When we first started the Bogey Boyz Mancation experience more than two decades ago, I never imagined it would evolve into what it has become today. What began as a simple golf trip built around friendship, fellowship, and brotherhood has grown into one of the premier African American golf travel experiences in the country. Each year, under the Bucka Fogey Sports brand, we continue to build an experience centered around culture, connection, competition, and legacy. This year at Legends Golf Resort in Myrtle Beach, Mancation #21 welcomed an incredible 141 golfers representing more than 20 states, along with international guests traveling from Germany, Honduras, and even Japan.
As I looked around throughout the weekend, I could not help but feel proud and grateful. To see so many successful Black men from different walks of life gathering together through golf, laughter, competition, and genuine brotherhood is something special. Mancation has become bigger than golf. It has become a family reunion, networking event, support system, and safe space all rolled into one.
This year’s event included legendary names such as NFL Hall of Fame legend Warren Sapp, along with future Hall of Famer Torii Hunter and baseball great Jacque Jones who had an outstanding career. But what makes Mancation truly unique is that whether you are a celebrity, educator, entrepreneur, executive, retiree, or weekend golfer, once you arrive, everyone is simply part of the brotherhood.
We officially kicked things off Thursday with arrivals and our optional practice round on the Heathland Course at Legends. That evening, we held our traditional Opening Welcome Ceremony and Past Champions Fellowship, which always sets the tone for the weekend. It reminds everyone that while we love the competition, the relationships are what matter most.
Friday’s “Big Skinz Round” at Oyster Bay Golf Links brought plenty of excitement with stroke play competition and our famous skins game for birdies or better. The intensity on the course was matched only by the laughter later that night during Jacob Dowdell, aka Big Jake’s comedy show and our “Cigars Under the Stars” fellowship gathering. Prior to the comedy show, the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi in attendance hosted a special reception for Big Jake, adding another memorable moment of fellowship and brotherhood to the weekend experience.
Saturday is always one of my favorite days because of the energy surrounding the Team Shamble at Heritage Golf Club. Everyone arrived wearing our official navy and orange Mancation gear, and the camaraderie was on full display from the first tee shot to the final putt.
One of the highlights of the weekend came when Kappa Alpha Psi Team #1 reclaimed the Team Shamble Championship. I had the honor of competing alongside Ryan Sanders, Rodey Stanton, and Jide Ashebu as we battled our way back to the top. One of the few rounds I played this weekend. The excitement and pride surrounding that victory made for a special moment none of us will forget.
Saturday evening’s Fish Fry Fellowship, hosted and prepared by Brother Darrell Lewis, once again reminded us as he presented a strong oratory message to the fellas why this event has lasted 21 years. Watching brothers sit together, laugh, tell stories, and simply enjoy life together is powerful. In today’s world, those moments matter.
Sunday’s Championship Round on the Moorland Course at Legends brought out the competitive fire in everyone, and the periodic rain was just another detail that had to be navigated. Every flight had something to play for, and the energy throughout the course was electric. We crowned several deserving champions during the Awards Dinner and Banquet, including Ryan Sanders as Club Champion, Brandon Hider as B Flight Champion, Shawn Savage as C Flight Champion, and Bill Kincaid as Senior Champion.
What happened later that evening is something I will never forget.
During the banquet, Warren Sapp completely surprised me by presenting me with one of his authentic jerseys as a token of appreciation for what Mancation has meant to him and so many others. Shortly afterward, Tim Poynter and Etho Pugh presented me with “The Goat” award in recognition of creating and sustaining this experience for 21 consecutive years.
To say I was humbled would be an understatement.
Moments like those remind me why I continue to pour my heart into this event year after year. Mancation has never been about me. It has always been about creating an experience where brothers can escape life’s pressures, reconnect, compete, laugh, and build lifelong relationships.
I shared with the brothers during the banquet that while my Uncle, Reverend James A. Benson, was on his deathbed, he wrote something to me that I have carried in my spirit ever since. He reminded me of Proverbs 18:16, which says, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”
As I stood in that room during Mancation 21 surrounded by successful, talented, and influential men from across the country — including legends like Warren Sapp, future Hall of Famer Torii Hunter, and Jacque Jones — I realized I was witnessing that scripture come to life in real time.
Not because of who I am personally, but because God allowed my gifts, vision, and purpose to create spaces where brotherhood, fellowship, and legacy could flourish.
Over the years, I have watched friendships form, business partnerships develop, and lives impacted simply because people came together around the game of golf. Under the continued support and branding of Bucka Fogey Sports, Mancation has grown into something that represents Black excellence, culture, leadership, and fellowship in a way that few golf events truly capture.
The overall experience was also captured throughout the weekend by a professional videographer, with plans already underway to transform Mancation 21 into a full documentary showcasing the brotherhood, competition, fellowship, and powerful moments that made this year’s event unforgettable.
From morning tee boxes to late-night cigar conversations, Mancation 21 embodied everything this event was designed to be about: unity, legacy, and brotherhood. As the final hugs were exchanged Monday morning and everyone began traveling home, one thought stayed with me: Mancation is not simply a golf trip. It is a movement. I like to call it an INSTITUTION.
