearly reunion go back to Westwood.<\/p>\n
Romaniuk recalled his late-August 16th birthday, when he asked his father if his gift could be a road trip with some of his Westwood High School friends.<\/p>\n
After getting the go-ahead, Romaniuk, Archer and Sharpe headed up to the Interlake to play golf at Hecla Island, where the now-much larger group returned Wednesday for the 40th-anniversary outing, followed by plans to tee it up at Bridges Thursday, Pine Ridge Friday and Breezy Bend on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur teachers \u2014 I do remember them saying, and our parents were saying \u2014 this is a different group,\u201d Romaniuk said. \u201cThey could tell we just were pretty close friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve never missed a year since.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as work and family commitments, a core group has managed to make the trip each year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the next year we came back, told a bunch of guys, and we had eight the next year, and then the year after was 16,\u201d Romaniuk added.<\/p>\n Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as work and family commitments, a core group of nine has managed to make the trip each year.<\/p>\n No matter the destination, they follow the same routine; all staying in the same house, cooking breakfast together, socializing and, then, heading out to the course.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all written out in the bylaws \u2014 loosely defined rules that have been followed for years.<\/p>\n Among them is a new destination each year and a requirement that at least two members travel a minimum of 250 kilometres. There\u2019s also a \u201cchicken holder\u201d rule: the last player in the group to three-putt is handed the chicken, a lighthearted punishment the unfortunate victim endures for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to have it, because then you\u2019ve got to carry it around all day, all night, buy some drinks, do the cleaning,\u201d Romaniuk explained.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Sudoma\/Free Press<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jason Archer (left) wants to keep the golf trip going so he started bringing his son, Gabriel, along.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The \u201cbucket of fun\u201d \u2014 filled with beer and ice \u2014 is a constant.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce someone commits to the dates, seems like eight of us are booked within a day,\u201d Sharpe said. \u201cAll our flights and booked and travel plans are made. It\u2019s just a week we don\u2019t want to miss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe go to golf, but we\u2019re not really there to golf. It\u2019s just to hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019ve convened in other provinces, in the U.S. and Panama, as well as overseas in Ireland and Scotland, collecting memorable stories along the way.<\/p>\n One came in Northern Ireland on a Sunday night when a local Gaelic football team had just won its first championship in 90 years, and the group found itself swept up in the celebrations.<\/p>\n On another occasion, they arrived at the Old Course in St. Andrews without a tee time \u2014 most people make reservations at the game\u2019s birthplace a year in advance \u2014 and were told they were \u201cthe luckiest lads in Scotland\u201d after a cancellation opened a spot.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s really a favourite,\u201d Romaniuk said. \u201cI mean, we go to golf, but we\u2019re not really there to golf. It\u2019s just to hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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