Top 25

This countdown will consist of the 25 best moments in Danza history. These will range from amazing golf shots to horrific golf shots, to clutch performances, historic sequences, heartbreaking moments, hilarious things that have happened along the way and everything in between. Really, anything that was especially memorable and stood out in the Danza lore. Without further ado, let’s get to the countdown.

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Honorable Mention:

PJ naming the Danza Cup

This wasn’t so much a moment as it was an idea, but still, it was historic nonetheless, as it gave us the name of the tournament itself. Without PJ’s half-joking suggestion that the Cup should be named the Danza Trophy, I’m not sure what the name would’ve been. I suppose there’s a chance we could’ve gotten here eventually given our long inside joke of all things Tony Danza, but I’m just not sure. It may have been called the Mountaineer Cup or the West Virginia Cup, or who even knows what. But I think we can all agree we landed on the perfect name. While PJ is no longer a member of the Danza Cup, I wanted to give him a shoutout, because he made a lasting legacy. 

25. Blatt’s 10 bests Storm’s 11

Number four at Stonewall Resort, par-5. Blatt was teeing off while Johnny was grabbing something out of his golf bag. When Johnny was walking up to the tee box he saw Blatt top his ball roughly five yards, just enough to clear the tee box. Johnny joked, “Tough par from there!” to which Blatt replied, “Oh, what you didn’t see, Johnny, is that was my second shot.” Blatt proceeded to ground one up the fairway before his fourth shot went out-of-bounds. Storm on the other hand had a good tee shot and a fairly nice second shot up the fairway. While Blatt was looking in the woods for his ball, Johnny mentioned to Storm that Blatt should just concede at this point to keep pace of play going. It was at that moment that Storm’s game collapsed into dust. Blatt of course didn’t concede, and he ended up winning the hole with a score of 10 to Storm’s 11. It was all so bad it was glorious.

24. The A/D alt-shot halved birdie hole

Continuing this countdown with Blatt and Storm, the A/D alt-shot is as erratic as it gets. It’s rare you see a birdie at all in this event, much less on the same hole. But in ’21 at Lodestone Golf Course, on one of the par-4’s, Trey and James pounded drives, Storm and Blatt stuck their iron shots, and Trey and James made a ten-foot and five-foot putt, respectively, for birdie. Haven’t seen anything like it in this round before or since.

23. Johnny’s putt from the bunker into the water hazard

This is arguably the single worst golf shot in Danza history. With approximately twenty- to twenty-five yards to the flagstick from the bunker, Johnny, not feeling confident in his sand wedge, decided to hammer a putt and ramp it onto the green. Instead, he hit it so hard it flew over the green and forty-plus yards beyond into a pond. How often does anyone putt from a bunker? How often does anyone hit a putt sixty-plus yards? How often does anyone putt into a water hazard? Almost never, certainly never, and extremely never? How often does anyone do all three at once? So much never it wraps back around into a distorted dimension of reality, bending time and space? Well, Johnny managed to pull all three off in one fell swoop. One of the funniest moments ever.

22. Trey’s triple bogey win in the Inaugural Danza third sudden death playoff

This hole in and of itself was nothing special. In fact, this moment would be much further up the list if the whole thing wasn’t quite so ugly. In the third sudden death playoff of the 2020 Danza, the two A-players squared off against one another. In a makeshift par-3 hole out of the par-4 seventeenth, James would play his worst hole of the day. Trey also didn’t play the hole well, but because James had blown up enough, Trey was able to play it extra cautious to ensure the victory, and he tapped his ball in for a triple bogey to take the first ever Danza. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but because this was the Inaugural Danza, history was made with that tap-in putt.

21. Felton dropping and breaking the MVP trophy

After his famous 4-0 performance at the ’21 Danza in Deep Creek, MD, Felton was awarded the MVP. This was the first year we actually had an MVP trophy to present. A signed golf ball by Tony Danza himself in a glass case. Felton went to pick up the case and in 0.4 seconds of holding it, he dropped it and cracked the glass casing.  An all time funny moment. That MVP trophy has gone through hell.

20. Blatt unveiling the true nature of the MVP trophy

The MVP trophy has been put to the test, to say the least. As if Felton breaking it instantly wasn’t enough, its true reckoning came following the ’24 Danza, when Blatt was crowned MVP. In his MVP speech, Blatt revealed to the gang that upon obtaining the Tony Danza-signed golf ball that was to be placed in a glass case and called the MVP trophy, it was immediately lost. Accidentally thrown away on the first day of owning it. In a panic, Blatt shared this information with Johnny. The two of them kept this a secret for four years before Blatt finally unveiled the truth behind the ball to the whole group. Everyone lost their minds laughing. It was a genuinely hilarious moment, and it only added to the lore of the now infamous MVP trophy.

19. Johnny’s 50-yard hole-out

Having a three hole deficit on the back nine against Jeremy in the ’25 individual round, Johnny had just taken the thirteenth to cut it to two. After Jeremy had gotten himself into some early trouble on the long par-4 fourteenth, Johnny simply had to put his ball onto the green from fifty-yards out and the hole was his. With his only thoughts being green, two-putt, cut the deficit to one and move on to fifteen, Johnny gave it a pure strike. The ball lofted up and came down in the perfect landing spot on the fringe, allowing the ball to lose its momentum and roll slowly out onto the green. The hole now secured, but just for good measure, it hit the flagstick and dropped in for birdie. It was an electric moment and Johnny used the momentum to win the fifteenth hole and tie the match. Unfortunately for him, Jeremy would end up taking the match, and thus taking away some of the luster of this otherwise great moment. Had Johnny completed the comeback and had Jeremy played that hole better to increase the stakes of that shot, this moment would be much higher on the list, but with each passing year the top 10 is getting harder to crack.

18. Jeremy staves off Johnny’s charge

Jeremy started the '25 individual round strong and took a 3-Up lead through nine. Through twelve holes, still up three, it appeared he was cruising to victory, but Johnny refused to go down without a fight, winning holes thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen to tie the match, of which during that stretch, included Johnny’s hole-out, as mentioned above, completely shifting the momentum in Johnny’s favor. On the sixteenth tee, after Johnny’s drive went dead center down the middle and Jeremy pulled his far left into the woods, it looked like the train was officially off the tracks. While he and Felton looked for his ball, Johnny laced his approach shot to fifteen feet. Jeremy eventually found his ball, but it was on a hillside in deep weeds with sticks and trees all around. It was difficult for him to even take a backswing. But with a wish and a prayer, he ripped it. The ball came flying out of the woods, missing every tree on the way and began bending towards the green. It landed on the hillside, took a hop, skip, and a jump, and rolled out perfectly onto the green right next to Johnny’s ball. It was the shot of the round by far, and arguably the tournament. Each guy would settle for par before moving on to the seventeenth. On the par-3 seventeenth, Jeremy followed with a thirty-foot putt for par to win the hole and end Johnny’s hopes of a victory. He then closed it out on eighteen and finished with a 2-Up victory, but his Hail Mary shot on sixteen, followed by the putt on seventeen will forever be remembered as all time clutch moments when momentum wasn’t on his side.

17. James and Jeremy’s 5 consecutive birdies and 6 total on the front nine of the ’23 scramble

It was the most incredible stretch of golf the Danza has ever seen to date. The back nine didn’t offer anything special, but that’s because it didn’t need to. James and Jeremy’s lead was so large by that point all they had to do was keep it on cruise control. Their game was great from tee to green, but it was their legendary putting performance that created this masterpiece. They finished the front nine with the scorecard reading 5-Up and their total strokes tallying a thirty. Match play or stroke play, a thirty on a set of nine is going to win you far more matches than it will lose, I assure you that.

16. Trey’s putt on 18 to seal the ’22 best-ball match

The A/B best-ball match of ’22 in Myrtle was as tight-knit as you can get, never more than a 2-Up lead at any one point, just a straight back and forth slugfest from one to eighteen. With Red leading 1-Up going to the eighteenth hole, they knew they couldn’t lose the match, but getting that full point in the opening round is a must-have for momentum. For the Red Team that round, West had been having one of his best golf performances ever at the Danza. As for Trey, he didn’t quite bring his A-game and had been struggling all round. The hole started with West popping his tee shot straight up in the air—which, if you’re not a golf aficionado and happened to stumble across this page randomly and continued to read to this point, that is not what you want to do. Felton sent his tee shot into the water and effectively removed himself from play right away. On the flip side, Trey and James had solid tee shots. West had a decent recovery and one last chance to pull himself back into play, only to over-power his approach shot into some bushes. It all came down to Trey and James, the A-players. Following a decent, but not great approach shot, Trey chipped onto the green on his third shot, and was left with a ten-footer for par. James’ par-look was only a few feet, and it was looking like he was going to take the hole and steal the half-point the Blue Team desperately craved. It all came down to Trey, who, as mentioned, had not been playing at peak performance this round. With all the pressure and tension that any meaningful eighteenth hole-putt naturally creates, amplified by the audience of the other seven guys standing around the green, all eyes on you, Trey stepped up and nailed that putt with authority, capturing the full point for the Red Team. It was as clutch a putt as you can ever hope to have, and despite not bringing his best for the seventeen previous holes, he showed out when they needed him most, proving why he’s an A-player to begin with.

15. West’s shot on 17 to clinch the ’22 alt-shot

After being 4-Up through thirteen, the Red Team in the B/C alt-shot dropped three consecutive holes to allow their lead to slip to one with two to play. A critical moment fell upon them on the seventeenth hole with their ball lying 150 yards to the flag with a big ole creek in front of the green. After the Blue Team played it safe and laid up shy of the creek, it was Red’s move to go for it or also play it safe and lay up. But the thought of laying up was a mere formality of team discussion, knowing full-well West was always going to attack that flag. And in the biggest moment of the round, West threw a dart to less than ten feet to dash the Blue Team’s hopes of completing the comeback.

14. West overdoses on caffeine, overpowers Totteridge

After an adverse reaction to his meds, West went into a panic attack late at night, lasting all night and through the morning. Having gotten zero hours sleep, he tried to combat his fatigue by drinking four cups of coffee, sending his body into a caffeine shock. Evidently, having the jitters and a resting heart rate of 130 was exactly what West needed to elevate his game to the next level. It was as spectacular as it was frightening. With caffeine coursing through his veins and pores leaking coffee-infused sweat, West hit his driver at heights he’d never seen before. Seemingly playing on autopilot, West individually played the back nine at +1, but it was holes 16-18 where he really shined. Being down one going into the par-5 sixteenth (seventh hole, played back to front), West landed the green in two with back-to-back incredible shots and took the hole with a safe three-putt par. He then followed by having the shot of the round off the tee on the par-3 seventeenth (hole eight), sticking it to two feet and taking a 1-Up lead with a birdie. Capping the round off with an exclamation point, he threw an absolute dart of an approach shot on eighteen to all but lock up the round. He finished with an easy two-putt par to win the match. His body would shut down shortly after and lead to an abysmal scramble round later that day, but for these particular eighteen holes, his body gave all that it could, and it was beautiful. 

13. The One-Putt Dragon

This isn’t so much a moment as it was eighteen holes of putting madness. Johnny’s nickname of “The One-Putt Dragon” had been floated out previously in casual rounds, but in the ’25 scramble round, the title was solidified. It started on #1 when Johnny buried a five-footer to halve the hole. He followed up on #2 by draining a seven-footer for birdie to match the Blue Team’s tap-in birdie. On #4 he made a ten-foot downhill breaker to take the hole. #5 was met with another one-putt to finish the up-and-down to halve the hole, and on #6, he buried a twelve-foot winder to clean up yet another up-and-down to halve the hole. #7 was halved with birdies after Johnny made another back-breaking putt. On #11, it appeared by all reason that Johnny and Trey were going to lose the hole by how it started, but it was at this point that Johnny had fully taken on the appearance of a fire-breathing dragon with a putter, and drained a 20+ foot putt, which seemed to break the will of James and Jeremy, as they then missed their six-footer to lose the hole. On the eighteenth hole, with a 1-Up lead and a downhill five-footer to halve the hole and win the match, Trey had just barely missed his putt, placing all the pressure on Johnny. But, in a fitting end to the match, as if it was ever in doubt, Johnny sank it for the win, once again getting up and down with his eighth one-putt of the day. It was the most absurd display of putting ever seen in a single Danza round, and it was the reason the Red Team was able to win the match despite being outplayed tee to green all round.

12. West’s putt to keep the tournament alive in the 2020 Playoffs

It was the first head-to-head sudden death playoffs we ever had. Hell, it was the first Danza we ever had. Pressure was at an all time high and West needed to make a five-foot putt to halve the hole and keep the Danza alive. With his team watching on anxiously and with nerves of steel, he buried the putt to keep the tournament alive. It proved to be significant, as Red would go on to win the next playoff hole. And while it was Trey who finished the job, this was the more climactic moment given the circumstances. Trey’s win doesn’t happen without this putt.

11. Felton’s 150-foot putt

The longest putt in Danza history. It was the ninth hole of the World Tour Course in Myrtle, a replica of eighteen at St. Andrews. West hit his approach shot to six inches for a tap-in birdie. Felton threw his approach shot on the back, far-right side of the green with the flag being front-left. It was the largest green we’d ever seen. Looking like the Red Team was going to take the hole with birdie and go 2-Up heading into the back nine, Felton miraculously banged in a 150-foot putt for birdie to halve the hole. Unlike anything we’d witnessed before.

10. Holes 16-18 in the ’24 B/C Alt-Shot

Entering the sixteenth hole, the Red Team was leading 1-Up. Following great drives by both teams, the Blue Team landed their approach to fifty feet, while Johnny messed up West’s long bomb off the tee by skittering the short pitch shot over the green into the rough. In about as epic of a putt as you can hope for in such a crucial moment, Felton drained the fifty-footer for birdie. In one last effort to steal the halve, West hit what looked like a perfect chip, it one-hopped to the cup, and rimmed out… The seventeenth hole was met with a brutal face wind on the short par-3. The Red Team went short into a bunker after the wind murdered their balls; the Blue Team went right and landed in a little gulley. Positioned horribly from the back wall of the bunker, West hit a jaw-droppingly clutch shot—a flop shot out of the sand that cleared the front bunker wall and came to a rest just off the fringe. Red would settle for a bogey, and Blue would do the same after Jeremy made a downhill, winding seven-footer to keep the match all-square. On the par-5 eighteenth, both teams went shot for shot tee-to-green. Sitting at the back of the green, each team had a forty-plus-foot putt with an unforgiving downhill slope. The Red Team went first, and Johnny had the putt of the day, getting his ball to come to a rest three feet from the cup. The Blue Team wouldn’t have such luck, and instead four-putted from the sadistic starting location. The Red Team tapped in and finished with a 1-Up victory. The whole round was a whirlwind, but the sheer intensity of these last three holes define not just this particular round, but this matchup altogether. 

9. West and Storm’s missed 1.5-foot putt to lose the match on 18

This is one of the single most significant moments in Danza history and certainly one of the most heart-wrenching. After a deadlocked back and forth match for seventeen holes, it all came down to a couple putts. Blue had a four-footer to Red’s one-and-a-half-footer to halve the hole. Blatt knocked in the putt for Blue, making the halved hole, and ultimately the halved match, all but a guarantee at this point. With a foot-and-a-half left to halve the match and give the Red Team a 2.5-1.5 lead heading into Day Two, both Storm and West lipped out to lose the match. You could hear a pin drop after that. The silence was deafening.

8. Storm’s Redemption

It is well known in Danza lore that Storm did not have his best performance at the ’24 Danza. Having gone winless with an 0-3-1 record, the record alone only tells part of the story. The main highlight being his blown lead down the stretch in the final round, and his infamously missed one-foot putt to win the Danza on the eighteenth hole. Following the gut-wrenching missed putt was the sudden death playoffs. In the individual portion of the playoffs, Storm’s letter was drawn, and he was to again go toe-to-toe with Blatt. He lost that too, and the Danza was over. It was a rough year and that final stretch would be enough to break a lesser man. But 2025 was Storm’s comeback tour. Playing his best round to date in any Danza match, Storm closed out the opening round for the Red C/D boys’ first ever best ball victory. Playing solid again in the alt-shot along with Trey, he picked up another victory, going into the final round with a 2-1 record. The final round was a rollercoaster back and forth battle with Blatt as it always is, and heading into seventeen, Storm was down one. With the hopes of a victory stacked against him, he was able to take the seventeenth and keep the dream alive. On eighteen, the Danza as a whole, once again, rested on his shoulders. Storm easily could have let the nightmare that was the year before creep into his mind. Again, a lesser man probably would have. But on this day, Storm’s mind was a steel trap, and unlike the previous year, he tapped in that final putt to win the hole, the match, the Danza, and the MVP trophy along with it. With a 3-1 record, the Danza Cup, and the MVP trophy in hand, his redemption arc was complete.

7. James’ putt bouncing off the flagstick in the 2020 Playoffs

Another moment about the 2020 playoffs, and this is the probably the most crucial of them all. Due to the covid restrictions at the time of not being allowed to pull the flagstick, the team scramble playoff round had to be played with the stick in. With a chance to win it all, James’ putt came in a little hot before colliding dead center with the flagstick and popping out of the hole. It remains a debate to this day on whether that putt would’ve dropped had the flagstick not been in the cup. It’s impossible to ever know what may have been, but James was a hair’s breadth away from now having two tournament ending putts in the team scramble playoff.

6. Felton’s dominant performance in hurricane level rain

What started as a nice day turned into hurricane-level weather in the ’21 scramble round in Deep Creek, MD. The A/C matchup decided to call it quits and close up shop after nine holes to head home and hop in the hot tub. They’d had enough. The B/D match trudged onward. The wind was whipping, it was torrential downpour, the temperature dropped to what felt like freezing. It became nearly impossible to even hold onto your golf club with each swing. The greens were no longer greens, they were a collection of standing water. It was like putting in a bath tub. And yet, despite all the elements going against them, Felton unleashed the performance of his life on that back nine, playing the best golf he ever played before or since, propelling the Blue Team to victory. It didn’t even make sense. It almost defied the laws of physics. And it would kickstart the momentum needed to complete the only ever 4-0 tournament to date, en route to the MVP trophy ceremony in his honor.

5. West plays spoiler on the 18th hole of the ’25 best ball round

Following the historic moment on the sixteenth hole that will soon be mentioned on this list, the Blue Team maintained a 1-Up lead going into the eighteenth hole. The boys teed off, and then a siren started going off. The course marshal came by to inform us all play was temporarily suspended due to an incoming thunderstorm. Seeing as the skies were still clear blue, the boys thought about just finishing up since it was the eighteenth hole and the balls were already in play. But, not wanting to risk getting kicked off the course, they abided. In hindsight, probably should have just finished it out, because it became a three-plus hour wait to get back out there…

The wait felt like forever. The boys had lunch, took about an hour rest on the couches, explored the gift shop, found out Hulk Hogan died, paced around the clubhouse deck for about an hour antsy to return, stretched, took some practice swings. Finally, they gave the go ahead to continue. West’s tee shot had landed in the bunker, and by now, post-thunderstorm, the bunker was soaked. He gave a forceful swing, but his club got caught up in the drenched sand and all he could manage was to dig it out of the bunker. Still no closer to the green than before that shot, but at least he was out of the sand. Despite good tee shots, Trey and James didn’t follow up with their best stuff, with James going out of bounds, and Trey trudging his ball along up the fairway slowly. From a far left tee shot, Felton had a great recovery and advanced himself up the fairway, looking to close out the hole and get the dub. At this point it started pouring down rain all over again. Despite the three hour pause in play, the pouring down rain, and his cold, tight muscles, West managed to tap every bit of strength, energy, flexibility, and power that his body could generate, and unleashed a 220-yard bomb of a 3-wood shot, landing it on the green—one of the best shots in Danza history. Following that, Felton chipped his birdie shot onto the green to six or seven feet. West rolled his putt up to tap-in range and cleaned up his par. It all came down to Felton’s par-putt. With the rain pouring down, he rolled his putt past the cup. The hole belonged to Red, and the round belonged to no one. But following Blue’s legendary moment on sixteen, that additional 0.5 points they left on the table made them feel like they lost, and for Red, obtaining that half point felt like the sweetest of victories. Those 0.5 points would prove to be significant, as Red would go on to win the tournament 5.5-4.5. And it wouldn’t have happened without West’s 220-yard bomb following the three hour delay.

4. Blatt’s finishing stretch of the ’24 Danza

As easy as it is to point a finger at Storm and call his blown lead a choke job, a collapse, whatever you will, Blatt equally deserves credit for his sheer mental fortitude and will to win. Trying to make a comeback when down four with five to play is a tall order. With the Danza in balance, Blatt put the team on his back, and began a string of holes for the ages, winning fourteen, halving fifteen, winning sixteen, winning seventeen… I think we know where this is headed… As mentioned above, Storm’s infamous missed one-foot putt on eighteen gave Blatt the hole, and the match, as well as the tournament, was halved. Tying the match when down four with five to play was a monumental achievement in its own right, but he wasn’t done quite yet. When the D-players were called to action in the head-to-head sudden death playoffs, Blatt and Storm would cross blades once more. They both had equally terrible tee shots that skulled past the green. Shots like that are a given in the D-matchup, the difference is how each man recovers. And when the pressure was at its highest, Blatt hit his best shot of the day—a high arching pitch shot to clear the steep hill in front of him. Still just off the green and facing a steep downhill grade of a green, Blatt followed with his best chip shot of the day, getting his ball to settle four feet from the cup. A downhill, slippery putt separated Blatt, and the Blue Team, from their fourth consecutive Danza Cup. Staying true to his hot streak and with ice in his veins, Blatt buried the putt and brought the Cup home for the Blue Team once more, and earned himself the coveted MVP trophy.

3. Storm’s missed putt on the seventy-second hole

Not to beat a dead horse here, but we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the putt itself. As already mentioned above, Storm had lost three out of the last four holes, and whatever the opposite of momentum is, was on his side. On the eighteenth hole of the round and seventy-second of the tournament, Storm found himself in a favorable position after hitting a perfect drive and watching Blatt’s tee shot go into the trees. Blatt’s second shot would hit those same trees. Blatt’s third shot hit those same trees. Following his drive and after witnessing Blatt playing golf in what appeared to be Redwood National Park, Storm asked Johnny if he should lay up. With a perfect lie in the fairway from 150-out and nothing in front of him, Johnny told him not to overthink it and just hit his 150-club. So he did, and he hit a worm-burner. Then he chunked one. His fourth shot came up just shy of the green but within putt-able distance. On his bogey shot, Storm lagged his putt from off the green up to one-foot, tap-in range. Despite playing ping pong with the trees to start the hole, Blatt had recovered well and had a great chip shot to four feet for double bogey. Standing over a downhill slider, Blatt confidently banged in the knee knocker for double to keep a sliver of hope alive. But with the hole, the match, and the Danza hanging in balance, all that separated Storm and the Red Team from glory was twelve inches of God’s green earth. 

As Storm was lining up the putt, Johnny thought it a good idea to shout “TO WIN THE DANZA” to add some dramatic flair, as if any further drama was necessary. With the other seven guys waiting with bated breath and without any say in the matter to the result, Storm took a deep breath, lined up his putt, and gave it a whack. Although I’m not sure “whack” is the right word. A feather’s touch? A wind’s breeze? The ball travelled all of six inches. About 99% of the time, most men will tell you that six inches is more than enough. But in this rare case, it was only half of what was needed. To date, it is the shortest meaningful putt that was missed at the Danza, and if you’ve been reading this list, you’ll have noticed the only other comparable one also happened on the eighteenth hole. I’m not going to say who was involved in that one. Completely unrelated, the Red Team lost both of those Danzas in the playoffs. 

2. Felton’s Hole-In-One

One would think hitting a hole-in-one at the Danza would be the zenith of our collective accomplishments. And if circumstances ended up just ever so slightly different, this moment would stand on the mountaintop all alone. The fact this moment is anything but #1 speaks volumes to the vast Danza lore created in such a short amount of time. In the ’25 best ball round, the A/B match was a shootout, back-and-forth struggle. With the Blue Team down one through fourteen, Felton had a silky up-and-down for birdie to tie the match on the fifteenth hole. At this point in the round, the C/D group, which had headed out first, had finished their round on fifteen, and were waiting at the green watching the A/B group behind them. With the A/B match all-square, all eight guys headed to the sixteenth hole together. Sixteen was a short par-3, listed on the card at 126-yards but playing at approximately 110-yards, per Felton’s range finder. Felton teed off first, and he hit as pure a shot as any amateur can dream of. Instantly, the guys started talking, shouting over one another, “Is that a hole-in-one??,” “Is that IN??” The sight of the cup was blocked out by a slight mound in front of the green, so nobody could tell exactly how good the shot was, but everyone knew it was going to be something special. James followed with a decent shot, but he missed the green. As it would turn out, both Red Team players had excellent shots, neither of which being more than ten feet outside the cup. With everyone still excited to see just how excellent Felton’s shot ended up, all eight guys rode their carts up to the green in anticipation. When the boys only saw two balls resting on the green, the hype and excitement for a potential hole-in-one was cranked up to eleven. Everyone started jumping out of their carts and sprinting toward the green. Felton arrived first, and when he threw his hands in the air and began running around the green, nobody could even believe him. Nobody was ready to believe it. Not until they all individually saw the ball with their own eyes. Once everyone had seen that little white ball resting at the bottom of the cup, the sixteenth green turned into a party, and a memory for a lifetime.

Coincidentally, Storm caught this entire sequence on camera, elevating this glorious moment even more. He had pulled out his phone simply to film the tee shots because it was a cool-looking hole. Little did he know what was to be in store. This shot remains the only time in Danza history where all eight guys celebrated in unison, allegiances be damned. Everyone had no choice but to reach across the political isle. Red Team and Blue Team morphed together into the Purple Team in that moment in time. It didn’t matter that the Blue Team just took a 1-Up lead with two to play, Red celebrated the shot as if it was their own. By all intents and purposes, this easily could be considered the greatest moment in Danza history, but there are two reasons why it isn’t. For one, as mentioned above, the Blue Team didn’t close out the round with a victory—it ended in a tie. And secondly, the Blue Team didn’t win the tournament. If even either of those two things happened it would probably be ranked #1. But without either, it shall remain at #2. I don’t know what it will take for any future moments to crack the top two, but the Danza seemingly always surprises us.

1. James’ 50-foot putt to end the ’22 Danza

The title speaks for itself. The ’22 Danza stands out as the most epic Danza of them all, and believe me there’s some tough competition for that title, seeing as nearly all of them go to the playoffs. But none of the others have quite approached the stratospheric heights of this tournament. This tournament belongs in a category all by itself. From start to finish it was as close as it gets, having so many wild moments along the way, many of which are on this list. All the twists and turns throughout each round led us to the sudden death playoff. Both teams had extremely long putts in the team scramble round. Red putted out from seventy feet and settled for a par. The Blue Team had missed their first three putts from fifty feet. It all came down to James, and realistically it was looking like we were heading for the head-to-head playoff, given the length and the break of this putt. With the other seven guys watching on, James buried the fifty-footer for a walk-off victory. As unlikely as making this putt truly was, it still somehow felt inevitable. The Red Team could feel it in their bones that they were about to lose. It was the culmination of all the wild events that happened throughout the course of the tournament crescendoing into this explosive, grand finale of an ending. Making fifty-foot putts are rare enough in their own right, as are walk-off tournament ending putts. But to have a fifty-foot putt close down the tournament in a sudden death playoff, I have a feeling this moment is here to stay at the top of the list for quite some time.