BFBH Cup | Boys From Back Home Cup

2026 BFBH Cup

The 2026 Boys From Back Home Cup was the 6h year of the annual golf tradition. It was held for the fourth straight year at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs, MI. The cup is a 2-day event, 8 9-hole matches, Ryder Cup style. To continue the tradition, the boys played the practice round the day before at Hidden River Golf and Casting Club.

Round 1 & 2 - Scramble and Best Ball Stroke Play

A big change, that will most likely stay for the remaining cups, was the scramble format for the first round. Everyone is little tired, a little sore from the night before, and it was a good way to ease into the competition.

I said it last year and I'll say it again, every year in cup history, whoever wins the first match has gone on to win the cup. We'll see if it holds true this year.

For the third straight year, the opening match was the same groupings. It was Matt and Chris vs Dylan and Dan. The first hole was a short par 4. Green hit both of their shots in the trash, one long and one short in the woods. Green was able to get up and down and Blue missed their birdies putts. A gift for Green early. The next two holes were Blue's with a par, birdie. Matt and Chris were down 2 after 3 holes; the same as last year. Green responded and won the next hole with a pop, even though they didn't need it. Then on hole 6, Matt made a clutch Eagle putt to tie the match. Hole 7 was a push. Then on hole 8, was the turning point in the match. It was a par 3, both groups had a ball on the green. Green had a 35/40 footer while Blue had a 15/20 footer. Right before the putt, Dylan said, "I've seen Green make these putts before". Chris went first and, unbelievably, made his putt to make birdie. Blue missed their putts and Green took the lead on the hole. Hole 9 ended in a push, giving Green the win for the first match.

The second match was Derek and returning member Travis. They faced off against Craig and RJ. RJ was Blue's 2 and Craig was their 3. Blue was the favorite going into the match. Blue jumped out quick and won the first hole. Unfortunately for Blue, that would be the only hole they would win in the match. Green won holes 4, 5 and 6. Green went on to win the match, 2&1.

In the third match, we actually had a fill-in player for Blue.Cam overslept and missed the opening 2 rounds. Max stayed with us the night before and he was able to fill in last minute. A huge shout out to Max for saving Blue! On the scorecard, it showed the final match of round 1 was Gordon and Curtis vs Evan and Cam. This match started off evenly, 4 of the first 5 holes were pushed. Blue won hole 3 and were ahead until hole 6. Then it was back and forth. Green won, then Blue won, then Green won. Going into the final hole, the match was all square. Green ended with a par and Blue ended up with a bogey, giving Green the win for the third match.

After the first three matches, Green had taken a commanding lead, 3-0. The first round was the same as last year. The difference was Blue remained in high spirits and continued to fight hard in the remaining matches.

🟩🟦 Score Update. After 1 round, Green is up 3 to Blue 0.

The second round of matches was the back 9 at Crooked Tree Golf Club. The gameplay was a new format in 2026. Traditionally we've only played match play games, but this game was best ball stroke play. Since it's stroke play, if both partner have a bad hole on the same hole, it can really hurt the team's overall score (foreshadowing).

The first of the round was Matt and Travis vs Craig and Dan. A lot of pops were given on the back 9. With the help of the pops are good play, Blue was able to go up 3 strokes through the first 3 holes. Matt and Travis fought back and the match managed to come down to the last hole. The match came down to the last putt on the last hole. Craig found himself face-to-face with an easy 3/4 foot putt for net birdie and to win the match (which was recorded). He pushed it right and it lipped out, giving Matt and Travis the tie for the match. Green and Blue both shot a net 40, while individually,Matt shot a 41 and the next closest was Craig at 44.

The next match was Chris and Gordon vs RJ and Cam's fill-in, Max. The match was competitive and closely contested. RJ played some really good, consistent golf, and Max contributed on some holes to help keep Blue ahead. Green had a couple blow up holes, which unfortunately, were the same holes; Chris and Gordon had tripled the same holes, twice in the match. Because of the stroke play format, it felt close, but in reality, Blue maintained the lead the entire match and never lost a hole. Blue won net 39 to Green's 44. RJ individually shot a 43, while Chris shot a 46.

The last match at Crooked Tree was between Derek and Curtis and Dylan and Evan. This was a match of high and lows, there were eagles, birdies, and double bogeys throughout.Derek was able to get a net eagle on hole 3 to give Green a score of 2 under through 3. Blue responded with Evan making birdie on hole 3 and then Dylan making birdie on hole 4 to keep the match close. On the last 3 holes, the match started getting crazy. On hole 7, Green was even while Blue made double to go +2. Then on hole 8, Green made double to also go +2 and Blue made par. Going into hole 9, the match was tied +2 for both teams and each player, besides Dylan was getting 2 pops. The match would come down to a putt off between Derek and Evan. Derek made net par to give Green a +2 but Evan was able to make his last putt for a net birdie and secure the win for Blue.The final score was Blue +1 (37) to Green +2 (38). Individually, Derek shot a 41, Curtis shot a 42, Dylan shot a 41, and Evan shot a 45.

🟩🟦 Score Update. After 2 rounds, Green is up 3.5 to Blue 2.5.

Round 3 was supposed to be best combined score, but there was a change last minute to 1 best ball. This was to keep the pace of play up and increase enjoyment. It did one of those for most players. Round 3 and 4 were played at Bay Harbor Preserve/Links respectfully.

The opening match was between Matt, Derek and Dylan, Cam. This was a wild match. Derek and Cam both got 12 pops, Matt got 1, there were 7 birdies collectively and the match ended 2&1. The match started with Derek making a net birdie on hole 1. That was enough to give Green the lead until hole 4 where Blue took the hole with a net bogey.The match remained tied until hole 7 where Derek made another net birdie. Then on the next hole, Matt made birdie to secure the win 2&1. Matt finished with a net 38 (39), Derek finished with a net 35 (47), Dylan finished with a 43 and Cam finished with a net 44 (56).

The middle match was Gordon and Curtis vs RJ and Craig. Green jumped out to a quick lead after hole 1 with a net par. Then they took another win on hole 3, thanks to Curtis's net birdie. Curtis then wins hole 5 with a net bogey. On hole 6, Green is up 3 with 4 to play. With Blue's back against the wall, Craig puts together a par and wins the hole. Green was up 2 with 3 holes left. Blue needed to win 2 of the 3 holes just to push the match. Holes 7 and 8 ended in a push. Green won 2&1.

The third and final match at the Preserve was Chris, Travis and Dan, Evan. On hole 1, Blue jumped out to a quick 1UP lead, thanks to Evan's net par. Hole 4 was a blow up hole for all 4 guys -- 2 9s and 2 10s. Somehow that hole was pushed. The next hole was a 170 par 3. Travis had a great tee shot (using his driver), he stuck the green and had an easy 2 putt for par. The next hole, Evan had a great approach shot and won the hole with a bogey. On hole 8, Green was 1 down and had to tie or win the hole to extend the match. Again, Evan had a great approach and made par to win the hole and the match. Blue won 2&1.

🟩🟦 Score Update. After 3 rounds, Green is up 5.5 to Blue 3.5.

Round 4 was a game we brought back in place of alt shot -- greensomes. Greensomes is pick the team's best drive, then alt shot from there, also known as, alt shot with select drive, scotch foursomes, modified Pinehurst. It's more forgiving and gives everyone a shot on the tee ball. We played greensomes once in 2021 and I think it will be here to stay for years to come.

Match 1 was between Matt and Curtis against Craig and Cam. This match went down to the last hole and unfortunate circumstances. The match was a fell fought battle, with both teams scoring back and forth. Blue was able to tie the match on hole 8 with a bogey on the long par 3. Then 9 happened. For context, hole 9 is a short par 5 with water in front of the tee and and water in front of the second shot, along with water down the entire right side. If you don't get over, you're dropping and hitting another. From what I can recall, after Blue and Green got over on tee balls. Cam hit the next shot, but he pushed it right into the drink. Craig drops and hits, and doesn't get over the water. Cam drops from the same spot, he hits it in the trash again. Then Craig gets up again, takes a drop and hits in the trash again. Cam drops one more, and hits it back in the water. After hitting 5 balls into the water, Blue conceded the hole and Green won the match.

Match 2 was between Gordon, Travis and Dylan, RJ. Despite Blue being heavily favored in this match, it was a back and forth battle, all but one hole was scored. Blue won the first hole, but then Green won the second. Blue won the next two holes and probably felt good about running away with it. But hole 5 was a push and then Green won hole 6, the hardest HC hole on the Links. Blue got 7 back and then Green won the long par 3, hole 8. Blue was 1 up going into 9. Green still had a change to push the match if they won hole 9. Unfortunately for Green, Blue birdied the hole and won the match, 2UP. Dylan and RJ finished with a 38. Very nice Greensomes gentlemen!

The last match of the day was a rollercoaster and nice comeback by Green -- "keep shoveling". Luckily we got this match on camera.The matchup was Chris and Derek vs Dan and Evan. Blue started hot in this match, winning the first 3 holes, going par, par, birdie. Then Green rebounded on the par 3, hole 4 with their own birdie. Then Green won hole 5 with bogey. On hole 6, the teams had the same score but Blue had a pop, so they took the hole. Blue was up 2 with 3 to play. On hole 7, the match came down to the putting. If Blue wins the hole, the match is over, 3&2, but if Green wins or ties the hole, the match is extended. Derek missed his putt for birdie, then Evan makes his for par. Dan thinks the match is over so he goes to shake hands, but Evan quickly corrects him. Chris cleans it up for par and the match goes to hole 8, but Green is pumped for new life. Blue is dormie with 2 holes left. Hole 8, Green gets up there and hits a ball near the green and puts the pressure on. Blue gets up there and duffs one tee ball and skies the other. Blue doesn't hit on and Green wins the hole with a bogey. Hole 9, Blue is up 1 with a pop. Green tees off first and hits 2 balls in the fairway over the water. Blue gets up and hits 2 balls in the water... Now both teams are lying the same on the other side of the water. Green gets up and hits safely over. Blue hits in the water on the right side. Green hits a safe approach, wins the hole and pushes the match. Although it was a half point, Green felt like they just won a full point. A big boost to end the day.

🟩🟦 Score Update.After day 1 Green is up 2 with a score of 7 to 5. With day 2 having 15 more points, it's still either team's cup.