The 2023 Annual Tournament at Briarwood Country Club was a great success! Briarwood members Janice Aiken and Tangy Buchannan put on the event and spent all year organizing so that we would have an event to rival any two-day guest invitational in the Valley. The 2023 tournament drew a large field of members and guests for a two-day event in the Northwest Valley of Phoenix. On March 6-7, Briarwood Country Club was filled with lady golfers playing a two-person better ball format. On Monday, the field arrived ready to play its best golf. The theme was “Let’s Go Camping” and members and guests did not disappoint with their team uniforms! After round #1, there was a wonderful lunch in the ballroom and an open bar. Most ladies were drinking iced tea because the first-ever ladies’ “horse race” started shortly after lunch! The horse race format was terrific because all teams played at least two holes before the elimination rounds started. My sister and I made it to the final hole and lost in the “blind chip-off.” Guests were dressed for the occasion! My sister Jo Ann Biszantz came from Destin Florida to be my partner. After two days we “left everything on the course” and luckily came in the money with a respectable finish! Until next year!
A Two-Day Briar Rabbit Memory
Shannon’s original account recalls a large gathering of members and guests, a “Let’s Go Camping” theme, team outfits, two days of golf and time together after play. It names Janice Aiken and Tangy Buchannan as the organizers and describes Shannon playing with her sister. The recap does not publish an official leaderboard, so no winner or placement should be added without an organizer’s record.
What Two-Person Better Ball Means
The event used a two-person better-ball format. Under The R&A’s official Four-Ball rule, two partners compete as a side, each plays a separate ball, and the lower partner score becomes the side’s score for the hole. Event committees can add terms and handicap procedures, so this explanation does not recreate the complete 2023 competition rules.
Briarwood Then and Now
Briarwood’s current course page attributes the design to Greg Nash and says the course plays to 6,600 yards. Swing First states that it acquired the club in 2024, after this invitational. Readers should use the current owner’s Briarwood page for present-day club context and verify membership directly with the club.
For the residential side of a move, compare West Valley communities and review Shannon’s buyer guidance.
