Marine Corps team captures cup at latest Salty Sandbagger

ALBANY — Area business leaders once again squared off against representatives of Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany and Marine Corps Logistics Command (LOGCOM) during the latest edition of the Salty Sandbagger golf tournament, held Monday at Albany’s River Pointe Golf Club.

“The relationship between the base and the community is critical,” said Albany Area Chamber of Commerce interim President Barbara Rivera Holmes. “The Chamber nurtures that relationship through various activities and initiatives.”

One such initiative is the Salty Sandbagger golf tourney, which has been played twice a year since the 1970s and was created by the chamber as a way to bring the local business community together with base personnel to help strengthen the important bond MCLB has with Albany.

The base is one of Dougherty County’s most important economic engines, employing more than 5,000 people and providing an annual economic impact of more than $1.6 billion, which means fostering a strong working relationship between the community and base leadership and personnel is vitally important.

Over the years the Salty Sandbagger has proven to be a very effective way to ensure those groups feel connected and valued.

“Relationships are about trust, respect, communication and camaraderie,” said Holmes. “The Salty Sandbagger adds a little fun banter and friendly competition to that mix. The chamber has hosted the event for more than 30 years, lending continuity throughout leadership changes.”

The event is played twice a year and rotates to different courses throughout Albany, thus allowing Marines and civilian Marines a chance to experience Albany’s diverse tracts, while also getting to know some of the local people who are now their friends and neighbors.

While the golf outing is designed to build connections between those participating, it is, nonetheless, a competition and a fierce one at that.

Played as a scramble-style match play event, the Salty Sandbagger features multiple, two-man chamber teams going head to head with two-man base teams, each vying for three possible points per match. The team that wins the most holes on the front nine of its match wins a point, and the team with the most holes won on the back nine earns a point. The team with the most holes won overall wins the third point.

Monday’s event, which is the first of 2016, marked the third outing attended by Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, commanding officer of LOGCOM, who, despite the friendly nature of the golf outing, had his eye on taking home the trophy the chamber team captured in both 2015 competitions.

“This is always a great opportunity for us to come out here to continue to build that great relationship (with the community),” said Crenshaw as he addressed the golfers prior to the start of the event. “My speech is very short this morning. Like former Oakland Raider owner Al Davis (said), ‘Win, baby, win.’ So Marines, let’s just win.”

Perhaps emboldened by the general’s speech, the Marine Base team came out firing and never let up, taking 18.5 of a possible 27 points, and ultimately handing the chamber team its first defeat since the spring of 2014.

Although things didn’t work out in the chamber’s favor, Holmes said the outing was ultimately a great success, as everyone involved got to know each other better and have a good time.

“It was a well-deserved victory,” Holmes said of the base team. “It was a great day on the course with our partners.”

The chamber will get a chance to win back the trophy later this fall.