This is today’s Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook as heard on 97.9 WCHL. You can listen to previous Sports Notebooks here.

They played the member-guest for Griff and Teddy.

Chapel Hill lost two of its most popular figures and long-time residents over the last two years, real estate attorney Griff Graves and Insurance agent Ted Seagroves. Both were avid golfers and dedicated members of the Chapel Hill Country Club.

So this year, the club renamed their annual member-guest tournament for Griff and Teddy and awarded championship belts that would rival what Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson might have in their trophy cases . . . to the winners, retired UNC Hospitals employee Mark Kozel and realtor Mike Lewis.

Both guys were proud to wear their big, heavy medal belts around town this week, one belt called The Griff, with engraving, bangles and a picture of Griff Graves following through on his pure golf swing; the other called The Teddy with a picture of Seagroves smiling broadly from a golf cart.

Chapel Hill has a rare private country club that is more like an expensive good ol’ boys public course for its long-time and loyal membership. And they always celebrate their past with special events named for the people who have become legendary members of the club and made plenty of friends and memories.

It was appropriate that Kozel and Lewis won the first Griff and Teddy belts because they had played golf with Graves and Seagroves since 1980. They met at UNC, have been fraternity brothers and best friends for 43 years and both played dozens of rounds with their dearly departed mates. Lewis loves to tell the story of how he lost a five-dollar bet to Griff and Teddy in their first match which, after all the presses on the back nine, wound up as eighteen bucks.

The money went toward pitchers of beer and lots of laughs that night. The victorious  teammates said they felt the presence of Graves and Seagroves as they played through the two-day tournament that was one big party, just the way Griff and Teddy liked it every year.

“I definitely felt their presence all weekend, and I’ve worn this belt around most of the week,” Lewis said, holding his wrap-around trophy that must weigh at least 10 pounds. “Griff and Teddy would be thrilled we won.”

Indeed they would.

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