Presidential golfers > Chance meeting beats a hole in one… maybe

loading...

A chance stop at Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport Aug. 26 turned into the thrill of a lifetime for three Bangor area golfers who were on their way to a tournament in Massachusetts. “Skip” Chappelle of Old Town, Linda Sirabella and Gary Sibley of Brewer “happened to be at the right spot at the right time,” according to Sirabella.

Circumstances leading up to the eventful day began last month when Sirabella was the first woman to compete in the Oldsmobile Scramble at the Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono. Her team won the event, which qualified it for the regional competition held Aug. 27 at Tara Ferncroft Resort in Danvers, Mass.

Two days before the team was to leave for the tourney, however, teammate Jeff Hassis informed Sirabella, Sibley and Chappelle that he had to drop out.

“Skip jokingly said we’d get President Bush to play with us to fill out the foursome,” Sirabella recalled.

The trio decided to head out without Hassis anyway. Chappelle suggested the golfers stop at Arundel, play a round there, and worry about finding a fourth the next day.

When spending vacations or weekends in Maine, the president often plays golf at Arundel.

“Bush was not scheduled to play that day,” Sirabella said, “but they still needed the correct spelling of our names before they would let us on the course. Maybe to check us out or something. No one told us he would be there. I guess sometimes they know just 20 minutes in advance that he’s coming.”

The threesome “had some great games going,” Sirabella said of their start on the 18-hole course.

“Gary was 2-3 under on five holes; Skip was doing equally well; and then this guy starts looking at us through a (telephoto) lens. And then there were several carts with men dressed in dark jumpsuits all around. You could see them in different spots, looking at everybody.”

Sibley was teeing off when Sirabella told him to look back.

“You could see these guys coming out of the woods holding machine guns,” she said.

When the three approached the seventh hole, Sirabella could stand it no longer.

“They were really watching us, and I asked Skip if we had done something wrong or what. He said probably Bush is coming in.”

Sibley suggested perhaps Sirabella could find out exactly what was happening.

“He said take the cart. You’re a pretty lady, they’ll talk to you.”

So she did just that.

“I drove right up to them and said who are you and what are you doing? They turned around, and I could see by their shirts they were special agents. They nicely pointed out where President Bush was playing.”

Sixteen carts completed his entourage, she said.

“They were on the fairways; around the greens; on a hole in front of him; on the hole behind him. They were everywhere.”

She learned that the president plays a very fast round, usually covering 18 holes in two hours, while it normally takes golfers four hours or more.

“We were halfway through the round when these men came up and asked us to `Please show him courtesy; he’ll want to play through,’ ” Sirabella said. “Well, our game just went right down the drain after that.”

A rare moment it is when an ordinary citizen even sees the president of the United States up close, and personal. Even more rare is for the president to comment on an ordinary citizen’s golf game.

Approaching adjoining greens, Chappelle and Sibley were in the rough; Sirabella behind a ravine. Her approach shot on the par-3 hole landed nicely on the green.

“I was lying three there, and President Bush said, `nice shot,” Sirabella reported. “And that darned Gary said, `Well, thank you, Mr. President.’ He stole my thunder!”

Sibley was even more daring, however, when he asked if the president would mind posing for a photo with the threesome.

“Bush came right up and put his arm around us,” Sirabella said, “and Skip is still down in the tall grass not knowing what’s going on.”

He quickly joined his teammates, however, and the club pro took the photo they’ll treasure for a lifetime.

“It was just an unbelievable moment,” Sirabella said. “For the president to comment on your golf shot, and then take the time to pose for a photo. It was great. There he is, out there having a good day and people he doesn’t know ask him for a favor. It was amazing.”

Sirabella thought Bush had “a wonderful swing” and played “a wonderful game of golf.”

Bush finally caught up with the Penobscot Valley Country Club golfers just before the 18th hole, where they stepped aside and watched him play out his round.

“The funny thing is that the agents searched our bags on th “The funny thing is that the agents searched our bags on the 18th,” Sirabella said. “But before, when I’m standing there hugging him, my bags are closer to him than they were on the 18th.”

The official photo, by the way, has been autographed by the president.

And the Oldsmobile Scramble?

Well, they didn’t win, but it didn’t matter at all.