Snyder Cup

The Snyder Cup National Golf Club is a private golf club that was founded December 14, 1996 in Chicago, Illinois by JM McCreery & JP Lynch. The two were self-professed "golf-crazed and frustrated bankers" working arduous hours in Chicago's financial "Loop" district. The Club was intially designed as comic relief to seemingly never-ending work and a longing desire to be playing golf rather than working spreadsheets. The Club's primary objective is to annually host the Snyder Cup tournament for its Members.

Based on a format adopted from the Ryder Cup, the two founders imagined an annual gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin filled with competitive golf and comraderie. The tournament, aptly named "THE SNYDER CUP" is a a three-day, 54-hole, match play golf tournament. It is officially known as "The Snyder Cup National Match Play Championship". The founders have stated that the tournament's goal is to host the best amateur Match Play tournament in the world. On its website the founders claim to have succeeded, although this can not be accurately verified.

Snyder Cup Members currently represent 10 of The 50 United States, Canada and Ireland. While nearly half of the field currently resides in the Chicago metropolitan area, the following states also have representation annually at the Snyder Cup Tournament: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin. The Club currently has 27 Members and states its Membership "full". According to the Club's By-laws, Members have the privilege of continuing their involvement in the Club until death. Membership election into the Club requires a 100% unanimous vote from all existing Members.

The Tournament is played by splitting (typically through drafting procedure) the Membership into two teams, the Red Team and the Blue Team. To win the Snyder Cup, a team must obtain greater than 50% of the total points available in the competition. A point is earned by winning a match-play contest. The 54-holes are divided into three separate competitions that take place on three consecutive days. Day one is a typically a Four-Ball Competition (a total of 6 points available). Day two is typically a Foursomes Competition (a total of 6 points available). The Final round has historically been played as Singles with 12 points of the 24 points available on that day.

Snyder Cup Winners

Winning team Members take great joy in hoisting the Cup in similar fashion to NHL ice hockey players after winning the Stanley Cup. Often, after staking victory Members can be seen sipping various cold libations from the Snyder Cup. In a tradition also paying homage to hockey's grand award, every winning Member's name is permanently engraved in the Snyder Cup trophy.

In addition to the winning team said to have won "The Cup", the winners also sponsor a player they dub worthy of capturing the Butte des Morts Trophy (BdM). That trophy is presented as the Most Valuable Player award at the Snyder Cup. Only a Member of the winning team is eligible to win the BdM trophy. The MVP trophy is named after Lake Butte des Morts that along with the Fox River, borders the golf course on two sides and provides a scenic setting for the Tournament. The name "Butte des Morts" was given by French settlers, and means "Hill of the Dead", in reference to a nearby Indian burial mounds found around the Lake Winnebago Pool.

Butte Des Morts Trophy Winners

1997- Michael Werblow, 1998- Joseph Lynch, 1999- Robert Polta, 2000- Matthew Stry, 2001- John Zera, 2002- John Zera, 2003- James Sullivan, 2004- James Bramblet, 2005- Ross Leinweber, 2006- Michael Werblow, 2007- Britton Leigh, 2008- Daniel Knapp

The Snyder Cup calls Lake Shore Municipal Golf Course its home. Lake Shore Municipal is owned by the city of Oshkosh and is operated by the Parks & Recreation Department. The course is managed by Steven Ziblut and Steven Dobish is responsible for the golf course maintenance.

The Snyder Cup Tournament has historically been played during the second or third weekend in July.