CENTER TWP The Friday Night Men's Golf League has stood the test of time.

From an unorganized weekly golf outing to a team league to individual competition, the circuit has been around for more than 40 years.

"Phil Loverick Sr. was among the guys who got it started and he's still playing in it," said John Aubrey Jr., now in his third year of running the league. "There's a number of guys who have been with the league for decades."

The league name is lengthy: The Friday Night W. Rick's Taproom and Grill/Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf League.

"We've had a number of different sponsors over the years and that's been critical to our survival," Greg Loverick said. "They give us $1,000 to put into a fund for the guys to play for."

About 1991, Loverick, his father Phil and brother Phil Jr. decided to reorganize the league. They got sponsors and set up a team format each Friday night.

League play begins at 5 p.m. Golfers play the front nine at Aubrey's one week, the back nine the next.

The team format was eventually scrapped in the interest of fairness.

"If somebody would break his arm, or just not show up, the other guys on his team would suffer and that wasn't right," Loverick said.

Because of those factors, the format was changed to individual flights and the league took off.

The league now has six flights, and players are assigned to a flight based on their handicap. Golfers receive one point just for showing up and an additional point for each golfer in their flight they defeat.

"You can get up to 10 points a week," Loverick said. "The points accumulate to determine flight champions.

"This is the best golf league in Butler because it has players of all abilities" and is "a bunch of guys who enjoy getting together and having a good time," he added.

Seven members of the Friday night league have won the Butler Eagle Amateur Open.

The first flight consists of scratch golfers. The second flight has golfers who can save par on a good day.

The sixth flight is comprised of beginning golfers or players "who may get a 20 on a hole, but they're competitive within their own flight," Loverick said.

While the median age of golfers in the league is the mid-40s, there are players as young as 21 and as old as 70.

Babe Pell died at age 86 and was still active in the league at the time. Some golfers in their 70s still in the league include Dave Cook, Dean Snyder, Harry Roth, Ben Schmidt and Phil Loverick Sr.

League play runs 20 weeks, not including a midseason tournament and postseason event.

It adds up to a lot of paperwork.

"I got so busy at work, taking care of things at home and with the kids, it was hard to keep up," Loverick said. "Johnny (Aubrey) showed an interest in taking it over, so it was time to pass the torch."

John Aubrey Jr. estimates spending five or six hours a week on the league's paperwork.

"You have to get the scores, constantly update handicaps, etc.," Aubrey. said. "There's no easy way to do that."

But it's worthwhile to him. Now 24, Aubrey. joined the league when he was 18.

"We had 72 golfers last year," he said. "Because it's an individual league, guys show up Friday whenever they get off work and start playing.

"It's become a traditional way to start the weekend. I have high school and college buddies in the league now," Aubrey added

One group of six golfers make the trip from Etna each Friday to play. Another five come down from Mercer.

"We gave out $7,000 in league money last year," the younger Aubrey. said. "A few payouts go out week to week with Skins games, other payouts are accumulated during the year.

"New golfers are always welcome," he added.

League play begins in mid-April and ends the first week of September.