A private association of twenty-four members, gathered each year for the Crooked Drive Invitational.
The Crooked Drive Golf Club was founded in the spring of 2023 by Matt Taylor and Nick Caton, two friends who decided that one weekend a year ought to be set aside for a proper, formal competition. They chose Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina, for the inaugural gathering — a Donald Ross course not far from Pinehurst No. 2, steeped in American golf tradition, and the kind of unhurried place where four rounds across a long weekend could feel like a season unto itself.
Twelve players made that first trip. The format was straightforward: two teams of six, four rounds, the side with the most points takes the cup. The teams that weekend were known simply as Team 1 and Team 2. Team 1 won, seven to five. The captains agreed on the spot that they would do it again the next year.
The Crooked Drive Invitational is contested in the Ryder Cup tradition: two teams, captained by Taylor and Caton, playing match-play golf across a long weekend. Each round contributes points to the cup; the side that crosses the threshold first carries the trophy until the next meeting. Formats rotate within each tournament — scramble, best ball, Vegas, Chapman, individual singles — and venues rotate from year to year, returning when the group can find an excuse.
In 2024, when the field grew to twenty players, the teams took their names. Taylor’s side became the Swing Kings — a half-tongue-in-cheek nod to American golf swagger, a half-real claim of ownership over their wins. Caton’s side became the Sand Wedgies — short, salty, unmistakably their own.
The roster has continued to grow. The cup is now settled annually by twelve players on each side: twenty-four members in total. Some have played every CDI since the founding; others joined along the way. All carry their match record with them year to year, by tradition.
A founding member and chief architect of the club. Through four cups he has never lost a match; his career record stands at 17–0–2 across nineteen contests — the only undefeated player in club history. Off the course he keeps the books, sets the schedule, and answers most of the email.
A founding member and the club’s loyal opposition. Caton has played in every CDI since the founding and led the only successful run for the Wedgies — the 2024 cup at Ocean City, the lone Sand Wedgies year on the trophy. He has held the side together through four seasons of golf and is the keeper of the club’s longest rivalries.
“Honor the line, accept the lie.”
A creed borrowed from a century of match-play etiquette. Mark your ball honestly when others can see; play it from where it actually sits when no one is watching; accept the consequences either way. It works as well off the course as on it.