June/July 2013: CVS Caremark Charity Classic Issue

R W EA W O D .S U N NL EG IN S E O LF ER .C O M W

CVS CAREMARK CHARITY CLASSIC ISSUE

JUNE/JULY 2014

VOL. 4 NO. 2

BEST COVERAGE OF GOLF IN RI, MASS & CONN

2013 PGA Champion

TEE TO GREEN

Photo Credit: PGATOURImages

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Jason Dufner Making his First Appearance at CVS Caremark Charity Classic

Ct’s Cameron Wilson wins NCAA Championship, p.7

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COVER STORY EDITORIAL NORTHEAST AMATEUR GOLF INSTRUCTION NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RI NOTEBOOK HIGH SCHOOL GOLF JUNIOR GOLF WESTERN MASS NOTES GOLF BUSINESS PEOPLE IN GOLF KEN DUKE’S JOURNEY CVS CAREMARK CHARITY CLASSIC FIELD CT NOTEBOOK COLLEGE GOLF CENTRAL MASS NOTES MASS OPEN PRODUCT REVIEWS CAPE COD NOTES GOLFING IN SWEDEN GOLF TRAVEL TO KIAWAH ISLAND COURSE LOCATOR MAP AND MUCH MORE!

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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

COVER STORY

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By BOB DICKSON

CVS Caremark Classic Set for June 22-24

ery quietly, and we mean every word of that, Jason Dufner, has oddly developed what some might call a very popular cult-like following along the PGA Tour. He just plays his game, doesn’t say a heck of a lot while he’s on the course or off it, but folks who march along with him at PGA events have taken a strong liking to this southerner who resides in Auburn, Alabama with his wife, Amanda.

That’s why those who run the annual CVS Caremark Classic every June are more than a little excited about having Dufner make his very first appearance here in this year’s 16 edition of the Classic at R.I. Country Club June 22-24.

“I saw him a little while ago,” said Brad Faxon who, along with Billy Andrade, have co-hosted this event since its inception.

“Jason is one of those guys who can walk past you, nod to you, but doesn’t say much, but this time he actually said something.

He said ‘I’m excited about coming to Rhode Island, thanks for inviting me’ so he has been aware of our event. We are very pleased that he will be with us. And

it certainly helps that he is the reigning PGA Championship winner. For whatever reason there is little doubt that he ranks in the top five of the most popular golfers on the tour.”

Dufner will be joined in this year’s field

by Jimmy Walker, who last month was the FedEx Cup point leader with three wins and 6 top 10 finishes; Bill Haas, 5 time PGA Tour winner, Jonas Blixt, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Zach Johnson, who will be making his 4th appearance in the Classic (he won it in 2011) and Matt Kuchar, back for the 4th time (he won it with Johnson in 2011). This year Kuchar won the RBC Heritage and in his first 15 starts finished in the top-10, 11 times.

Hunter Mahan, Harris English, Russell Henley, Eric Compton and Bill Horschel are also in the field.

Joining that group will be last year’s winners Steve Stricker and Bo Van Pelt who blistered the course with a record shattering score of 25 under par 117. “I’d bet a lot of money that that record will stand. It was incredible.” predicted Faxon.

Peter Jacobsen will be making his 16th consecutive appearance. He is a 38-year tour veteran who does television work and last year received the PGA Tour’s famed Payne Stewart Award. Representing the LPGA will be Hall-of-Famer Juli Inkster, the 2015 Solheim Cup captain, young Lexi Thompson who is ranked 6th in the world last month, Suzann Petterson and Morgan Pressel. In addition, of course, Faxon and Andrade will be playing.

Still, despite having donated $17 million to local charities over the years, there were thoughts after last year’s tournament that this year might be its last. There were worries that everything was getting stale.

Not so, says Faxon and CVS CEO Larry Merlo, who agreed to a new three-year deal with Rhode Island Country Club during the off-season.

“I think what keeps this going,” says Merlo, “is the partnership and relationships we have. The work that Billy and Brad do to bring world-class golfers to Rhode Island along with the partnership we have with the non-profits. They’re out there

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

working hard to get 1,000 volunteers. Plus the dealings we have with our supplier partners who support our belief in giving back to the community. So, as long as that partnership continues, we look forward to continuing to host this wonderful event.”

This year’s Classic will be tobacco free.

There also will be a walking path around the course that will promote better health with wellness stations that will feature skin screens, exercise and stretching stations and nutritional advice.

“We just wanted to look at what we do at CVS Caremark and bring some of that to the golf course and make it educational for the folks and at the same time fun,” Merlo explained.

Added Faxon, “Every year we talk about keeping this thing going with the same energy. To simplify this we ask if we can have fun running a golf tournament and at the same time give money away. That’s it. After all, if it’s not fun why do it? But every year people want to come. We have a great field this year. We don’t have any problems getting great golfers to come here.”

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FROM THE EDITOR

J

une continues to be my favorite time of the year for watching golfers in our area. How lucky we are to have the best amateurs in the world playing in the Northeast Amateur at Wannomoisett Country Club in East Providence on June 18-21, The Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Ct. follows on June 19-22, and then twenty of the top men’s and women’s professional golfers will be playing at Rhode Island Country Club as part of the CVS Caremark Charity Classic on June 22-24?

Wasn’t it great to see a local win the NCAA Championship? We watched Cameron Wilson grow up and play U.S. Challenge Cup events and now to win the individual college championship is a great honor. You will have a chance to see Wilson as he has turned professional and been given a sponsors exemption into the Travelers Championship and qualified for the U.S.Open.

Jason Dufner was our pick for cover.

It could have been Jimmy Walker who is at the top of the FedEx points list or Matt Kuchar who is having a great

year. We decided that winning the 2013 PGA Championship and making his first appearance at the Charity Classic warranted the spot.

Robert and Traci McNeil recently purchased Woodland Greens Golf Course in N. Kingstown, and we did a feature on them.

The U.S. Opens in Pinehurst have a definite New England flavor, and Dave Adamonis, Jr. tells us all about it in his column on page 12. He took some of his charges down to Liberty National recently and we have pictures and results from that event.

We have travel features on Myrtle Beach, Kiawah Island and Sweden. This reporter got to swing the clubs many times in South Carolina, but unfortunately not in Sweden. Definitely next time.

There are many golf tournaments that we just can’t cover, but we will try to keep you posted on our scoreboard page. It’s always good to see your name in print, and we will try to highlight as many events as possible.

Bruce Berlet’s story about Ken Duke on

page 18 is riveting. A must read.

Please make it a point to get to one or all of these high profile local tournaments if possible this month. You will have a great time and see some great golf. Visit our website often as we try to keep you posted with what’s happening in our golf world between now and our next issue on July 31. Keep your head down and swing easy.

TRIVIA 1. Where did Tom Watson play college golf?

2. What year did Brad Faxon finish in the top 10 in money earnings?

3. How many tournaments did he win that year?

4. How many Women’s U.S. Amateurs did JoAnne Carner win?

5. What company introduced the two-piece ball with Zinthane cover in 1985?

6. Who has won six British Open championships?

7. What is the women’s version of the Ryder Cup? 8. In what state was Paul Azinger born?

9. In what city is the World Golf Village?

10. In what city is the Travelers Championship?

Editor/Publisher BRUCE VITTNER bruce@snegolfer.com Design/Production DEB BASILE Contributing Writers DAVE ADAMONIS, JR. BRUCE BERLET SCOTT CORDISCHI BOB DICKSON BILL DOYLE TOM DRENNAN ROB DUCA KATHARINE DYSON TIM GEARY TOM GORMAN RUSS HELD DEREK HOOPER BRUCE HUTCHINSON PAUL KENYON DR. KEVIN ROBY CAOLYN VITTNER Staff Photographers JIM CALORIO BOB LAVALLEE Sales Manager JIM GRAY jamesgray4@cox.net Account Executive ROY WAGNER Web Design SUSAN VITTNER Publishing Information: Southern New England Golfer is published four times per year: May, June, August, and September Editorial: Mail all articles, releases, and other items to Editor, Southern New England Golfer, P.O. BOX 10038, Cranston, RI 02910. Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All rights reserved.

Answers 1. Stanford 2. 1992 3. Two, the New England Classic and the International 4. Five 5. Spalding 6. Harry Vardon 7. Solheim Cup 8. Massachusetts 9. St. Augustine, Fla. 10. Cromwell, Conn.

Advertising: Southern New England Golfer is not responsible for advertising copy. Corrected advertising will be placed in future issues. © 2014. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

NORTHEAST AMATEUR

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By T.F. GEARY

Formidable Field Set for 49th Northeast Amateur

here will be no shortage of great players descending on E. Providence, R.I. later this month for the 49th playing of the Northeast Amateur at venerable Wannamoisett Country Club (June 18-21), but some of the top amateurs, including last year’s defending champion, Casey Whitsett of national champion Alabama, won’t be here because they have elected to turn pro.

In addition to Whitsett, individual NCAA titleist, Cameron Wilson of Stanford has turned professional as has top-ranked Patrick Rogers.

Not to worry. The field of 88 is still loaded with the cream de la cream of amateur golf.

Among those slated to compete are Bryson Dechambeau of SMU, who is on this year’s Palmer Cup team and finished ninth in the NCAAs, Jordan Niebrugge of NCAA finalist Oklahoma State and a former Walker Cupper, Roman Robdelo of Houston who won five events in nine outings this year, ChengTsung Pan, an All American at Washington, and Steven Ihm of Iowa, who won last year’s Sunnehanna Amateur.

Another outstanding player is junior star Sam Horsfield, a 17-year-old who won the

Florida State Am by 11 shots last year and is headed for the University of Florida next fall.

Horsfield is considered the top junior golfer from Great Britain and is passing up playing in the British Amateur to compete in the Northeast.

For the first time in many years the Northeast has a tournament chairman other than Denny Glass, who has given the reins over to Ben Tuthill.

Tuthill, one of R.I.’s top amateurs and the State Amateur Champion in 2000, has been around the tournament his entire life and has played in the Northeast four times, one of the perks of being the Wannamoisett Country Club Champion.

“Ben has taken on his new role with enthusiasm, creativity, intelligence and good cheer and I couldn’t be more pleased with having Ben as my successor,” said Glass. “I am confident he will take the tournament to greater heights. Wannamoisett’s contributions to amateur golf will continue to grow and be appreciated by all involved in amateur golf.”

Tuthill admitted that he wasn’t even on the committee’s or Glass’s radar for the post until he suggested it. “There were a few guys on the

committee who Denny was thinking about and I wasn’t one of them,” Tuthill said. “So I approached him to let him know that I would be very much interested and I told him the reasons why. It was a surprise to him. He hadn’t thought of me and Denny is not the kind of guy who makes snap decisions. I sat down with him and discussed with him why I thought I was the right guy for the job, one of the reasons being that as a younger guy I can more easily connect with these younger players today.”

Three members of the LSU team – Stewart Jolly, Smylie Kaufman and Curtis Thompson (brother of LPGA star Lexi Thompson) – will be in the field this year as well as last year’s Challenge Cup champion Brian Carlson of Purdue.

The Northeast has always welcomed mid amateurs into the field and this year is no different. Among those coming back are Todd White, the 1990 champion, who is coming off a great Walker Cup last year. Also USGA Mid-Am champion Mike McCoy and runnerup Bill Williamson are playing as is are Walker Cupper Nathan Smith.

As usual the field will have a strong local contingent. While Tuthill will not be playing,

his fellow club members, Charlie Blanchard (eight-time club champion and two time R.I. Amateur titleist) and defending club champion Dan Blessing, will compete.

Also in the field are defending R.I. State-Am champion and RIGA Player of the Year, Brad Valois, R.I. Stroke Play champ, Johnny Hayes IV, multiple RIGA champion Bobby Leopold and Cumberland’s Jamison Randall, who was the team MVP at Old Dominion this year.

“We are very excited about the field,” said Tuthill. “There are so many great players out there that we never heard of that makes putting the field together very difficult.”

He indicated that more and more junior players are getting considered just because they are so good. “We’re inviting more juniors now than in previous years because the players start so much earlier now,” he said. “We take players from the AJA ranking system and the Challenge Cup Champion (Carlson).

Stepping into Glass’s shoes was not easy in one sense, but in another it was. “Denny has left an incredible footprint in the event,” said Tuthill, “But also we don’t have to change much of anything because the template is so good.”

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By DEREK HOOPER

D

o you regularly read one of the many golf magazines? Do you watch videos online? Do you watch the instructional programs on The Golf Channel? If you do, then you might have realized that they all have one thing in common. They want you to believe that playing your best golf is a simple and easy process. All you have to do is a few simple steps and you will play better than you ever thought possible. The research in the field of motor learning simply does not back this up, and deep down you know that too.

The reason why all these mediums present golf improvement in this way, is that it gets you back for the next episode or to purchase next month’s magazine.

Their medium is infotainment, and increasing the size of their audience. There is not a player on a PGA Tour anywhere in the world who got there by reading magazines or watching videos. Does that

GOLF INSTRUCTION

The Secret to Lower Scores mean the information presented in these mediums has no value in improving your golf game? Not at all. But you must be able to decipher what is relevant to your goals, the tendencies in your game and thus your long term improvement.

You want to know the real secret to playing the best golf possible? Here it is: Stop trying to make your golf swing look like a Tour player and start working to improve your golf skills.

Golf is made up of a series of essential playing skills: 1. Control the ball well enough with your full swing that you can keep it in play 2. Pitch the ball onto the green from inside 50 yards 3. Chip the ball close to the hole from around the green 4. Be able to putt the ball into the hole in no more than two strokes each hole.

5. Have the mental skills that allow you to execute the above four playing skills.

How well you can perform each of these skills will determine your score on the course on any given day. So your first job must be to measure your ability in each of these areas and determine in which area you perform the worst. This is the area that requires the bulk of your attention.

This is a process undertaken by many Tour Players — identify the weakest link and work on it until it is the strongest part of your game, then repeat the process.

Improving any of the skills above will take an investment of time and resources, but the alternative is to continue hitting the same old poor shots and shooting the same old scores. Is that what you really want?

Over the next few issues I will outline how you can take a skills-based approach to improving your golf game. I will show you ways to assess your current skills and identify the weakest areas of your game. You will then be able to focus your attention on the things that lower your scores the fastest through drills that focus on skill development. It may be a different approach to what you experienced in the past, but then the results will be different also — lower scores this season than you have ever shot in the past.

Derek Hooper is the Director of Instruction at the Troon Golf Academy, Lake of Isles. As a Golf Performance Specialist and armed with the latest in video, 3D swing analysis and Trackman technologies, as well as a sports science degree, Derek designs coaching programs for serious golfers of all ages who are serious about playing to their full potential.

Derek can be contacted at 1.888.475.3746 or dhooper@troongolf.com.

Rising Star Jimmy Walker Age: 34 Birthplace: Oklahoma City, OK Family: Wife, Erin College: Baylor University Turned Pro: 2001 Jimmy Walker is one of the older players we have had as the rising star. He was an All-American at Baylor in 2001 and turned professional soon after and played in the 2001 U.S. Open where he made the cut and finished tied for 52.

He played in 10 events on the web.com Tour in 2002, but also played on the Canadian and Gateway Tours that year.

In 2004 Walker showed some of his skills as he was named Player of the Year as leading money winner on the web.com Tour and earned his PGA Tour card for 2005. It was two days before the Sony Open in 2005 that he severely injured his neck in Hawaii and didn’t really recover his game until the 2008 Q School where he earned his card for 2009. He has been a PGA Tour member since, and in late 2013 during the wraparound 2014 schedule he won his first title at the Frys.com in California. He since has won the Sony Open and AT&T at Pebble Beach and is leading this year’s FedEx points list.

He currently has 2014 earnings of $4,722,075 and is first place in earnings.

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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF

T

By DAVE ADAMONIS, JR

Wilson Wins NCAA Individual Championship

hree-time Challenge Cup Player of the Year, Cameron Wilson of Rowayton, Ct., closed out his collegiate career in grand fashion by winning the NCAA Division I Individual Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. Wilson fired rounds of 71-63-70 to finish regulation tied with Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans.

The Stanford University senior had a 6foot putt on the final hole of regulation to win the title, but his putt grazed the hole prompting a playoff.

Although he missed (at the time) the biggest putt of his career, Wilson maintained his composure. He was so composed he took time to seek out Schniederjans (a good friend) on the range to congratulate him on his play and wish him luck in the playoff.

After matching pars with Schniederjans on the first two holes, Wilson canned (the biggest putt of his career) an 8-foot birdie to win college golf ’s most prestigious championship.

Despite the amazing individual

accomplishment Wilson’s first thoughts were with his team. “I am proud of the guys. I believe we won the team medal by 9-strokes. We came here to win a team title. We still have work to do,” said the newly crowned champ.

“It was incredible. I’m so glad I made that putt,” said Wilson. “I was a little nervous, but more than anything I was really excited for the opportunity (to win).

I made it a point to just enjoy the day and everything that came with it.”

Over the season, the left-handed whiz notched 11 top 10s in 12 starts, capturing three individual titles, but none bigger than an NCAA Individual Championship.

“It’s a huge honor to win this tournament and to be on a distinguished list of champions,” said Wilson, who becomes Stanford’s third NCAA medalist, joining Sandy Tatum (1942) and Tiger Woods (1996).

The following day his enjoyment was tempered, as the Cardinal bowed to Oklahoma State 3 to 2 in a dramatic semifinal match. Wilson and Jack Nicklaus

Award winner Patrick Rodgers won their matches meaning one of Stanford’s other players needed a win to advance to the finals. It wasn’t meant to be as David Boote was stopped 3 & 2 by Zachary Olsen.

Shortly thereafter, Maverick McNealy lost a 21-hole thriller to Talor Gooch.

Moments after McNealy lost Viraat Badhwaar missed consecutive makeable putts on the 17th and 18th holes to lose 1 down and Stanford was ousted leaving Wilson feeling conflicted.

“It was a brutal finish today, but I wouldn’t want to be with any other guys,” Wilson reflected. “I am so proud of my team for how we played and represented Stanford. I have enjoyed my four years as a Cardinal. It is hard to believe it is over.”

Tournament Tap-Ins Three For All: With his win, Wilson became the 3rd Challenge Cup alum to win a national collegiate championship. In 2005, both Anna Grzebien and Jim Renner won national collegiate championships.

Grzebien led Duke to the team title by

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

Cameron Wilson receiving his trophy. he just qualified for the U.S. Open. winning the Women’s Division I Individual title. Renner did likewise leading Johnson & Wales (Miami, Florida) to the team title while hoisting the NAIA Individual hardware.

School’s Out: After a brief stop home for U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, where he earned a spot, Wilson will head back to school for final exams. He graduates on On Father’s Day and the next day he’s back east to play at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship.

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By BOB DICKSON

B

Jackopsic Surprises at Burke Memorial

obby Leopold, one of Rhode Island’s premier amateur players, one who has been involved in some of the top amateur events in this country (U.S. Amateur) learned a hard lesson at this season’s RIGA opener at the 16th annual John Burke Memorial Tournament—Never assume you are doing better than the rest of the field.

Leopold was sailing along toward his fifth Burke championship in his second round at Shelter Harbor Golf Club. It was a huge field of players in this year’s event, nearly 200, at both Shelter Harbor and nearby Misquamicut C.C. At this event the RIGA seeds players based on past performances. Shelter Harbor hosted the higher seeded players on the second day. Leopold was part of that group; he was the defending champ and after 27 holes he owned a 4-shot lead.

No problem, right? Wrong, Leopold struggled on his final 9 while unknown

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TOURNAMENT GOLF John Jackopsic; a Boston College golf captain who just finished his junior year was making a dramatic run over at Misquamicut with a stunning eagle on 17 and a birdie at 18. He finished with a 68 and a two-round total of one-over 141. He also ended his play way before Leopold.

“I didn’t have any idea I had anyone near me when I teed off on10,” said Leopold. “I was told I had a 4-shot lead so I kind of laid back and I shouldn’t have. I should have known better but I didn’t.”

After bogeys on 10 and 11 and a birdie on 12 Leopold still believed no one was near him, so he thought all he had to do was par his way home.

“It wasn’t until I got to the 16th tee that I found out there was someone over at Misquamicut who shot oneunder. Next thing Leopold knew, after a crushing bogey on 17, he was in a twohole playoff that he wound up losing to

the hard charging Eagle captain. What a stunning turn of events. It was 21-yearold John Jackopsic who reigned as the 2014 Burke Memorial champ, not the Wannamoisett veteran, Bobby Leopold.

Jackopsic had been placed with the lower seeds because it was his first RIGA event.

A Connecticut native (West Hartford) Jackopsic had recently joined Meadow Brook to earn playing privileges in RIGA events. His first appearance proved to be as dramatic as they come.

His first nine on the second day at Misquamicut wasn’t good--a three over 37.

“I just hoped to get back to even par on the back 9,” said Jackopsic “I made a putt on 15 but missed a birdie on 16.” Then came the par 5, 17th. Was it ever huge for him.

“That was my big moment,” Jackopsic said. “I had 240 into the green. I hit a terrific 4-iron to within four feet of the cup and I made the eagle putt. That got me to even. Then I hit a great shot to the 18th green. I had 200 to the flag and I hit a high, little cut 6-iron to within 6 feet and I knocked it in.” Jackopsic finished that nine with a brilliant 31.

Trouble was, at least for him; Jackopsic finished ahead of the leaders and had to hang around for about an hour before his playoff with Leopold would begin.

“It was tough to get acclimated to playing again. I came over here (Shelter Harbor) and joked around with everyone.

Then watching Bobby finish I had to refocus again,” he said.

No problem. Both birdied the first playoff hole with Jackopsic rolling in a clutch 15- footer to halve the hole.

Jackopsic then won it with a par on the par 4 second.

And even on the second playoff hole Leopold made a mistake. “I hit the wrong club on my second shot. I tried to get a little wedge in there but I should have used a hot gap wedge,” he lamented. A very delicate chip shot from in back of the green rolled downhill past the hole and he was done.

Mike Douillette, superintendent at the par three Firefly course, placed third at 144, followed by Jason Kalin (145) and Jamie Lukowicz (146). Jim Mahoney of Point Judith won the senior division with a 153 total (76,77).

So, in the end, there was no fifth title for Leopold this year that would have tied him with Charlie Blanchard for most Burke wins. Maybe next year, In the meantime, John Jackopsic, when it was all over and he was on his way to his summer home at Misquamicut, had to be a little shocked that he won his very first RIGA title in his very first RIGA event.

Good for him.

Burke Notes: This tournament raises money for the Burke Scholarship program and it was expected that $20,000 would be raised this year. Bryant College freshman McKinley Slade suffered through ecstasy and agony in this tourney. The first day he carved out a nifty 69 at Misquamicut but then ballooned to a whopping 88 at Shelter Harbor. After his first three holes on day 2, he was out of it after a 9, 5 and 8 start.

Steve Lukin of Wannamoisett recorded the only hole-in-one in the tournament when he aced the 160-yard 8th hole at Misquamicut. Dave Deverell of Triggs wasn’t a contender this year but he sure had a lot to talk about after he finished his second round at Shelter Harbor. First came an ugly 10 on the 16th but then just as quickly he righted his game and birdied 17 and 18, no easy task on those finishing holes.

John Burke Memorial • Gross Division Misquamicut and Shelter Harbor Partial Results: 1. John Jackopsic, Meadow Brook 73-68-141 2. Bobby Leopold, Wannamoisett 69-72-141 3. Mike Douillette, Crestwood 73-71-144 4. Jason Kalin, Metacomet 72-73-145 5. Jamie Lukowicz, Metacomet 71-75-146 5. Ryan Pelletier, Pawtucket 70-76-146 7. David Boggini, Shelter Harbor 72-75-147 8. Seamus Fennelly, Foster 74-74-148 9. Chris O’Rourke, Alpine 74-76-150 9. Kyle Hoffman, Pawtucket 72-78-150 John Burke Memorial • Net Division Wanumetonomy and Newport Partial Results: 1.

2.

2.

4.

5.

5.

7.

8.

8.

8.

Michael Botelho, Montaup 66-68-134 Anthony DeFusco, Ledgemont 66-73-139 Anthony Caprio, Melody Hill 65-74-139 Keith MacWhorter, Montaup 74-66-140 Richard Salzman, N. Kingstown 71-72-143 Mark Steffey, Cranston 70-73-143 John Wragg, Potowomut 73-71-144 Joseph Altieri, Jr., Alpine 73-72-145 Barry Clark, Wanumetonomy 71-74-145 Tom Fredericks, Rhode Island 71-74-145

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

RI NOTEBOOK Bryant Qualifies for NCAA Division One Championships It certainly was a banner spring for athletics at Bryant University. Six teams qualified for NCAA Division One championships and one of those teams was the Bryant Men’s Golf team coached by one of the truly great Rhode Island amateur golfers over the years, Charlie Blanchard.

In only his third year as head coach (he also was an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at Bryant for five years) Blanchard has produced two recruiting classes that brought Bryant its first Northeast Conference Division One title this year and its very first trip to an NCAA Division One post-season regional tournament in Columbus, Missouri.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs they were teed up against some of the top college golf teams in the nation (Oklahoma State, Virginia and Missouri) in the field of 14 schools and finished 14th overall. Still, to be able reach that level of Division One competition was something special for Blanchard and his golfers.

“No question, it was a great accomplishment for what the kids did,” said Blanchard, a five time winner of the annual Burke Memorial Tournament.

“Everyone is pleased. We hope to build on this and have this program grow every year, hopefully to the point where we can match up with the top programs in the country.”

First, though, there are those initial smaller steps like winning a conference title. “Going into this season I thought we had a chance at doing that and we did,” Blanchard noted.

The Bulldogs, with freshman Ryan Tombs of New Hampshire leading the way, captured the Northeast Conference title in Daytona Beach, Fla. The event was reduced to two rounds after the first round was rained out. Tombs carded a nifty 5 under 67 after the rainout and wound up tied for medallist honors but lost in a playoff. As a team Bryant ended up with a 1 under 287 total that was enough to give the Bulldogs their first Division One conference championship.

Now that the school season is over, Blanchard says he needs to tune up his own game because he anticipates another busy summer competing in local as well as some regional tournaments one of which

will be the R.I. State Amateur event next month at Montaup July 7-11. Blanchard is a two-time state am champ winning in 2002 and 2012.

Annual Ed Perry Sr. Four-Ball Championship You’ll have to excuse Tom Acciardo and Dr. George Pirie if they feel pretty confident in their skills when they walk onto a golf course as partners in FourBall competition. Pirie is an RIGA Hall of Famer who has won just about every major Rhode Island amateur competition.

Acciardo, meanwhile, has had his share of success over the years, but when they team up in the annual Ed Perry Sr. Four-Ball Championship others have to be clued in that its going to take some sharp shotmaking to beat them. This year was no different.

The Pirie-Acciardo team blistered the Crestwood C.C. course with a pair of 65s and finished the two-day event at 12-under 130, two shots ahead of second place finishers Dave McNally and Peter Sozek. And it marked the third time Pirie and Acciardo have won this event having finished first in 2005 and 2013. They are only the second team to own three Ed Perry Senior Four-Ball titles. The other two were Brad Faxon Sr. and Joe Iaciofano who won this tourney in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

Still, number three didn’t come easy.

Pirie-Acciardo and McNally-Sozek, playing in the final foursome, were all even the second day heading to the 16th hole.

Pirie had wowed everyone playing to a 31 on his own ball on the first 9 of day two. Pirie shot his team ahead to stay when he birdied 16, the same hole he eagled the first day. Both twosomes parred the 17th setting the stage for some dramatics on the par 5, 18th. Pirie made things a little difficult when he hooked his drive into a pond on the left side. That left things squarely in Acciardo’s hands and did he ever come through. His third shot to the green came close to holing out winding up only inches from the cup. His tap-in birdie clinched the title and the celebrating began.

Another RIGA Hall of Famer Paul Quigley and his partner Mike Soucy placed third at 137. Marc Forbes and Tom Goryl finished fourth at 138.

Leopold Qualifies at U.S. Open It certainly was fun games at this year’s first round of U.S. Open Qualifying at very windy Point Judith C.C. last month.

Conditions were so tough 41 players failed to break 80. But someone had to qualify for the 36-hole regionals at Purchase, N.Y. When all was said and done Bobby Leopold was the lead qualifier with a less than stellar three over 74 that included 4 bogeys on his final 7 holes.

“I certainly never thought that would hold up,” said Leopold when he learned his fate. Unfortunately he shot plus-3 at the Sectional and failed to qualify for the Open.

Quigley Injury Update Finally we can report some positive news regarding the debilitating left leg injury that has kept Rhode Island’s Brett Quigley off the PGA Tour for 4 years.

Despite all sorts of testing no one has been able to say what’s the cause and what kind of treatment will cure him, until now, says his dad, Paul.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

By BOB DICKSON “Doctors say they have diagnosed Brett’s problem as an entrapped nerve in the left leg below the knee,” says Paul. “And they believe they can fix it without surgery. He has started on a four-month program. It has been so very frustrating for him these past years. He’s working hard each week in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. Part of it involves deep tissue therapy. He says he feels a slight difference but it’s still early.”

Moran and Ford Capture Championship The OSWGA women’s golf association held two of its state tournaments last month. The veteran twosome of Ann Moran and Maureen Ford captured the R.I. Women’s State Team Championship with a 79 at Quidnessett C.C. while the Foster C.C. foursome of Laura and Michael Davert, Nancy Hefner and Peter Podgurski won the R.I. Women’s State Invitational at Agawam, Hunt had a low gross score of 150.

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By SCOTT CORDISCHI

W

GOLF COMMENTARY

Pettersen Returns to CVS Caremark

ith another CVS Caremark Charity Classic set to tee off at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington this month, we caught up with a member of this year’s field for a Q&A before the tournament. Suzann Pettersen is one of the top players and stars on the LPGA Tour, and here is our conversation with her: SNEG: Are you excited to be returning to RICC for the CVS Caremark Charity Classic?

SP: Yes, absolutely! Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I missed it for a couple of years but I’m excited to be back this year.

It’s always great to be back in Providence.

It’s a fun couple of days and it’s great to help out Brad and Billy raising money for local charities.

SNEG: What are some of the things that you have enjoyed about your previous experiences here?

SP: It’s such a fun tournament. It’s a laid back atmosphere on a beautiful golf

course with lots of character. But I love coming back for Brad and Billy. They’re not just two great players, they’re two great people and to see how much they do for their community and to be a small part of helping support the local charities and community is what it’s all about.

SNEG: You have had an amazing career to date with 14 career wins and you had a great year last year with 4 victories, including your second major. What do you attribute all of your success to?

SP: Hard work. You have to work at it all the time. As for my success last year, I feel like I have played very consistently over the past six or seven years but golf if a funny game where you win some and you lose some. Even when I’ve lost, I’ve been close. This year I have had my share of ups and downs and I have had to battle a few injuries, but I feel like my game is coming around and I’m coming back in good shape for the US Open which is the week before the CVS.

SNEG: You won your second major last year at the Evian Championship. How special are the majors relative to all of the other tournaments you play on a weekly basis on the LPGA Tour?

SP: In all honesty, every time you tee it up, you tee it up to win regardless of whether or not it’s a major. To me, the majors are more something that when you look back at your career when it’s all done and say, “it was great to win multiple majors.” It’s something that defines your career. But, honestly, in the heat of the moment, you don’t think about it because you try to win every tournament you play in.

SNEG: Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam is an inspiration for all women’s golfers. Is that particularly true for someone like you being from a Scandinavian country like Norway?

SP: There’s no doubt that, growing up, Annika was a huge role model for me.

She was one of the greatest players in the world. Ironically, golf isn’t necessarily one of the first sports you pick up in these parts like skiing or football (soccer). What’s been even better for me is getting to know Annika and playing with her in Solheim Cups and other competitions. She has been such a great support for me.

SNEG: This year you will be paired with Jonas Blixt. Do you enjoy playing with the PGA Tour players?

SP: I really do enjoy it and I try to take advantage of the opportunity because you can learn so much from playing with the men. I am a firm believer in learning from

Suzann Pettersen

Photo Credit: David Silverman

people who are better than you and, in some areas, the men are so I try to soak it all in and use it as a learning experience and listen to what they have to say.

SNEG: One of the things everyone enjoys about the tournament is the annual clinic where Peter Jacobsen entertains the crowd with his hilarious impersonations. What did you think of the clinic the first time you were here?

SP: It’s great! I fall off my chair laughing and need tissues to wipe the tears away because he’s so funny. It never gets old.

SNEG: What’s in the bag?

SP: It’s all Nike equipment. Nike VR irons, the new VRS driver, a Nike putter, Nike wedges and Nike RZN black golf balls.

Lexi and Morgan are getting ready for a match. Lexi adds lead tape to her 7-iron before play starts. On the fifth hole the tape becomes loose and falls off.

Lexi is unable to reattach it. Morgan says the club must be taken out of play. Is she correct?

Ruling: Lead tape is allowed to be attached before a round (Rule 4-1. If the club is altered during the round (tape falling off ), it must be taken out of play if it can’t be returned to its previous configuration. Penalty if using it after nonconforming—disqualification.

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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

HIGH SCHOOL GOLF

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By DAVE ADAMONIS, JR.

Dickson Leads Moses Brown to RIIL Title

oses Brown freshman, Will Dickson put on a display for the ages in leading the Quakers to the first RIIL golf title in the school’s history. The 15-year-old phenom fired rounds of 67-72 to post a 3-under par total of 139 en route to the individual title. He won the title in record breaking fashion walloping his nearest competitors, LaSalle’s Matt Corio, by 14 strokes, and RIIL Player of the Year Jake Bauer by 16 strokes.

In the team competition, Dickson led a second round Quaker rally to wrest the title from LaSalle Academy. The Quakers stormed back from a nine-stroke deficit to post a two-day, four-player total of 631.

Their total was nine strokes better than runner-up La Salle. Portsmouth finished third in the team competition with a 655 total, while Hendricken finished fourth with a total of 659. Only 4 teams in a field of 17 qualified for the final round.

While Dickson proved to be the catalyst, his supporting cast played an important role in winning the title. Brendan Blake posted a career best 74 in the opening round to keep Moses Brown within striking distance. In the final round, sophomore Riley Griffin and the dynamic female duo of Lily Zexter and Caroline Farber helped close the deal. At the turn, the Quakers had already overtaken LaSalle as Dickson buzzed the front nine with a 2-under par Larry Bird (33). Sophomore Riley Griffin chipped in with a 39.

Over the final round strong winds and March-like temperatures wreaked havoc on the field as only 4 players in the remaining field of 35 players broke 80.

Dickson (72) and Griffin (78) were two of those four players. Zexter (85) and Farber (89) rounded out the scores the Quakers used as they posted a solid 325 second day total.

Even Dickson succumbed to the difficult conditions, as he bogeyed three of the final four holes on the inward nine (which played more like the final stage of the Tour de France for Dickson (it was all but a victory lap).

“It was tough out there. I felt one-over today was like four-under yesterday,” said Dickson. “The wind was blowing probably 15-20 miles per hour all day long and it got colder as we went along. I bogeyed my last two holes.”

“I am happy for the school and my teammates. It means a lot to be a member of the first team from Moses Brown to win the RIIL Golf Championship. It is

something we will remember for the rest of our lives.”

TOURNAMENT TAP INS Lesson Learned, Bartolotta Tops Girls: One year after suffering a heart-breaking loss at the RIIL Girls Championship, South Kingstown HS senior Mia Bartolotta took top honors. The Johnson & Wales (Miami, Fla.) commit fired a 6over par round of 78 at Point Judith C.C. to best Portmouth’s Katie Um by four strokes. LaSalle Academy’s Bridget Hagerty finished in third place with an 87.

“Last year I had the lead after nine holes, but I lost my focus on the back side,” said Bartolotta. “This year I worked so much harder on my mental game. It has improved my whole life in general, between golf and school and my friends and family. I’m really just trying to appreciate the good in life.” What a refreshing take on life from a young lady with a bright future.

Coach Ransom Griffin with his Moses Brown golf team.

The Quakers beat La Salle to win first RIIL golf title in the school’s history.

Lombardi Love: For the 16th consecutive year, Cranston C.C. played host to the RIIL Championship. Owner Mike Lombardi’s support of competitive golf (specifically junior golf ) is unrivaled.

Back in the early 1980s, Cranston C.C. hosted both individual and team events, which were extremely popular with junior golfers (including yours truly). Currently, Cranston C.C. hosts RIGA, OSWGA and Challenge Cup competitions annually.

Bauer Power: Portsmouth HS senior and Johnson & Wales-bound Jake Bauer earned RIIL Player of the Year honors.

The award is presented to the golfer with the highest point total combining season long stroke averages and a player’s finish at the state tournament. Bauer finished the regular season with the lowest stroke play average in RIIL play and coupled that with a 3rd place finish at the state tournament.

Not to mention he also won the Challenge Cup Championship (a tournament which unofficially tees off the RIIL season).

Divisional Kings: Three teams finished the regular season with undefeated records en route to divisional crowns. Moses Brown (West), Bishop Hendricken (Central) and Lincoln HS (North) all posted 14-0 campaigns. Portsmouth HS won the East Division posting a 13-0-1 record, while Coventry HS and Narragansett HS shared top honors in the South Division with 112-1 records.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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By DAVE ADAMONIS, JR Hull, Khang, Cummings Win Inaugural Liberty National Junior A star-studded field of junior golfers assembled to compete in the inaugural Liberty National Junior Invitational at Liberty National G.C. and the stars didn’t disappoint.

Drake Hull, Megan Khang and Nick Cummings posted victories in their respective age divisions in entirely different fashions.

Hull, arguably the hottest male junior golfer in New England, held off a talented international field of players en route to top honors in the Boys 15-18 Division.

The junior from Rutland, Vt., finished with a 2-over par 146 total to edge Jimmy Hervol, Chandler Morris and Stanfordbound Jeff Swegle by a single shot.

Hull opened with an impressive 72 on Saturday to share the first-round lead with Brielle, and New Jersey’s Jeremy Wall. On Sunday, with the wind making scoring extremely difficult, Hull posted a solid 2-over par 74 despite closing with three consecutive bogeys. The effort was good enough to become the first winner of a tournament that is destined to be amongst the country’s top junior events.

“The first day I scrambled really well,” stated the recent Kansas University commit. “Then I came out strong in the final round, I was 2-under through 13.

I hit the ball really well all day, but then the wind really kicked up and it was a struggle on those last three holes. It felt like I was playing defense out there. And the wind even affected a few putts. After those three bogeys, I thought I might have fallen back into a playoff. The golf course is unbelievable,” Hull continued. “I’ve watched The Barclays on TV, but it was so cool seeing and playing it in person.

Not surprisingly, Khang was the only player in all three divisions to break par at Liberty National, firing a 2-under 70 on Saturday for an 8-shot lead over Vanderbilt commit Cindy Ha in the Girls Division.

As was the case for most players on Sunday, Khang’s final round was not as stellar. She struggled with the gusting winds and carded a 7-over 79. Despite the uncharacteristic score, she maintained her 8-shot lead over Ha who also struggled to a 79. Ha did strike the shot of the tournament, notching an ace on the par-3 4th hole.

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JUNIOR GOLF “I hit the ball pretty well on Saturday,” said Khang, who is the most celebrated female junior golfer in New England history. “It was my first time playing Liberty National. Mr. Fireman has done an amazing job with this facility. The views are just spectacular. The greens were really fast and in amazing shape for this time of year. Then you get to that 14th hole and the first thing you can think of is ‘Can I take a picture?’”

Cummings, who spends his off-season playing squash, was the only winner who did not hold the lead entering the final round. Davis Chatfield held the first round lead with a 3-over 75. Cummings entered the final round 2-strokes behind the Drive, Chip and Putt New England Boys 13-year old Champion. Cummings rallied over the final round posting the lowest score of the tournament in the younger boys division with a solid 2-over par 74. Chatfield couldn’t keep pace and closed with a 79 to finish 3-strokes behind Cummings in second place.

Tournament Tap-Ins New England’s Finest: Paul Fireman and Steve Napoli, two of the most respected individuals in New England and national golf circles were primarily responsible for the genesis of this event.

The idea for the tournament was sparked by a conversation last summer between Challenge Cup President Steve Feinstein and Liberty National owner Paul Fireman.

Fireman, the former Chairman and CEO of Reebok, was watching his grandson David Rogers compete in a Challenge Cup competition when Feinstein pitched the idea of a tournament. With Fireman’s support, the Challenge Cup brass worked closely with Liberty National Director of Golf, Steve Napoli and his staff to bring the event to fruition in a little less than a year. The inaugural Liberty National Junior Invitational featured many of the top players in junior golf hailing from 12 states and 3 countries.

Picture Perfect With an unmatched backdrop of the iconic New York City skyline, a round of golf at Liberty National is an amazing visual experience. The striking steel-andglass clubhouse is stunning as well. On Saturday it was framed by a rainbow after

a brief rain shower passed through the area late in the first round. Many parents were “snap happy” taking many memorable pictures of the amazing weekend for not only the players but also spectators and college coaches.

Cup and a tournament director for the Future Collegians World Tour. In 2012, Steve served as the president of the RIGA. His contributions extend beyond the golf course as well, as he is a soundboard to countless parents and players.

Khang, Walshe, Anai Qualify for US Women’s Open

Fathers for Cancer a Rousing Success

Reigning Challenge Cup Player of the Year Megan Khang posted a pair of 2under par of 70s to post a 4-under par total to earn one of two qualifying spots in the U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifier at Thorny Lea G.C. in Brockton, Mass.

Former Challenge Cuppers Alison Walshe and Lala Anai will be joining Khang June 17-22 at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in pursuit of the most prestigious championship in women’s golf. Walshe earned an exemption into the field by finishing in the top 70 on the 2013 LPGA money list, while Anai survived a 6-player for 4-spot play-off in Japan.

The 3rd annual Fathers for a Cure Golf Classic at Wannamoisett C.C. was a rousing success. The event coordinated in honor of Dave Adamonis Sr. and Thomas Fecteau Sr., who both lost their lives to cancer, raised just over $14,000 for three charities. The charities included Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Research, Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island and the Barry Gately Scholarship Fund.

Among the participants were Web.com Tour players Brad Adamonis, as well as local professionals Mike Capone, Michael Carbone, Kyle Gallo and Ed Kirby. The professionals each played nine holes with a different foursome of amateurs.

“Our fathers always thought of other people first. This is a fitting way for our families to pay tribute to them,” said Sean Fecteau.

“Supporting this event is a no-brainer for me,” said Michael Carbone. “My dad has had his battles with cancer. Nowadays everyone has been impacted (in some way) by this terrible disease. I was happy to help the cause.”

Strong New England Contingent Headed to U.S. Open 2011 PGA Champion Keegan Bradley leads a strong contingent of New England players headed to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club June 10-15. The trio of Fran Quinn, Jim Renner and Rob Oppenheim earned the right to join Bradley by finishing first, second and third at the sectional qualifier in Purchase, NY. NCAA champion Cameron Wilson earned the 1st alternate spot at the same site when someone dropped out and will be joining the Fab 4 in a quest to win the country’s oldest professional championship.

Feinstein Celebrates Birthday Steve Feinstein, who is well known amongst countless golfing circles for his tireless contributions to junior golf, will celebrate his 76th birthday on June 20th.

Feinstein’s list of contributions to junior golf is quite lengthy, as he has served as a past President and Golf Chairman at Ledgemont Country Club, he is a current member of the board of directors for two of the most prestigious national junior tournaments in the country; the Optimist International and the Orange Bowl International championships, he is the President of the United States Challenge

World Series Headlines Junior Golf Schedule The top tournament on the Challenge Cup calendar, the World Series of Junior Golf, headlines the upcoming junior golf calendar. The World Series, which brings together the northeast’s top junior golfers, will be contested on July 3 and 4 at Triggs Memorial Golf Course in Providence, RI. Earlier that week, another of the Challenge Cup’s top competitions, the Francis Ouimet Junior Stroke Play Championship (June 30 – July 1) will also be contested.

Of equal importance, a host of the most important qualifying events, for some of the country’s top national junior competitions, are just around the dogleg.

Qualifying for the most prestigious championship in junior golf, the USGA Boys & Girls Championships take place

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

JUNIOR GOLF

Reigning Challenge Cup Player of the Year Megan Khang earned one of two qualifying spots in the U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifier.

By DAVE ADAMONIS, JR

Dave Adamonis, Jr., Steve Feinstein and Liberty National owner, Paul Fireman

Jimmy Hervol, Drake Hull, Chandler Morris and Jeff Swegle with NYC skyline in background. in late June at various sites, with the tournament proper set to take place in mid July.

Arguably the best national qualifying opportunity for junior golfers is provided by the Independent Insurance Agents in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Players who earn a qualifying spot at these qualifiers earn a paid entry to the Trusted Choice “Big I” Junior Classic at the Pete Dye G.C. in Bridgeport, West Virginia.

The “Big I” will be contested August 5-8.

The Challenge Cup conducts one of their five national qualifiers, the Optimist International Sectional Qualifier at two sites in June. Over 30 junior golfers will earn a spot into the tournament proper at PGA National Golf Resort & Spa in late July.

The same can be said for the low sectional qualifier at the Junior PGA Championship. The low boy and girl from the NEPGA and CTPGA sections will advance to the national event in late July.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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By PAUL KENYON

PEOPLE IN GOLF

Kirby, 20 Years Later, Has Great Experience

E

ddie Kirby was 34 holes into play in the 75th Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich., when he paused to take stock of his situation. He turned to his caddie, Jim Remy, the Massachusetts native who is a former president of the PGA, to speak about what was on his mind.

Kirby knew he was right on the cutline to qualify for the final two days at Harbor Shores. He was in a situation that usually calls for nerves to tighten. But for whatever reason, Kirby was not nervous. That’s what he talked about with Remy.

“I told Jim, ‘You know what, win, lose or draw from here, I’ve had a great time.

It’s been 20 years since I played in a major.

This is so much fun. I’m loving it,’ ’’ Kirby said.

As it turned out. Kirby, the pro at Alpine Country Club, missed the cut by one.

He headed home as Colin Montgomery was on his way to breaking his victory

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drought in the United States. Still, Kirby, one of the dominant players on the New England circuit the last several years and the NEPGA Player-of-the-Year in 2012, had no regrets.

A few days later, back at work at Alpine, he felt even more strongly about the experience. “It was a great time,’’ Kirby related. “It’s such a great feeling to be in an atmosphere like that again. It meant a lot to me that my family, some friends and members at Alpine were there to share it with me. One of the biggest things for me was that my daughter (Marissa), who is nine, got to see me inside the ropes. It’s the first time she’s ever seen me in that situation.’’

The only difference from back in the days 20 and 30 years ago was the way he felt. His attitude was very different.

“Golf isn’t life and death for me anymore. That’s the way I used to think,’’ Kirby explained. “I have a family. I have a

job I enjoy at my club. It’s fun to compete now, but that’s just what it is, fun. It would have been more fun if I had made the cut and made enough money to pay for the trip, but that’s not the biggest thing. It was just an awesome experience.’’

One of Kirby’s friends who made the trip, John Nayor, told a story that summed up the feeling.

“I made a double (bogey) on 14 when I hit it into the water,’’ Kirby said of the problem on his 32nd hole, the one that was the biggest reason he missed the cut.

“John talked about how in the old days I would have blown up, but I just talked with Jim about how I couldn’t believe I did that. John said he was proud of me to come back and birdie the next hole.

“I really did feel different. I let myself enjoy it more,’’ Kirby said. “I put myself in harm’s way the first day when I missed five, five-foot putts. You can’t do that in that kind of tournament, but it was a great time.”

Kirby was part of a reunion while he was at the Senior PGA. He was one of four Rhode Islanders to take part. Barrington’s Brad Faxon, Bristol’s Billy Andrade and Newport’s Patrick Horgan all made the cut.

It was exactly 20 years ago when the foursome accomplished one of the great feats in New England golf history. All four were regulars on the PGA Tour.

New England has produced some fine players in the past, from Julius Boros to Paul Harney to Bob Menne. The area is very represented these days with Keegan

Eddie Kirby Bradley, J.J. Henry, James Driscoll and Jim Renner among the tour regulars.

Rhode Island had had more than its share of tour players. The Quigley family produced two in Dana and his nephew Brett Quigley. Still, perhaps the best of the glory days came when Faxon, Andrade, Horgan and Kirby all were card-carrying regulars in 1994.

Never before and not since, have four guys who grew up in the same New England state played the tour together.

They did it in 1994 and they did it again at Harbor Shores.

Paul Kenyon is the recently retired sportswriter from the Providence Journal and was their golf writer who covered the Tour in the 1980s and 90s.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

WESTERN MASS NOTES GRIGELY TO RETIRE: Mike Grigely announced that he would retire as director of golf and general manager at Edgewood Golf Course in Southwick at the end of the 2014 season. The Longmeadow resident will leave behind a 35-year career at the daily-fee, Sheep Pasture Road facility. “I am ready to say good-bye,’’ Grigely said.

“I thought about it more and more over the last couple of years. It’s never an easy thing, but I know it’s just time.’’ The Longmeadow resident, who turns 60 in June, is also a part owner of the 18-hole course. The East Longmeadow native was hired in 1979 for his only head pro job.

U.S. OPEN: Greenfield native and Taconic G.C. head pro Josh Hillman advanced through a local qualifier for the U.S. Open on May 14. Hillman carded a 70, to tie for second place among six to advance from Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudonville, N.Y. He competed at the 36-hole sectional round play at Purchase, N.Y., but missed qualifying by finishing +9.

HOLYOKE PRO: South Hadley native Chris Tallman is back home at Holyoke Country Club, this time as its head golf professional. “I feel like I am coming home’’ Tallman said. “This is where I grew up, where I learned how to play golf.’’

Tallman, 27, was hired in early May to replace Via Wightman, who retired this spring after nearly 30 years at the ninehole course. “I took my first lessons from Via, when I was 4, and I have developed great memories here,’’ Tallman said. “My father would drop me off here at 8 in the morning and pick me up at dark.’’

Tallman had worked one season as an assistant under Wightman in 2010 and most recently spent two-plus years as an operational manager at Golf Galaxy in Milford, Conn.

PAIR OF ACES: Four golfers, playing in two different groups at two different Western Mass. golf courses, made holesin-one on May 3. Craig Werder and Craig Vogel each made an ace playing in the same foursome at Longmeadow Country Club, as did Bruce Connell and Bob Thompson at Tekoa C.C. in Westfield. Odds vary by formulas used and circumstances, but Golf Digest estimates odds of 1.3 million to 1 that two amateurs in the same group will make an ace during the same round. And to have that happen, approximately 18 miles apart on the same day?

HANGING 10: Howard Koski of Hadley used a 7-iron to make his 10th career holein-one, this time an ace at the 148-yard 18th hole at Wyckoff C.C. in Holyoke on April 21. The West Springfield attorney has made a hole-in-one at all five par 3s – Nos. 4, 7, 11, 16 and 18 – at the Holyoke Course.

Chicopee C.C. The director of golf there spent 18 seasons at the municipal course on Burnett Road. He returns as director of golf to the nine-hole course where he started as an assistant under in the early 1970s. DiRico will oversee the complete and day-to-day operations, from food and beverage to maintenance.

TOSKI HONORED: Haydenville native Bob Toski will be part of an exclusive class inducted into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame this fall. The Haydenville native has already been inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame (1990) and PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame (2013).

The Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame has one existing class, inducted as part of the Massachusetts Golf Association’s Centennial Celebration and Golf Museum opening a decade ago. There was no formal induction ceremony for that class of Francis Ouimet, Donald Ross, Pat Bradley and Fred Corcoran. The other honorees in the Class of 2014 include: Ted Bishop; sisters Margaret and Hariot Curtis; Joanne Goodwin; Paul Harney; and Fred Wright.

Toski, who grew up just west of Northampton, won five times on the PGA Tour and was its leading money winner (1954) before retiring at age 30. Toski, now 87 and a teaching pro in Boca Raton, Fla., is also hopeful of his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. “I’d be the only person in the world to be in all three Halls of Fame,’’ Toski said. “I am in as a teacher, a club pro and I think I should be as a player. That would be difficult for anyone to do now, because no one does all three anymore.’’

AIC ADDS WOMEN’S GOLF: Frank Leja Jr. of Belchertown is helping make major strides for women golfers at the collegiate level. The first-year men’s golf coach at American International College has been a driving force in the establishment of a women’s program at the Division II school in Springfield. “I have been teaching and coaching in the area for 25 years and I’ve watched so many girls not have a place to play locally,’’ Leja said. “If you don’t play Division I college golf, you have to travel. There are very few choices for girls.’’

Leja was hired last summer as men’s coach at AIC, and throughout the interview process promoted his interest in

By RUSS HELD

Mike Grigely ends his 35-year career at the close of the 2014 season. starting a women’s program. He expects that the men and women’s teams will practice together at home course Ludlow Country Club and travel to concurrentlyrun, Northeast 10 tournaments. The Lady Yellow Jackets will join the first-year women’s conference in the NE 10 as a fullfledged member.

Russ Held writes a Western Mass. Notebook in each issue of SNEGolfer.

TEKOA RECORD: Former MLB pitcher Mike Trombley of Wilbraham broke the course record at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield, shattering a mark set in 1975 by the late George Paiva. Trombley fired a 61, a 10-under-par effort without a bogey at the Donald Ross design on Route 20.

The 2-handicapper at Country Club of Wilbraham hit 17 greens in regulation, twice birdied four consecutive holes and needed only 22 putts.

DIRICO CHANGE: Tom DiRico is headed back to Quabaog Country Club in Monson. DiRico, 65, has resigned, effective June 7, as director of golf at

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

15

By BRUCE VITTNER

I

Woodland Greens is now Kings Crossing

n April Woodland Greens Golf Course, the nine-hole course in No. Kingstown designed by Geoffrey Cornish in 1964 and owned by the Giusti family for decades, was sold to Robert and Traci McNeil of Saunderstown.

“We had been looking for a golf course to purchase and it was perfect timing, said Robert McNeil who has been building and designing courses for over 20 years.

“You know that courses designed by Mr. Cornish have ‘good bones’ and the greens have always been considered some of the best in Rhode Island,” he added. “From the first day we walked the course we saw the potential for creating a fine layout that would be enjoyable for all levels of players both men and women.”

“We decided to give the course a new name as a new beginning. The area where the course sits was originally called King’s Town during the 1600s and 1700s,

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GOLF BUSINESS

and part of the course crosses into East Greenwich, so the name was fitting,” said McNeil.

McNeil grew up in Northbridge, Massachusetts and played golf at Whitinsville Country Club. His high school golf team won the 1984 Mass.

High School championship. “I always wanted to be a course architect,” recalled McNeil who was designing holes in his backyard when he was 10 years old. He went to Bryant University and earned a BA in management in 1988 and played on the golf team coached by Archie Boulet.

It was at Bryant that he met his future wife, Traci, who was from New Jersey and was earning her B.S. in Marketing at Bryant. “We got married right after graduation, and I went to Ohio State University for their three-year Masters in Landscape Architecture program.

Traci found a great job in marketing just

outside of Columbus Ohio while I went to school.”

While at OSU he worked on a Jack Nicklaus design and learned all parts of golf course management.

After graduation he worked for Keith Foster Design making plans for course designs and doing renovations mostly in the St. Louis area.

McNeil then ventured out on his own and started The Northeast Golf Company. The couple and their two boys moved to Red Bank, N.J. where he designed and did major renovation work on many courses.

“We always loved the Rhode Island coastline from our days at Bryant and in 2006 we decided to move to Rhode Island and found a great place in Saunderstown,” he said. The couple started another corporation, McNeil Design Collaboration, and McNeil began doing work around the world. “I’ve done quite a bit of work in Romania where golf is like it was in the U.S. in 1910,” said McNeil who loves to be part of growing the game of golf everywhere and did the major renovation at Mohegan Sun Course at Pautipaug. He also has recently completed work at the Preserve at Boulder Hills in Richmond that will be a story in the next issue of SNE Golfer.

“We always wanted to own a course.

I love the action and the price was right and the location was perfect for us. Traci is the marketing manager for South Coast Hospitals in New Bedford and she helps with the golf course. My brother works here and my sister-in-law is running the kitchen and it is working out great,” added McNeil. Edie McNeil is running the brand new kitchen and plans to have a full pub menu.

“Robert and I have been talking about the golf course we will own for years.

The day has finally come and we are so excited to have the opportunity to turn dreams into reality. Robert has been working magic with land for a long time.

Robert and Traci McNeil He has been recognized by his peers and has earned awards for his designs. Kings Crossing will reap the benefits of his talent and vision,” said Traci.

“This course is a hidden gem. It has great soil. Dave Creta, former superintendent, is well respected in the field and we just want to take his work to the next level. We want to expand and recontour the fairways to make it more playable. I want to rebuild the bunkers in the Kings Crossing style, and we are going to work on the tees to improve playability,” said the enthusiastic McNeil.

“We did not know what would happen when we announced that we were taking over as new owners. Traci sent out a notice to current and past members that we were holding an informational meeting, and 80 enthusiastic people showed up,” recalled McNeil. “The excitement was wonderful and we have already held a couple of member tournaments that have been very well received,” he added.

Things must be going really well because this reporter got a call recently saying that Robert had gotten the first hole-in-one at the new Kings Crossing and three days later is son, Billy, who is 15 and whose first love is baseball, got the second hole-in-one on the third hole.

“We encourage golfers to come out and give us a try,” said McNeil who is adding leagues and hosting outings. Might be a good choice.

Bruce Vittner is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America and can be reached at bruce@snegolfer.com.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

PEOPLE IN GOLF

By TOM GORMAN

Jesse Menachem Named MGA Executive Director

S

ome say Menacan. Some say Mennachum.

However you pronounce the last name of the new Executive Director of the Massachusetts Golf Association, he’s gotten used to his last name being butchered, so, he won’t be offended.

In fact, Jesse Menachem, (men-ahchem) is loving every minute of his now seven-month tenure as the top gun at the Mass Golf Association, the seventh largest state golf association in the U.S. He becomes the seventh executive director in the MGA’s 110-year history. At 27, Jesse M becomes one of the youngest, and one of the most powerful figures in the New England golf industry, having been selected over 40 other candidates, most with impressive golf credentials.

“I am honored and thrilled to become executive director of the MGA,” said Menachem, who was born and bred in the Bay State, and was introduced to the game by his father, Marshall, at 4.

“I expect a short learning curve since I’ve been with the MGA for eight years, most recently as Director of Rules and Competitions. My top goals for this year are to make sure all of our programs remain first-class and to keep the lines of communication open with our member clubs and with our membership of about 84,000 players.”

Menachem takes over for Joseph Sprague (2008 – 2013), who shocked the local golf establishment by leaving last summer to join the USGA’s Regional Affairs Department in Far Hills, N.J. After a three-month nationwide search led by MGA president Clarence Bennett to replace Sprague, the committee decided in October to award the job to Menachem.

“There is no question that Jesse possesses the skills and passion to continue on what has been a history of strong leadership at the MGA,” said Bennett, of Longmeadow C.C. “We reviewed many applications, but we are confident that we found the best and right fit for this organization. He is competent and knows our system and we are excited about it.”

Menachem played golf at Framingham

High School and captained the golf team in 2004, his senior year. Earning a Francis Ouimet Scholarship, he graduated from Indiana University with a degree in sports management in 2008.

His local golf playgrounds include Wayland Country Club, Jupiter Hills and Stow Acres. He says he doesn’t play much, but maintains a USGA handicap of 11. The more important news for Jesse and his wife, Stephanie, is that the couple welcomed their first child in February, son Jordon.

A priority project for the new executive director of the MGA is to welcome seven new members into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame, located at the William F. Connell Golf House and Museum on the grounds of the TPC Boston in Norton. For the first time since 2002 a new class will be inducted that includes Ted Bishop, Margaret Curtis, Harriot Curtis, Joanne Goodwin, Paul Harney, Bob Toski and Fred Wright. A gala induction ceremony is planned for the fall. The inaugural class included Pat Bradley, Fred Corcoran, Francis Ouimet and Donald Ross.

“We would like to offer a Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony every two years,” Menachem explained.

“Massachusetts has such a long and distinguished golf history that we’d like to honor these golf icons on a regular basis. There is also talk of resurrecting the Tournament of Champions.”

The MGA employs a full-time staff of 11 and conducts 11 championships every year, requiring 40 qualifying golf courses, and hundreds of volunteers.

As former director of rules and competitions, Menachem figures he’s personally visited about two-thirds of

the 360 member facilities, and, knows many on a first name basis, which helped him ace his interview for executive director. The interview was one of his first job interviews, although in a way, he has been grooming for the big job for the past eight years.

Doesn’t matter how you say Menachem’s last name. All you need to know is that Jesse is the new driver of the MGA, and the outlook is bright!

Tom Gorman, a Boston-based golf writer, is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, International Network of Golf and Golf Travel Writers. He can be reached at teetalk@aol.com.

Menachum becomes the seventh executive director in the MGA’s 110-year history.

MGA BY THE NUMBERS 7 — largest state association 11 — state championships 40 — resumes received for Executive Director 360 — member clubs 84,000 — members

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

17

By BRUCE BERLET

E

Ken Duke’s Amazing Journey

veryone has a story. Some happy, some sad. Some riveting, some mundane. Some gut-wrenching, some heartwarming.

Then there’s the story of Ken Duke, author of a tale that would make Hans Christian Andersen jealous and who fittingly is the latest recipient of the Golf Writers Association of America’s Ben Hogan Award for remaining active in the sport despite a physical handicap or serious illness.

Equally fitting, Duke received the award for perseverance the night before his second appearance in the Masters, which was made possible last June by his first PGA Tour victory, a playoff win over Chris Stroud in the Travelers Championship. Duke prevailed 60 years after his longtime instructor Bob Toski won the tournament when it was known as the Insurance City Open, his first of 11 PGA Tour victories.

“I wouldn’t be here now if I’d never met Bob Toski,” Duke said during Travelers Championship Media Day at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell in April. “No one had ever told me the way to swing the club. I mean, the guy has played with Hogan and (Sam) Snead and (Jimmy) Demaret and all of them. There are times we don’t even hit balls. We often just sit, tell stories and talk about the game and certain situations.

“He’s played with the best. He’s taught the best. He’s just a special guy, and I will always have him to thank. Now I’m more consistent and trust where my ball is going.”

Toski, a Massachusetts native who watched Duke win the Travelers on television at Sherbrooke Golf and Country Club in Lake Worth, Fla., began working with Duke in January 2006 after the two met at a golf outing in South Florida.

“Come see me,” said Toski, who is the first living instructor inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame and whose students have also included Hall of Famers Tom Kite, Bruce Crampton and Judy Rankin.

And, man, did Duke need all the expertise that he could gather from Toski, who earned $2,400 for his ICO victory at Wethersfield Country Club,

18

PEOPLE IN GOLF

compared to nearly $1.1 million for Duke in Cromwell.

“I was open in my stance, but I would aim to the right and hook everything,” Duke said. “(Toski) said, ‘Why are you doing that?’ I said, ‘Nobody told me any different.’ The reason I remain open is because I have scoliosis. I can’t aim square because it gets me to push everything to the right. That’s just the way I learned to play. He just took the way my back was and the way that I had to play, and he kind of taught me from there.”

But Duke didn’t have any warm-up his first day with Toski, who is now 87. There was no getting loose, just get a club and let’s go. “He told me to grab a 6-iron and hit a few shots at a tree,” Duke recalled. “I always hit a draw, never hit a fade, and I hit three beautiful shots but didn’t hit the tree. He said, ‘OK, I’m going to show you how I want you to hit it.’ ” Second shot, Duke hit the tree. Toski had Duke swing more to the left to play a fade, and it seemed like every shot was going straight to the pupil. Duke doesn’t take the club back very far because his back won’t let him, so he isn’t long but is accurate.

“My stance is open because of my back,” Duke said. “The right side of my back sticks out. I was hitting way right or a big draw or snap hook. I was no good.

He taught me with an open stance to get that face where you’re aiming, swing where you’re aiming, not where you want it to end up. No one had ever told me that.

That was over 10 minutes.”

Toski would never take a penny for his lessons, so Duke found a way to show his appreciation. About a month before his first Masters start in 2009, Duke asked Augusta National member Danny Yates if he and Toski could be his guests for a round at the home of the year’s first major championship. Yates said yes, so Toski, who topped the money list in 1954 and had played the Masters five times, agreed to join Duke. But Toski’s last Masters start had been in 1955, when the field also included Hogan, Snead and Demaret.

“I couldn’t ever give him money,” Duke said. “I asked him, ‘Can I do one thing for you?’ He said, ‘What’s that?’ ‘I want to take you to Augusta.’ He said, ‘I’ll let you

do that.’ We were going down Magnolia Lane, and he said, ‘Boys, I haven’t been back here since 1955.’ I’m getting chills.

Then when we’re walking down the 10th fairway, he stops 200 yards off the tee, looks up and says, ‘Ben, Jimmy, Sam, look where I’m standing.’ I finally did something for him.”

Toski will make his first visit to the tournament that he won in 1953 to watch his friend and protégé defend his first PGA Tour title. He is also scheduled to conduct a clinic with Duke at 10 a.m. on June 16 at the TPC River Highlands practice range.

Everyone on the grounds should want to see that, players included.

Duke appropriately was born in a town named Hope, in Arkansas, the home of President Bill Clinton. Duke was in seventh grade when the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock diagnosed he had scoliosis and a 26 percent curvature of the spine. Doctors advised him to wear a stainless steel brace 23 hours each day, and Duke complied, even when he played golf. But after two years, the brace failed to help, the C-shaped curvature having increased to 52 percent by October 1984.

Doctors said surgery was imminent for the 15-year-old because without it, the pressure on his lungs and heart from the curvature could become life threatening.

On Feb. 25, 1985, the day of the surgery, Duke’s spine was at 72 degrees and worsening. Doctors attached a 16inch rod to Duke’s spine running from his shoulder blade to his tailbone. Once the rod was inserted during the operation, the curve of Duke’s back was set at 38 degrees, which is within normal range, and that’s where it has stayed ever since.

“I grew 2 1/2 inches,” Duke said of the immediate effects of the operation. “I was told I was going to have the surgery, and as a kid, you have no choice. You have the surgery and you hope it works out.

Thankfully, my body accepted it. I was in the hospital for a week, and it was this one floor I had to walk around, so whenever I had the strength to do that, I could leave, and it took me a week to do it.

“I was in a body cast for six months, but I had my life. I didn’t really care about any sports. I wanted my life, and I wanted to be just an average person and just growing

up and having a family. I didn’t really care about sports, and if anyone had asked me if you’re going to be a professional athlete, I’d have said no chance. I went into golf because I couldn’t play the contact sports. I couldn’t condition in baseball and football and basketball, so that’s what I chose to do. If I didn’t make it, I’d maybe go into business or something, and at least I could play a little golf, and most of the time that helps out in business.”

Amazingly, Duke returned to school only two weeks after the procedure but would convalesce for four months before being medically cleared to hit balls, though the driver remained off-limits because of doctors’ concerns about his over-swinging. But only five months after surgery Duke won his high school conference championship, shooting 77 as a 10th-grader.

In 1987, Duke was the Arkansas High School medallist and then decided to stay close to home to continue his education and playing career at Henderson State University. He led the Reddies to four straight Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference titles and was a four-time AIC Golfer of the Year. In 1992, he earned NAIA All-America honors but didn’t turn pro for two years at 25, the age at which Tiger Woods had already won five of his 14 major championships.

Duke worked in a pro shop for several years trying to hone his game and drum up financial support. He then began a 10-year vagabond existence, occasionally having to borrow money to pay the rent while playing in Canada, South Africa, Asia and finally on the Nationwide (now Web.com) Tour. He was so frustrated in 2001 that he thought about quitting, but five years later, he won for the first time on the Nationwide Tour and was Player of the Year, earning a spot in the major leagues.

He spent three years on the PGA Tour, with his best season being 2008, when he had five top-10 finishes and earned $2,238,885, a career high.

But Duke lost his PGA Tour card in 2009, hired a personal trainer to add strength and flexibility and returned to the Nationwide Tour determined to get back to the major leagues. Entering the season’s final event, the Nationwide Tour

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

PEOPLE IN GOLF

Ken Duke (l) with Bruce Berlet at Media Day

Championship, he was 37th on a money list in which the top 25 earn a PGA Tour card. But he shot a 10-under-par 278 in windy, chilly conditions at Daniel Island in South Carolina to notch his first victory since 2006 and finish seventh on the money list with $313,241 to regain his PGA Tour card for 2012. Duke finished 57th on the money list with $1,511,628 that year and then had his breakthrough win last year in Cromwell.

After all the hazards that Duke had had to negotiate, he hardly cared that he had to go overtime when Stroud holed a 51-foot birdie chip on the final hole of regulation as Duke watched on TV in a scoring trailer.

But when Duke’s 2 1/2-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole found the cup for his first tour victory in 187 starts at 44, Duke deserved several fist pumps as the sheer joy on his face lit up the Connecticut skies, even in the daylight.

Duke was the oldest first-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1995, when Ed Dougherty won the Deposit Guaranty Classic at 47. Duke, who received a call from Toski before the final round saying “it’s your time,” earned $1,098,000 and then wrote a check for $25,000 that he gave to tournament director Nathan Grube before he left the TPC premises.

“My wife (Michelle) and I always talked about if I ever won on the PGA Tour that I’d give back,” said Duke, who entered the Travelers ranked 144th in the world before shooting 12-under 268. “I don’t know why I picked $25,000. That’s just the number that came out.”

Then when Duke was voted PGA Tour Player of the Month ahead of even Justin

Rose’s narrow win over Phil Mickelson in the U.S. Open, he donated a $50,000 award to the Stephens Spine Institute in Arkansas. Duke goes with his doctor, Richard McCarthy, a few times a year to meet with children who are about to have back surgery, and Duke’s manager arranges for four or five hospital visits a year so Duke can meet with kids and help alleviate their concerns.

“When I was 10 to 15, I would have loved to have someone to talk to,” Duke said. “You’re getting ready to go to major surgery, getting rods and pins. I was scared to death. Back then, mom and dad said this is what you’re supposed to do, and you’ve got to do it.”

It certainly doesn’t surprise Andy Bessette, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Travelers.

“Ken is a caring man,” Bessette said.

“I always look for simple one words to describe people, and he’s such a caring guy. He’s a tough competitor, but he cares about everything; he cares about his family, he cares about his charity, he cares about the life and the world around us. I think it’s a privilege, an honor to have him as our defending champion.”

Duke’s win also made quite an impression on people from all walks of life, including Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, former UConn/Celtics/now Miami Heat sharpshooter Ray Allen, Charles Barkley, Greg Norman, Justin Rose, John Daly, Brandt Snedeker, Ian Poulter and country music artists Joe Don Rooney, Colt Ford and Mark Willis. They all sent text messages of congratulations, while Duke’s parents, Ray and Bettie, were inundated

with calls at their home in Arkadelphia, Ark. Duke was later honored on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

“It’s a miracle that he’s able to play,” said Ray Duke, who taught his son how to play golf and officiated college and high school football and basketball for 40 years. “It’s so rewarding to see him competing against the best in the world.”

Duke, an avid fisherman and country music fan who often attends First Tee events, was inducted into the University of Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame two months after his Travelers victory and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 28.

In between, Duke brought the Travelers trophy to St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., where he and Toski began their relationship. Toski examined the names on the trophy, taking special note of Hall of Famers Snead, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino, the all-time favorite in tournament history after his victory in 1972 and taking up part-time residence in Wethersfield.

For several years, Duke returned to Arkansas to host “A Day With The Duke” golf tournament in Arkadelphia and the “Ken Duke Classic” in Little Rock.

In 2009, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences established the Ken Duke Endowed Chair in Scoliosis, with funds from the charity treating spinal deformities, tumors and fractures.

Now the Travelers champion is trying to raise $750,000 to build the Ken Duke Golf Center at Henderson State. It would make his alma mater the only Division II school in the country with an indoor stand-along golf facility, which will include hitting bays, a player’s lounge and study area, offices for coaches, an indoor short-game chipping and putting area and an indoor hitting bay with swing monitoring equipment. It also will have a driving range, part of which will be open to the public.

“There’s only about 10,000 people in our town, two small colleges, and there’s so many towns around with only 2,000 or 3,000 people,” Duke said. “We could help introduce golf to special-needs kids, summer camps and the school, which now has a men’s and women’s golf team, which is awesome. Both teams won our districts, which we hadn’t done since I was in school in the 1990s. We’ve been trying to raise

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

By BRUCE BERLET money for about 10 years, so we’re trying to push the issue because I think a facility like that could help a lot of people. We hopefully can get it started this year.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the fund should contact Chris Kosiba, a member of Duke’s management team, at chris@meistersports.com.

Not surprisingly, Jack Nicklaus was the guy that Duke watched golf-wise.

“I’m very lucky that I get a chance to see him a lot because I live close to him, and he and his wife are good friends of mine now,” said Duke, who resides in Palm City, Fla. “You kind of get chills sometimes.”

Because of his age, Brandt Snedeker, Brendon de Jonge and Johnson Wagner jokingly dubbed Duke “The Godfather of the PGA Tour.”

“We’re all good friends and played together on the Nationwide Tour,” Duke recalled with a chuckle. “I always hit it pretty straight and got it around and beat them a couple of times, so they started calling me ‘Godfather.’ ” Duke now hopes to overcome a sluggish start to 2014 due mostly to an equipment change and suspect putting. Regardless, his win in Cromwell a year ago certainly improved his psyche.

“This tournament is a family place that just makes you feel like you’re at home,” Duke said. “Travelers can’t do enough for you, and a lot of tournaments aren’t like that. The first win was a long time coming, but you’ve got to believe in yourself. I’d been on all those different tours, and you don’t know how it’s going to work out.

Some people make it, some people don’t.

“Starting out, I never thought I could play on the PGA Tour, but the win just showed that if you believe in what you do, be patient and grind it out, good things happen. It was a relief on my shoulders, and you feel like your confidence level is up so you feel you can play a little more aggressive. I feel like I’m not just another player on the PGA Tour. I feel like I belong.

Guys respect me. A lot of guys know who I am, and that makes me feel good, just all the hard work I put in over the years. It’s just great to be a part of the big family on the PGA Tour.”

Bruce Berlet is a long-time member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and the retired golf writer for the Hartford Courant and writes a Connecticut Notebook column in each issue of Southern New England Golfer.

He can be reached at golfwrtr@aol.com.

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CVS CAREMARK CHARITY CLASSIC BILLY ANDRADE

HARRIS ENGLISH

BILLY HORSCHEL

MATT KUCHAR

Birth Date: January 25, 1964 Residence: Bristol, RI; Atlanta, GA Education: Wake Forest University Favorite Golf Course: Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, CA Turned Pro: 1987 PGA TOUR Victories: 4 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Special Olympics Tournament co-host Billy Andrade is the co-founder of Andrade-Faxon Charities for Children.

Birth Date: July 23, 1989 Residence: Sea Island, GA Education: University of Georgia Favorite Golf Course: Sunset Country Club, Moultrie, GA Turned Pro: 2011 PGA TOUR Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: City Year/San Miguel School of Providence

Birth Date: December 7, 1986 Residence: Jacksonville Beach, FL Education: University of Florida Favorite Golf Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA Turned Pro: 2009 PGA TOUR Victories: 1 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: The Learning Center for the Deaf

Birth Date: June 21, 1978 Residence: Winter Park, FL Education: Georgia Tech Favorite Golf Course: Friar’s Head, Riverhead, NY Turned Pro: 2000 PGA TOUR Victories: 7 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Save The Bay

JULI INKSTER

HUNTER MAHAN

Birth Date: June 24, 1960 Residence: Los Altos, CA Education: San Jose State University Favorite Golf Course: Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, CA Turned Pro: 1983 LPGA Tour Victories: 31 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Serve RI

Birth Date: May 17, 1982 Residence: Plano, TX Education: Oklahoma State University Favorite Golf Course: The Olympic Club, San Francisco, CA Turned Pro: 1998 PGA TOUR Victories: 11 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Button Hole

JONAS BLIXT Birth Date: April 24, 1984 Residence: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Education: Florida State University Favorite Golf Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links Turned Pro: 2008 PGA TOUR Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Youth Pride

ERIK COMPTON Birth Date: November 11, 1979 Residence: Coral Gables, FL Education: University of Georgia Favorite Golf Course: The Royal County Down Golf Club Turned Pro: 2008 Web.com Tour Victories: 1 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: American Heart Association

JASON DUFNER Birth Date: March 24, 1977 Residence: Auburn, AL Education: Auburn University Favorite Golf Course: Oakhill Country Club, Rochester, NY Turned Pro: 2000 PGA TOUR Victories: 3 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence

20

BRAD FAXON Birth Date: August 1, 1961 Residence: Barrington, RI Education: Furman University Favorite Golf Course: Rhode Island Country Club, Providence, RI Turned Pro: 1983 PGA TOUR Victories: 8 Champions Tour Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Meeting Street Tournament co-host Brad Faxon is cofounder of Andrade-Faxon Charities for Children.

BILL HAAS Birth Date: May 24, 1982 Residence: Greenville, SC Education: Wake Forest University Favorite Golf Course: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, CA Turned Pro: 2004 PGA TOUR Victories: 5 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Autism Project RI

RUSSELL HENLEY Birth Date: April 16, 1989 Residence: Daniel Island, SC Education: University of Georgia Favorite Golf Course: Secession Golf Club, Beaufort, SC Turned Pro: 2011 PGA TOUR Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Sojourner House

PETER JACOBSEN Birth Date: March 4, 1954 Residence: Bonita Springs, FL Education: University of Oregon Favorite Golf Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA Turned Pro: 1976 PGA TOUR Victories: 7 Champions Tour Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: March of Dimes

ZACH JOHNSON Birth Date: February 24, 1976 Residence: Cedar Rapids, IA Education: Drake University Favorite Golf Course: Elmcrest Country Club, Cedar Rapids, IA Turned Pro: 1998 PGA TOUR Victories: 11 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: American Red Cross

SUZANN PETTERSEN Birth Date: April 7, 1981 Residence: Orlando, FL Favorite Golf Course: Old Course at St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland Turned Pro: 2003 LPGA Tour Victories: 14 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Spurwink RI

MORGAN PRESSEL Birth Date: April 16, 1989 Residence: Boca Raton, FL Favorite Golf Course: Pine Valley Golf Club, Pine Valley, NJ Turned Pro: 2006 LPGA Tour Victories: 2 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Tides Family Services

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

CVS CAREMARK CHARITY CLASSIC STEVE STRICKER

BO VAN PELT

Birth Date: February 23, 1967 Residence: Madison, WI Favorite Golf Course: Towne Country Club, Edgerton, WI Turned Pro: 1990 PGA TOUR Victories: 12 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Arthritis Foundation

Birth Date: May 16, 1975 Residence: Tulsa, OK Education: Oklahoma State University Favorite Golf Course: Augusta National Golf Club Turned Pro: 1998 PGA TOUR Victories: 1 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Rhode Island Family Shelter

LEXI THOMPSON Birth Date: February 10, 1995 Residence: Coral Springs, FL Favorite Golf Course: Trump International Club, Palm Beach, FL Turned Pro: 2010 LPGA Tour Victories: 4 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Brain Injury Association of Rhode Island Photo credits: PGA TOUR Images & David Silverman

JIMMY WALKER Birth Date: January 16, 1979 Residence: San Antonio, TX Education: Baylor College Favorite Golf Course: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, CA Turned Pro: 2001 PGA TOUR Victories: 3 Closest-to-the-Pin Partner: Bradley Hospital

2014 EVENTS SCHEDULE Sunday, June 22 – Pepsi Pro-Am Rhode Island Country Club, Barrington, R.I. 7:00 a.m. AM shotgun start 1:00 p.m. PM shotgun start Monday, June 23 – CVS Caremark Charity Classic First Round Rhode Island Country Club, Barrington, R.I. 9:15 a.m. Opening Ceremonies hosted b Dan Hicks (18th green)) 10:30 a.m. First round tee-times begin (including Pepsi MAX Shootout) 11:45 a.m. All Kids Can Three Hole Challenge presented by Kimberly Clark (16th hole) 2:30 p.m. First round concludes Tuesday, June 24 – CVS Caremark Charity Classic Final Round Rhode Island Country Club, Barrington, R.I. 8:00 a.m. Final round tee-times begin 18th Green Awards Ceremony (approx. 2 p.m.)

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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By BRUCE BERLET

A

CT NOTEBOOK

Rainaud Earns Spot in Travelers

dam Rainaud shot 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes to win his first Connecticut Section PGA Spring Stroke Play Championship at The Farms Country Club in Wallingford and qualify for the Travelers Championship.

“It was a pleasure to win and one of the greatest days of my life,” said Rainaud, 28, an assistant pro at the Black Hall Club in Old Lyme who played college golf at Louisville. “I wasn’t hitting it the best, so I had to rely on my short game quite a bit.”

Rainaud finished one stroke ahead of Kevin Mahaffy (Pequabuck G.C.Bristol) and three in front of first-round leader Mike Martin (Tashua Knolls G.C.Trumbull). Rainaud won his first event as a PGA member and looks forward to his first start on the PGA Tour.

“I love what I do as a PGA professional,” said Rainaud, elected to PGA membership in April. “I always have tried and want to prove to the guys on the PGA Tour that a PGA professional who works 60 hours a week also can play pretty well. I’m most looking forward to sharing the experience with family and close friends. I’m honored to represent the Connecticut Section PGA, and my goal is to enjoy the experience and play the best I can.”

CURL GETS SPECIAL EXEMPTION Reigning Connecticut Open champion Jeff Curl received a special exemption to play in the PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial C.C. in Fort Worth, Texas. Curl, a member of the Web.com Tour, got the exemption mainly because it marked the 40th anniversary of his father, Rod, winning his only PGA Tour title when the tournament was the Colonial National Invitation. The past champions have two selections for the event, and Jeff wrote all of them looking for a special invite as a write-in.

“It’s amazing that I got it,” Curl said.

“I’d never written before but thought I’d give it a try because of the anniversary of my dad’s win and was delighted to get the invite. I even got to go to the Past Champions dinner.”

While hobnobbing with some of the game’s best was memorable, Curl got the

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET

Adam Rainaud most pleasure from making the cut thanks to a second-round, 1-under 69 despite a watery, double-bogey 6 on his final hole, No. 9. In four previous PGA Tour starts, he had made the cut in the 2012 Puerto Rico Open and U.S. Open, which was played at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, not far from where he was born on the Wintu Indian reservation in Redding, Calif.

“I probably should have laid up (short of a pond) instead of trying to slice a shot out of the rough around a tree that hit, but I really can’t complain,” Curl said. “I drove it so bad the first round (he hit two of 14 fairways) that I should have had 80, but I scrambled better than I ever have and signed for 71. Then my dad gave me a little tip on the range after the round about going back to hitting fades off the tee, and it really helped.” Curl closed 7172 to finish in a tie for 63rd at 283 and earn $13,440.

As of late May, Curl was 77th on the Web.com money list with $21,930, with the top 25 at the end of the year earning a PGA Tour card for 2015. Because Curl has status on the Web.com Tour, unlike last year, he won’t defend in the Connecticut Open at Rolling Hills C.C. in Wilton on July 28-30.

Cody Paladino, a two-time CSGA Player of the Year who won the State Amateur Championship in 2013, earned a spot on PGA Tour Canada with a tie for 20th in the qualifier in Orlando, Fla. Paladino closed with a 1-over 73 that gave him a 72-hole total of 296, vaulted him past 22 players and made him eligible for a dozen $150,000 tournaments.

When: June 16-22 Where: TPC River HighlandsCromwell (par 70, 6,841 yards) Purse: $6.2 million; Winner’s share: $1.116 million Field: 156 players Defending champion: Ken Duke Other recent winners: Marc Leishman (2012), Fredrick Jacobson (2011), Bubba Watson (2010), Kenny Perry (2009), Stewart Cink (2008, 1997), Hunter Mahan (2007), J.J. Henry (2006), Brad Faxon (2005), Woody Austin (2004), Peter Jacobsen (2003), Phil Mickelson (2001-02) Notable Entries: Jonas Blixt, Keegan Bradley, Angela Cabrera, Cink, Jason Day, Graham DeLaet, James Driscoll, Duke, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Henry, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Jerry Kelly, Matt Kuchar, Leishman, Mahan, Ryan Moore, Louis Oosthuizen, Tim Petrovic, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Brendon Todd, Watson, Mike Weir.

Schedule of Events Weeklong: Military Appreciation presented by Saint Francis Care; Subway Fan Zone; Farmington Bank Kids Zone; Fox Sports 1410 presents the Paul Nanos Show; 97-9 ESPN presents an afternoon live broadcast Monday, June 16: Opening ceremony, first tee, 9 a.m.; Bob Toski clinic with Duke, practice range, 10 a.m.; Aetna Tournament Players Pro-Am, 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 17: Practice round for pros; Farmington Bank Family Day; Drive, Chip and Putt local qualifying; Web.com Small Business Summit; Operation Shower presented

by ConnectiCare; PGA Tour player experience for junior golfers at The First Tee of Connecticut Krapek Family Learning Links and TPC River Highlands practice facility, 5 p.m.

Wednesday, June 18: Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am, 6:50 a.m. off first and 10th tees; FML CPA Celebrity Mini Golf Tournament, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. shotguns; Greatblue, PGA Tour Wives and Make-a-Wish Mini Golf, Subway Fan Zone, 1 p.m.; Mystic Aquarium Pro-Am, The Misquamicut Club, Westerly, R.I., 1 p.m.

Thursday, June 19: Tournament first round, 7 a.m. off first and 10th tees; Women’s Day presented by Travelers, Pro-Am tent, 8-10:30 a.m.; Hype’s Tee It Up for Charity, Pro-Am tent, 5:30-9 p.m.

Friday, June 20: Tournament second round, 7 a.m. off first and 10th tees (cut to low 70 and ties); Powerstation Events concert series featuring Little River Band, Subway Fan Zone, 78:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 21: Tournament third round, 9 a.m. off first tee; Powerstation Events concert series featuring Jefferson Starship, Subway Fan Zone, 7-8:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 22: Tournament final round, 9 a.m. off first tee; closing ceremony, 18th green, 6 p.m.

Tickets: $20-29 advance purchase before June 16 and $25-39 during tournament week; children 15 and under admitted free when accompanied by an adult; senior discount available for patrons 60 and older Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel; Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m., Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m., CBS Beneficiaries: More than 150 local charities under Greater Hartford Community Foundation Inc. On-site parking: $8 in advance, $10 at the gate; lots open at 6 a.m. daily For more information, visit www. travelerschampionship.com.

Continued on p. 32 22

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

THE PGA TOUR IS COMING 速

JUNE 16-22

TPC RIVER HIGHLANDS

HUNTER MAHAN

BUBBA WATSON

KEN DUKE

BRANDT SNEDEKER

DUSTIN JOHNSON

MATT KUCHAR

JASON DAY

ZACH JOHNSON

PATRICK REED

KEEGAN BRADLEY

BUY TICKETS NOW! | Tickets are $29 when purchased in advance TRAVELERSCHAMPIONSHIP.COM | TICKETS: 866-840-8821 SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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By TOM DRENNAN

F

COLLEGE GOLF

New England Well-Represented in NCAA Division I Golf Championship

ive Division I golfers with New England ties and one New England team qualified for NCAA postseason tournament play, led by former U.S. Challenge Cup Player of the Year, Stanford’s Cameron Wilson (Rowayton , CT) who was the National Champion.

Three of the other four players won their conference tournaments and one was named as an ‘at-large’ representative to earn slots in NCAA Regionals. Leading the list was Hartford’s Evan Russell who exploded on the scene last summer when he won the New England Amateur Championship.

He dominated New England college golf all year and finished ranked ninth in the nation in the collegiate golf rankings.

Hartford head coach Pete Stankovich said, “Evan’s selection is the culmination of his solid play all season. We are very proud of his accomplishments.”

The three conference winners include sophomore Alex Taylor from Fairfield University (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) who is just the second Fairfield player to qualify for NCAA Regional play. Taylor played in the Columbia, Mo. Regional. Junior Peter Ballo from Sacred Heart Heart who had won the Rhody Invitational at Green Valley the month before, won the Northeast Conference Championship and played in the San Antonia, TX Regional. Harvard senior Theo Lederhausen needed an extra hole in the Ivy League Championship at Baltustrol to defeat Brown senior Nelson Hargrave.

Bryant Qualifies for NCAA Bryant University beat Fairleigh Dickinson University by eight strokes to win the Northeast Conference Tournament

and qualified for NCAA Regional play in Columbia, Missouri. While it was the first Division appearance for Bryant and its coach Charlie Blanchard, it followed a great tradition of Division II NCAA Championship play under Bryant’s legendary coach Archie Boulet.

Brown Women Finish Fourth The Brown Women’s Golf Team finished fourth in their Annual Invitational. This event was held for the fourth year at the Par 71, 6,000 yard Metacomet Country Club in East Providence, R.I. Despite wind gusts of 35-40 mph, the Harvard women shot a two day total of 628 followed by Boston University’s 648. Fairleigh Dickinson shot a 658 with Brown hot on their heels shooting 659.

Brown Junior, Stephanie Hsieh paced Brown finishing seventh, battling high winds to shoot 160. The Brown Invitational, in four short years, has become one of the Northeast top women’s collegiate golf tournaments. This year’s champions, Harvard, completed their spring schedule as one of the top teams in the east.

URI Mounts Furious Comeback to Win Rhody Invitational After shooting 25-over par in the first round of the Rhody Invitational (April 56) played at Green Valley Country Club (par 71/6,830 yards), the University of Rhode made a 21-stroke improvement in the second round to move from fifth place to the winner’s circle. On Day 1, Sacred Heart led the way with a 303 total, followed

by Bryant and Williams (305). On Day 2 Coventry sophomore Seamus Fennelly (76-71, third place) helped fuel the charge

shooting even par and was followed closely

by Atkinson, NC sophomore Joe Leavitt (74-72-146, second place), Longmeadow, MA freshman Billy Walthouse (79-72151, ninth place), Cranston, RI senior Andrew Fiorenzano (80-73-153, 14th place) and Windham, NH sophomore Nick Fairweather (80-83-163, 37th place). Sacred Heart finished second, led by medalist Peter Ballo (72-74-145).

Bryant finished third and Williams fourth.

Head Coach Gregg Burke said ‘this was a total team effort and a credit to how hard the guys worked all winter in the weight room. It was encouraging to see three sophomores and a freshman perform so well after such a slow start.

Hartford University Dominates in New England Division I Championship Hartford University led wire-to-wire in dominating the field at the New England Division I Championship April 12-13 at the Mohegan Sun Country Club at Pautipaug. Sacred Heart’s Peter Ballo, who had won a week earlier at the Rhody Invitational shot a tournament low 65 in the first round to set the pace. He followed that effort with a second round 70 for nineunder and the Joe Prisco Medlaist Trophy.

Superstar Evan Russell of Hartford shot 70 in the first round but came roaring back with a 66 in the second to finish one behind Ballo. Hartford teammate Will Betts shot 69-72-141 to tie UConn’s Chris Wiatr (72-69-141) for third. The Russell-Betts combination of 11 under led Hartford to the title. UConn was 10 strokes back, Sacred Hearts 19 back and URI 25 shy of Hartford.

For breaking local golf stories visit www.snegolfer.com and click “Breaking Stories.”

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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

CENTRAL MASS NOTEBOOK Dave Kocur remains as pro shop manager, a position he’s held since Johnson worked at the club the first time around.

THE SHAKER FINISH

JOHNSON RETURNS TO BLISSFUL MEADOWS Dave Johnson has returned as head pro at Blissful Meadows G.C. in Uxbridge after being away for more than a decade.

Blissful selected Johnson from a pool of 30 applicants to replace Matt Griffith, who left the club this spring to become head pro at Whitinsville G.C. Johnson showed up at a members’ kickoff tournament at the club two days before he started in May. “It was just a great thing,” club manager Mark Laskowski said, “with everybody hugging him and welcoming him back and high-fiving him. They were just so excited to see him. It was just crazy. Grown men were acting like little kids. It was pretty cool.”

“The older members that recognized me pretty much welcomed me with open arms,” Johnson said. “It was awesome.”

Johnson started at Blissful as an assistant pro in 1997 before becoming co-head pro with Joe Griffin from 2001-03. “A lot of our members who are still here,” Laskowski said, “They love him to death.

Everybody respected Dave here and he’s an unbelievable teacher as well. All around, he’s just a great professional.”

Johnson left to become an assistant pro at Newport National, a private club in Middletown, R.I., and served as Newport National’s head pro from 2008-09. After a year of teaching at Swansea C.C. and advising Bay Pointe C.C. through a foreclosure, Johnson ran the golf department at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Leominster. Even though he’ll have to work six or seven days instead of five, Johnson was anxious to return to a country club. “At Dick’s Sporting Goods, it’s a lot of fun doing all the fittings and stuff,” Johnson said, “but you’re inside.”

Golfers have appreciated the improvements Fred “Skip” Curtis has made the past two years since he purchased Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard in a foreclosure auction.

“No question,” Curtis said, “We made a name for ourselves and people responded to that and have come back and not just looked forward to a single tee time, but brought their companies, which is great.”

Curtis said despite the sub-par weather, Shaker has been busier this season. The number of members, daily fee players, outings and weddings are all up. Curtis spruced up the course and redesigned the 18th hole from a par-4 to a dogleg par5 that finishes on the former practice green. Then he had a deck built atop the clubhouse to overlook the 18th green.

“It went great,” Curtis said. “I think it exceeded expectations. We achieved a goal of a higher end, unique course. We had tremendous response and acceptance of the changes, the finishing hole in particular.”

Shaker airs video in the clubhouse of each group playing the 18th hole. “The video has been a big hit,” Curtis said. “On the 18th tee, before they even tee off, I think people will be fixing their collars and tucking in their shirts.”

Curtis said the response to what he calls, “the Shaker finish,” has been so positive, the club has received several requests for CDs or photos of golfers playing 18. Curtis is exploring the idea of either delaying the video so golfers can go to the clubhouse and watch themselves play 18 or streaming the video on YouTube.

The Symetra Tour, the developmental tour for the LPGA Tour, approached Curtis about hosting an event this season, but he would have had to close the club to the public for a week so he decided against it. “I wouldn’t rule it out in the future,” Curtis said.

Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury is in her second year on the Symetra Tour.

members, Chucky Hall and David Welch.

Hall, formerly of Millbury, died in 2012.

Welch, who lived in a home next to the course, died in December.

At the urging of members, Shining Rock has added a fifth set of tees. Golfers who found the 5,759-yard white tees too short and the 6,401 blue tees too long can play the 6,146-yard green tees. There are also the 6,709-yard gold tees and the 5,070yard red tees.

INTERNATIONAL OPEN TO ALL The Oaks Course at the International Golf Club in Bolton has been open to the public for three years, but few people know that.

“One of the big things we’ve always fought,” International director of golf Chris Kasheta said, “is the fact that everybody always thought, ‘Oh, the International, I can’t go there.’ We’re still working on ways to crack that and find ways to get people out here.”

By BILL DOYLE

The Oaks, a Tom Fazio design that opened in 2001, used to be limited to members and the older Pines Course, which at more than 8,000 yards is the longest course in North America, still is.

The Oaks began allowing public play to generate revenue. The club’s restaurant, the Fireplace Room, is also open to the public.

The International has also begun hosting more concerts, weddings and other events open to the public.

“We have just a big facility,” Kasheta said, “and we’d like to let people know that we’re accessible and available to them.”

SETTLERS HAS GREAT SEASON Laura Gustus said business improved by a third last season in the first year of new ownership at Settlers Crossing G.C. in Lunenburg. Laura and Bill Gustus and Don Lyons purchased the former Maplewood GC from Joe Benevento in November of 2012, renamed the course, renovated the clubhouse, received a liquor license in July and spruced up the course, including removing about a dozen trees.

SHINING ROCK ADDS FIFTH SET OF TEES Shining Rock G.C. in Northbridge has named the two divisions of its Wednesday night members league after two deceased

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

25

By KATHARINE DYSON

T

America’s Golfing Ladies Earn Top Seed for International Crown

wo years ago when I wrote about the makeup of the ladies golf scene, Asians dominated the field.

In the top 20 on the official money list eight were Koreans and just four were Americans. Not any more.

As of today, three of the top five official money winners are from the U.S.: Stacy Lewis ($833,976), Michelle Wie ($738,693) and Lexi Thompson ($524,233). In the top twenty, half are Americans, a huge swing for U.S. women boding well for U.S. chances in the International Crown Tournament debuting July 24-27 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Whereas the Solheim Cup teams the top U.S. golfing women against Europe’s leading players effectively locking out Asian players, the International Crown allows all countries to have a shot at being named the best ladies golf team in the world. The tournament includes three days of pool play with teams playing against each other in various formats. The team with the most points over the four days gets the crown.

Eight countries and 32 players will compete in the Tournament to be held every two years. Qualifying team members are chosen based on the merits of the combined official world ranking of their top four players. Countries that qualified to take part in this first event include

26

WOMEN’S GOLF

Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the United States.

When Michael Whan, LPGA Commissioner, announced the new tournament at last year’s PGA Merchandise Show, he created a lot of positive vibes that are sure to translate into an increased interest in women’s golf.

“It was just a matter of time,” said Stacy Lewis.

“I would love to wear the uniform of my country,” added Yani Tseng, a perky player from Chinese Taipei. “I’ve never really played for my country before. It’s going to be very exciting.”

In a press conference following the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the final qualifying event for the “Crown,” Kraig Kann of the LPGA commented on the importance of the win by Lexi Thompson.

“On the team side of things, there was the battle for the top overall seed,” said Kann. At stake as the United States closed in on South Korea was one world ranking point. By winning, Lexi moved from 10 to 9 in the Rolex women’s world ranking on the very last day so that the United States ultimately edged out South Korea for the top overall seed by the slimmest of margins.

Top players competing include Stacy Lewis representing the red, white and blue, Na Yeon Choi for South Korea, Ai

Miyazato for Japan, Moriya Jutanugarn for Thailand, Beatriz Recari for Spain, Pernilla Lindberg for Sweden, Candie Kung for Chinese Taipei and Karrie Webb for Australia.

When asked what they were most excited about, Jutanugarn said, “I’m really glad that we are one of the eight teams because it’s very exciting when you wait till the cut and it’s like, Wow, we’re in!”

Miyazato said, “Obviously I knew it was going to be a really huge tournament, but now I realize it’s going to be tough matches against any country. It’s going to be really fun.”

Speaking for the South Koreans, Choi said, “I think USA has a lot (more) of pressure now. But it’s all fun for each other, for each country.”

Turning to Stacy Lewis Kann asked, “I remember a few years ago people were talking about why the Americans hadn’t stepped up. There weren’t enough American players in the winner’s circle. But things seemed to have changed. You have made a huge run over the last few months to become the number one seed. What does that state about American golf?”

“I’ve been beating my head against the wall saying that for the last year and a half and nobody would write about it,” replied Lewis. I’ve been saying American golf is in a really good place. The way Lexi, Paula and even Christie have played in the last few weeks, shows we’re in a great place right now. It’s nice to get that number one seed and to prove to people that we’re here and we’re competing.

“It was hard to make the team. Kerr ended up 12 or 13 in the world so she had to play really good golf to be a part of the team. To represent your country is really such an honor.”

Since the teams were announced, American women have won two more

As of today, three of the top five official money winners are from the U.S. Lexi Thompson is one of them.

Photo Credit: David Silverman

tournaments: Michelle Wie took the honors at the LPGA Lotte Championship and Stacy Lewis won the North Texas LPGA Shootout. No doubt about it.

American pro golfers are hot.

So be sure to tune into The International Crown in July and watch the best women players in the world battle it out. The trophy designed by Tiffany & Company, is 23 inches high and is topped by a crown.

Each of the winning players will receive a replica of that crown along with bragging rights for their country. Will the American team of Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr take home the crown? We’ll have to wait, see and be prepared to cheer.

Katharine Dyson is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and writes a Women’s Feature column in each issue of SNE Golfer.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF

W

By BILL DOYLE

Harmeling Set to Defend Mass. Open Title

hen the NEPGA Championship was contested at Weston Golf Club in 2008, only four rounds were shot under par.

Weston head pro Adam Hemeon expects the course to present another stiff challenge to golfers during the 105th Massachusetts Open on June 10-12. At 6,652 yards, Weston isn’t especially long, but the greens are fast and the rough is punishing.

The rough may not be as high as it was for the 2008 NEPGA Championship, but it will be thicker because the Mass. Open is played two months earlier in the year before the sun and heat thins it out. “For a lot of the players in the field,” Hemeon said, “This will be the toughest rough they’ve ever competed on, no question.”

Since the last time Weston G.C. hosted the Mass. Open for the third time in 1987, only one golfer has repeated as champion.

Geoff Sisk of Marshfield won in 2006 and 2007. Defending champion Evan Harmeling still likes his chances. “I fully expect to win,” Harmeling said during the Mass. Open media day at Weston G.C. “I’m playing really well right now.”

Harmeling, of Andover, defeated Chris Fitzpatrick of Westwood in a three-hole aggregate playoff to capture the Mass.

Open last year at Woodland G.C. in Newton. Both golfers finished regulation at 5-under 211.

Harmeling, 25, made headlines by donating his first-place check of $15,000 at Woodland after his first pro victory to One Fund Boston to assist the victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

“I think it’s pretty crazy what we do for a living, just play golf all the time,”

Harmeling said. “I’m really lucky, obviously, in so many different ways.

Some of the times I don’t feel like I’m doing anything that meaningful with my life. So I wanted to do something that was good and going forward I definitely want to continue doing good for other people and not just hang out at the golf course all day.”

Harmeling called winning the playoff against Fitzpatrick, his good friend and roommate in Orlando the past two winters, the most fun he’s had in golf.

“It meant a lot,” he said. “I love to win, period. This was the best field, the best players and obviously my home state open. It was awesome. I hoped it would springboard me onto the Web.com Tour.

It didn’t happen this past year, but I really think that it will.”

Harmeling did go on to win the Maine Open last summer. He also finished atop two mini-tour events in Orlando.

Recently, Harmeling has played in a handful of PGA Tour and Web.com Tour Monday qualifiers, but with no luck. The closest he came was shooting a 6-under 65 in the qualifier for the Honda Classic, but he came up a shot short.

Harmeling is one of nine former champions scheduled to tee off at Weston G.C., a Donald Ross design with a par of 72. Harmeling played Weston G.C. for the first time last week in a practice round. “I think if the course fits you is an overrated concept,” Harmeling said. “I think I can play anywhere. The one thing I did find about this course that does kind of suit me is that the greens didn’t seem particularly tricky to read.”

Ten of Weston’s greens suffered damage during the winter and the club was still

playing two temporary greens on media day on May 27. Superintendent Matt DeAvila said that earlier this spring some of the greens were the same color as the hardwood floor in the clubhouse, but he expects the course to be ready for the Mass. Open.

“The key is to pick your spots,” Hemeon said. “You have to know when to be aggressive and when to really scale back and be patient. That’s the key to scoring at Weston. There’s nowhere to hide out here.

Your weaknesses will be exposed and your strengths will benefit you very well.”

The $75,000 tournament will consist of three rounds of medal play. The field of 150 or so will be cut to the low 50 golfers and ties or anyone within seven shots of the lead after 36 holes.

Bill Doyle is a sportswriter for the Worcester Telegram and writes a Central Mass column in each issue of Southern New England Golfer.

Evan Harmerling who won the Mass. Open last year and donated the entire winnings to the Boston Marathon Victims Fund.

R.I. Children’s Golf Course Update

The week of June 23 Bob Ward has arranged for Brian Harbour of the RIGA to give the RI Children’s Golf Course in Coventry a rating and slope, including the new yellow course designed for young golfers, new golfers, special needs and seniors.

Juniors are signing up now for Summer camps, Saturday clinics and Instructional Leagues. Visit our website for more information: richildrensgolfcourse.com. Also popular: Ladies Instructional Leagues.The natural grass tee driving range has been upgraded: target greens at specific yardages, free water and a covered sitting area.

Special thanks to Steve Elliott of Elco Painting and Lou Joseph, who is giving the clubhouse an extreme makeover, painting it in Coventry High School Oaker red, white and black. This transformation into a First Tee facility wouldn’t be possible if not for the owners of the course, Jeremy and Jason Votolato, who have generously provided families in the Rhode Island community with this amazing opportunity.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

27

GOLF COMMENTARY

By PAUL KENYON

Golf is More Inclusive Now

A

nyone over the age of 40 can recall the days when golf was criticized for being exclusionary. There was merit to such talk. Too many clubs were snobby, at best, and discriminatory, at worst, not just toward women and minorities, but to anyone who could not afford to belong to a private club.

The emergence of Tiger Woods was a major factor in helping open the game, but perhaps the biggest key was the willingness of those in charge to change and recognize there were better ways to operate. Today, the game is available to virtually anyone and everyone who would like to participate.

The subject came up in the R.I. Golf Association’s first major event of the year, the Burke Memorial, which raises money for the state’s caddy scholarship fund.

John Jackopsic, a Connecticut resident who is the Boston College golf captain, charged from behind to win in a playoff over two-time defending champion Bobby Leopold.

By DR. KEVIN ROBY

A

the last 30 years. There is no talk about keeping people out. The goal is to bring as many people as possible into the game.

The subject is especially applicable in the smallest state. The RIGA has three member clubs, Ledgemont, Crestwood and Swansea, which are in Massachusetts.

“We have a lot of players who live in Massachusetts or Connecticut who play because it is easier for them to get to our courses,’’ Ward said, listing Dave Jones, Dave McNally and Skip Hingley, among others.

“Ryan Pelletier (one of the top young players) lives in North Attleboro but joined Pawtucket,’’ Ward pointed out.

Mike Schmidt, the baseball Hall of Famer, won the RIGA Seniors last summer. He is a summer resident at Carnegie Abbey.

Ward has no problem with players who want to compete in different states for different events.

“With some of the guys who live in Connecticut, it can be easier for them to play in our events when an event in

Connecticut is held west of Hartford,’’ Ward noted. “When an event is east of Hartford and it is easier for them to play there, that’s not a problem.’’

The RIGA has gone so far as to merge with the R.I. Women’s Golf Association is an attempt to improve offerings for women in the state.

“The bottom line is this,’’ Ward said.

“Our by-laws say you need to be a member of a member club. I don’t care where you live. If you join a member club, you’re eligible.’’

The only issue in having players from different states take part comes with consideration for representing the state in the USGA team matches. For that event, players must represent the state in which they reside.

Times have changed. Now it is about bringing in as many players as possible, not keeping them out.

Paul Kenyon is the recently retired golf writer from the Providence Journal.

MENTAL GOLF

Is Failure Necessary to Learn How to Cope with Pressure?

ll golfers will at some time or another face a pressure-packed situation in which they have never been before. And more often than not, the lack of experience in such a situation will result in a very disappointing performance. Just ask some of the best golfers in the world.

In 2011 Rory McIlroy went into the final round of the Masters Tournament with a four shot lead. In this type of pressure-packed situation in which he’d never been, he ended up shooting a score of 80, tying for 15th place. In the 2012 British Open, Adam Scott had a four shot lead going into the final four holes of the competition. He’d never held such a lead in as an important tournament as the Open. He bogeyed each of those last four holes, ceding the Claret Jug to Ernie Els. But experience is a powerful teacher.

This is especially true when it comes to 28

Jackopsic finished the second round birdie-par-eagle-birdie to shoot 68 at The Misquamicut Club and tie Leopold at 1-over 141 in the event held at both Misquamicut and Shelter Harbor.

Jackopsic won on the second hole of the playoff.

His performance created something of a stir because he had never played in an RIGA event before. When others learned he lives in Connecticut and goes to college in Massachusetts, they mumbled something about why he was playing in a Rhode Island event. But any unhappiness was quickly shut down by Bob Ward, the RIGA’s executive director. ``Bring them in. We’re happy to have anyone who meets our membership standards,’’ Ward said.

There was no doubt Jackopsic met all standards. He has joined Meadow Brook, the impressive new course in Richmond, R.I. What’s more, his family has a summer home in Misquamicut.

Ward used the opportunity to talk about how dramatically the game has changed in

learning how to deal with pressure. Two months after he succumbed to the pressure of having the lead in the Masters, Rory began the final round of the U.S. Open with an eight shot lead. He went on to win the tournament by the same margin and set a record low score of 16 under par.

But experience is a powerful teacher. This is especially true when it comes to learning how to deal with pressure.

McIlroy apparently learned a lot about handling pressure when he suffered that devastating collapse at the Masters just eight weeks earlier.

Adam Scott also proved that he learned to deal with the pressure of a major championship lead by winning the

2013 Masters. At the end of regulation play, Scott was tied for the lead with Angel Cabrera, requiring a sudden-death playoff. Scott prevailed on the second extra hole, demonstrating his new-found ability to cope with the pressure of major tournament golf.

Both McIlroy and Scott learned how to handle pressure by experiencing it, failing to deal with it, then experiencing it again.

This suggests that when first trying to cope with high-pressure situations, success is unlikely, but experiencing that pressure over and over helps one to learn much better ways of facing those challenges.

But is there a way to learn how to cope with pressure, without having to fail at it at first? There sure is, and if you read part two of this article in the next SNEG magazine on July 30, I’ll share the secret with you!

Licensed psychologist Dr. Kevin J. Roby has over 35 years of experience in the field of psychology. To learn more about his work with golfers and other athletes, visit his website at www.drkevinroby. com, contact him via email at DrKev4Golf@aol. com, or call 702-395-2170.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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29

By BRUCE VITTNER

PRODUCT REVIEW Flex Head Performance Golf Tees

Tired of breaking tees? Find that you don’t always set your tees to the same height causing mishits? Have difficulty placing to ball on the tee due to a medical condition?

Flex-Head G2’s might be the answer.

They are guaranteed to be unbreakable for life. If you break one just send it back and they will replace it.

The material exhibits unmatched abrasion resistance with rubber like flexibility and withstands the impact forces of drivers and irons with little or no wear and are made 100% in the USA. They are available in six heights and have an insert shoulder allowing for the exact height every time. Quoting a PGA playing professional “having precise tee height options allows for repeatable centeredness of contact and impact consistency resulting in greater distance, improved accuracy and ultimately lower scores. They have a wider area for the ball to sit on, and they are USGA approved.

For more information go to www.flex-head.com. —BH

Putting Wand by Orange Whip How would you like the solution to the most important part of the game? The Putting Wand

by Orange Whip just might be the answer. This very flexible shafted product has six very distinct ways for you to become a better putter:

Datrek Introduces GO-LITE Stand Bag Datrek has introduced the GO-LITE 14 stand bag. The sleek design of the GO-LITE 14 stand bag features a 14way mesh padded top with full-length individual dividers, plenty of storage space and weighs only 5 pounds.

“The GO-LITE 14 stand bag is the perfect bag for the golfer looking for a multipurpose stand bag; light enough to carry as well as full featured to use on a cart,” said Craig Ramsbottom, President, Dynamic Brands. “The GOLITE 14 has our patented IDS system, Individual Divider System, that allows you to keep your clubs in place along with five pockets that give you ample storage space.”

Made of durable nylon material, the GO-LITE 14 features a 14-way mesh padded top with full-length individual dividers and an ergonomic handle integrated into the top. There is ample storage room with five pockets including a large garment pocket, fleece lined valuables pocket and oversized ball pocket. The GO-LITE 14 has a padded double shoulder strap to make walking and carrying easy and comfortable.

An additional feature of the GO-LITE 14 stand bag is a bag bottom that is adaptable for push carts and riding carts. Also, for the golfer’s convenience, the stand bag has an insulated beverage sleeve, towel ring, Velcro® glove holder and external tee holder.

It is available in four color patterns – red/black/white, white/charcoal/black, royal/black/white and charcoal/black/white. The suggested retail is $149.99 and it is available in golf shops and golf specialty stores. For information on Datrek vist www. datrek.com —BV

Nexbelt...The Belt With No Holes

1. Trains putting rhythm and tempo.

2. It has a spherical face that exaggerates off center hits.

3. Battles the yips and deceleration.

4. Improves distance and direction control.

5. Develops center contact for a truer roll.

6. Synchronizes arms and body in the putting stroke.

Your goal with drill number one is to find a putting rhythm that flexes the shaft the least and allows for the momentum of the putter head to swing to the intended target. This will allow you to find your position that allows for the ball to roll with the least amount of bounce and also to find that one correct path which creates consistent center contact while maintaining the rhythm.

If you do not have the proper rhythm off center hits will occur. The Putting Wand comes in 33 and 35-inch lengths. For more information visit their website at www. orangewhiptrainer.com or call 877-505-9447. — BH 30

By BRUCE HUTCHINSON

Traditional belts of the past century are uncomfortable, and due to their pin/buckle design have a tendency to wear quickly and unevenly. As the wearers waistline changes, it necessitates the creation of unsightly holes in an uneven manner.

Tired of the old outdated pin/buckle system, Nexbelt set their sights on creating a belt that would be both adjustable and highly fashionable at the same time. Out of this passion, Nexbelt, “The Belt With No Holes” was born. Allowing the golfer a reduction of up to 15 waist sizes with the same belt, and the forgiveness of a few inches following a hearty meal, Nexbelt’s Go In! golf series of belts feature a unique hidden ratcheting system called PreciseFit that allows the wearer to adjust his or her belt in quarter-inch increments, providing the best fit, feel and fashion available as well as the convenience of a hidden ball marker located behind the flip down belt buckle.

These belts are currently being worn by Marc Leishman and Kevin Na, as well as several other players on the PGA Tour this season. Nexbelt offers over 100 different color & buckle combinations for both Men & Women with prices starting at $34.99. Available at www.Nexbelt.com. —BV

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

CAPE COD NOTEBOOK Harney Makes Hall

Kyle Gallo with tournament director Jim Gaguin

Gallo Wins Second Cape Cod Open Title The 23rd Cape Cod Open was a soggy affair, with heavy rain throughout the finalday 36-hole finish. But it didn’t dampen the spirits of Kyle Gallo, who captured his second CCO in five years with a onestroke victory over Mike Welch and Chris DeForest.

Gallo finished at even par 213 after shooting 70-72 at Hyannis Golf Club. He had stood five behind first-round leader Eric Dugas of The Captains in Brewster and overtook 17 golfers to post the win, including four-time champion Geoff Sisk. Dugas had opened with 66 at Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds, but he shot 7675 at Hyannis and wound up four shots back.

“It was battle against the elements,” Gallo said. “You had to have patience all day and that was difficult at times. Trying to keep everything dry turned into using a system of switching between three towels I had and using rain gloves for every shot.”

Gallo, who is from Kensington, Conn., earned $6,000 for the win. He also captured the CCO in 2009.

Bobby Pandolfi of Dennis Pines won the Gary Philbrick Trophy as low Cape Cod pro, finishing fourth. Mike Carbone, also of Dennis Pines, was one shot back of Pandolfi. Herbie Aikens was awarded the Guy Tedesco Cup as low amateur.

DeForest was in command following the morning round after carding 3-underpar 69, giving him a four-shot advantage

over Gallo, Carbone and Matt Parziale of Thorny Lea. But he stumbled home with 77 in the afternoon, allowing Gallo the opportunity to vault into the lead.

Stimpson Teams for Title Alex Stimpson of Woods Hole G.C. paired with Acushnet River’s James Kroger to capture the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship in May. It was their second victory in three years.

After posting a 4-under 68 in the first round played at Ferncroft C.C., they roared to the win with a sizzling 64 in the final round at the Golf Club at Turner Hill, edging the Franklin C.C. duo of Brian Higgins and Brad Stewart.

Stimpson kick-started his team by making birdies on the 1st, 2nd and 9th holes to make the turn at 3-under par 33.

During that stretch, he drained two 10footers and one 15-foot birdie putt.

On the final hole, he sent his tee shot over the green while Kroeger found his shot in the bunker. With his partner eyeing a three-foot bogey putt, Kroeger knocked his ball out of the bunker and then drained a 30-foot par putt.

What they thought was icing on the cake turned out to be a winning shot. “We honestly thought that we had a three- or four-shot lead,” Kroeger said. “I was thinking that we were fine and then we come to find out that we needed it. It was fun, but I feel like the difference was the way we played on that back nine.”

In 1999, Paul Harney was voted by the readers of MassGolfer magazine as the “Best Male Golf Professional of the 20th Century in Massachusetts.” He is now rightfully being inducted posthumously into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame.

Born in Worcester, Harney spent the final 40-plus years of his life on Cape Cod as owner and operator of the Paul Harney Golf Club in East Falmouth, which he opened in 1967. He passed away at age 82 in 2011.

He won six PGA Tour events, the final three coming after he “retired” from pro golf to become a local pro and to keep a promise his made to his wife, Patti, that he would be present for his family once their first child began school.

Harney missed out on a U.S. Open playoff in 1963 at The Country Club by one shot and posted four Top 10 finishes at the Masters. He captured four straight Mass. Opens beginning in 1967 and stunned the pro golf world in 1972 by winning the Andy Williams San Diego Open, his final tour victory.

The 2014 class will be officially inducted into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame at the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame celebration in October.

Eyeing the U.S. Open Mike Carbone advanced through the first stage of local qualifying for this month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst #2, shooting 69. His quest ended in sectional qualifying in Purchase, N.Y. Failing to advance to sectional qualifying were Ken Lewis of East Sandwich, Jake Pieczkowski of Siasconset, Keith Goodale of Chatham, Ben Jenkins of Mashpee, Johnny Clancy of Sandwich and Trevor Kenney of Sandwich.

By ROB DUCA Cape Happenings Sean Edmonds and Matt Baran of Oyster Harbors advanced to the semifinals of the New England PGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship at LeBaron Hills before being eliminated by eventual champions Frank Duffy and Steve Bramlett of Kernwood C.C. Baran had a big individual day, winning a New England Stroke Play Series event by shooting 1-under 70 at Granite Links Golf Club.

Kevin Carey and Joe Walker, both of Dennis Pines, advanced to the Mass.

Amateur in qualifying at their home club on June 4.

At its spring meeting, the NEPGA recognized Dave Donnellan, teaching pro at Hyannis G.C., for player development and named Miacomet’s Phil Truono merchandiser of the year at a public facility.

Carbone was medalist with a 67 in Mass. Open qualifying at Woods Hole.

Also advancing were Pandolfi, Lewis, Greg Richbourg (Cape Cod National), Stimpson (Woods Hole), Johnny Clancy (Olde Barnstable), and Chris Menne (Farm Neck).

Chelsea Curtis, a Cape Cod Academy graduate, served as playing captain for Team Massachusetts in its second-place finish in the Griscom Cup Matches held last month at Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury, N.Y. The competition dates to 1898 and is one of the oldest women’s amateur events in the country.

Richbourg and partner Mike Walker finished as co-champions of the New England PGA Pro-Am Championships played at Pinehills C.C. Falmouth’s Hannah Ghelfi earned a berth in the Callaway Junior World Championships set for July at Torrey Pines in San Diego, shooting 79 at Rehoboth CC to make the Massachusetts team.

Rob Duca is editor of New England Golf & Leisure magazine and writes a Cape Cod Notebook in each issue of Southern New England Golfer.

Read Southern New England Golfer online at www.snegolfer.com

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

31

By BRUCE BERLET

CONNECTICUT NOTEBOOK

Conn. Notebook continued from p. 22

PROS ROUT AMATEURS IN BOROS CHALLENGE CUP Tony Kelley and Bill Downes combined to sweep nine points in their Nassau-style match as the Connecticut Section PGA scored the most points in the 43-year history of the Julius Boros Challenge Cup in a 39.5-23.5 victory over the CSGA at New Haven C.C. The teams of Fran Marrello-Kyle Bilodeau and Paul Barnsley-Joe Mongillo each notched 8.5 points as the pros won for the third consecutive year to improve their series lead to 31-12. Their point total was one more than the CSGA had in 2009. Phil Perry-Glen Boggini led the CSGA with seven points. The pros’ previous high was 38 points in 1985 and 2004.

Nick Cook and Steve Velardi combined to shoot 2-under 140 for 36 holes to win the CSGA Two-Man Team Championship at the Black Hall Club. Cook, the 2004 CSGA Player of the year and a two-time Connecticut Open champion as a pro, and Velardi, the 2003 State Amateur winner,

rallied from two strokes back to finish three ahead of Christopher DeLucia and Adam Vaccari. The tournament is annually played at Black Hall in honor of Bill Hermanson, a member of the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame and winner of nine CSGA major championships. Hermanson and fellow Hall of Famer Dave Szewczul tied for 10th at 148.

Blake Morris of the host club made a 20foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat John Flaherty and Monte Mullen, both of TPC River Highlands, and win the CSGA’s Russell C. Palmer Cup at C.C. of Waterbury. Morris, who will be a senior at the University of Mississippi, rallied from an opening 7-over 76, shooting 67-68 in the 36-hole windup to finish at 211 before notching his improbable first CSGA title.

He finished second last year and tied for second in 2012. Flaherty, a junior-to-be at the University of Connecticut, got into the playoff with a 10-foot birdie on the final hole of regulation to close with 6871. Mullen, who will be a senior at Central Connecticut State University, birdied the 16th hole and parred the last two for a

closing 69 after opening with 69 and 73.

Ray Floyd Jr., the son of four-time major champion Ray Floyd, had a five-stroke lead after 36 holes but closed with 78 to fall into fourth at 213. The tournament is named for the former CSGA executive director (1986-95) who was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1997. Palmer died in 2007.

WILLOW BROOK RECOGNIZED Willow Brook G.C. in South Windsor was named the 2014 recipient of the Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Distinguished Service Award as the model public golf course serving the game in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The award was inaugurated in 2001 in honor of Canton Public GC for the standards it set toward a public course’s responsibility to its community to provide playing opportunities for all those who want to play and learn the game.

“Walter Lowell set a great standard for golf professionals,” Willow Brook head

pro Jeff Beyer said. “We are excited to share this honor with our customers at Willow Brook.”

Willow Brook is an 18-hole, par60 course that Beyer said “provides the perfect venue to learn the game. The unique facility allows beginner golfers to experience a non-threatening golf course that they can handle but yet provides a challenge to the more skilled player. We focus our efforts on growth of the game and player development programs. The programs we have are designed to get our customers engaged and excited about golf.”

The course offers programs targeting their customer base, including Get Golf Ready, women’s golf clinics and schools, family clinics and numerous junior golf options. Beyer and representatives from the course were honored May 27 at New Haven C.C. during the annual Walter Lowell PGA Tournament.

Bruce Berlet is the retired sportswriter for the Hartford Courant and writes a Connecticut Notebook column in each issue of SNE Golfer.

SCOREBOARD 2014 NEPGA Acushnet Golf Pro-Assistant • Sponsored by Titleist and FootJoy Bay Club at Mattapoisett, Mattapoisett, MA • May 19, 2014 • Par 35-36-71 Scores 1 Brendan Walsh, The Country Club & Tyler Gosselin, The Country Club T2 Shawn Warren, Falmouth CC & Sean Barrett, Falmouth C T2 Anthony Maki, Franklin CC & Stephen Dowling, Franklin CC T2 Dave Tiedemann, Shelter Harbor GC & Michael Robinson, Shelter Harbor GC T2 Jim Corrigan, The Misquamicut Club & Matthew Doyle, The Misquamicut Club T2 Adam Hemeon, Weston GC & Steven Daly, Weston GC T7 Jim Fairbanks, Dunegrass GC & Curtis Goldsberry, Dunegrass GC T7 Greg Yeomans, Bay Club at Mattapoisett & Tracy Djerf, Bay Club at Mattapoisett T9 Mark Heartfield, Sankaty Head & Jake Pleczkowski, Sankaty Head T9 Greg Yeomans, Bay Club at Mattapoisett & John Paesani, Bay Club at Mattapoisett T9 Adam Hemeon, Weston GC & Tim Tierney, Weston GC T12 Sean McTernan, Brae Burn & Philip Psaros, Brae Burn T12 David Poplyk, Concord & Rick Durocher, Concord T12 Anthony Maki, Franklin CC & James Richard, Franklin CC T12 Phillip Truono, Miacomet & Meghan Mahoney, Miacomet T12 Mark Heartfield, Sankaty Head & Philip Cardwell, Sankaty Head T12 Nathan Hopley, Turner Hill Golf Club & Michael Brown Turner Hill Golf Club T12 Adam Hemeon, Weston GC & Michael Sullivan, Weston GC T19 Boomer Erick, Boston GC & Michael Farrell, Boston GC T19 Frank Dully, Kernwood CC & Keith Bursey, Kernwood CC T19 Stephen Diemoz, Montaup CC & Ryan Amburn, Montaup CC T19 Bill Andrews, Portsmouth & Griffin Andrews, Portsmouth T19 Stuart Cady, Renaissance GC & Phillip Johnson, Renaissance GC T19 Mark Heartfield, Sankaty Head & Steven Wolf, Sankaty Head T19 Thomas Cavicchi, Harmon & Tj Valentine, Harmon T19 Jim Corrigan, The Misquamicut Club & Jeffrey Flis, The Misquamicut Club T19 George Goich, Turner Hill Golf Club & Joe DiSanto, Turner Hill Golf Club

32

32-32--64 -7 32-33--65 -6 31-34--65 -6 33-32--65 -6 33-32--65 -6 34-31--65 -6 32-35--67 -4 33-34--67 -4 35-33--68 -3 33-35--68 -3 33-35--68 -3 34-35--69 -2 33-36--69 -2 34-35--69 -2 34-35--69 -2 33-36--69 -2 34-35--69 -2 33-36--69 -2 33-37--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 34-36--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 35-35--70 -1 36-34--70 -1

$4,000.00 $1,280.00 $1,280.00 $1,280.00 $1,280.00 $1,280.00 $825.00 $825.00 $700.00 $700.00 $700.00 $481.43 $481.43 $481.43 $481.43 $481.43 $481.43 $481.43 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56 $275.56

2014 NEPGA Assistants Spring Series #4 Marshfield Country Club • Marshfield, MA May 22, 2014 • Par 35-35-70 • Stroke Play Results Scores 1 Aaron Ungvarsky Big Sticks Golf Acad.

35-34--69 -1 2 Chad Spencer Valley CC 35-36--71 +1 3 Shawn Warren Falmouth CC 35-37--72 +2 4 Kevin Christofaro Carnegie Abbey Club 39-35--74 +4 T5 Brendon Ray Carnegie Abbey Club 36-40--76 +6 T5 Daniel Venezio Myopia Hunt Club 39-37--76 +6 7 Sean Cahalane Butter Brook 37-40--77 +7 8 Darek Franklin Bass Rocks GC 42-36--78 +8 T9 Steve Bramlett Kernwood CC 38-42--80 +10 T9 Steven Field Thorny Lea GC 40-40--80 +10 T9 Justin Miller TPC Boston 41-39--80 +10 12 Tyler Reedy Myopia Hunt Club 38-43--81 +11 T13 J.Tamburro Boston GC 43-39--82 +12 T13 Matt Stein Haven Country Club 40-42--82 +12 T15 Rob Churchill LeBaron Hills CC 42-42--84 +14 T15 Shayne Sakson Cohasset GC 41-43--84 +14 T15 Peter Cole Warwick Country Club 44-40--84 +14 T15 Brian Groover Cohasset GC 43-41--84 +14 19 Scott MacArthur Marshfield CC 44-41--85 +15 20 Bryan Burnett Milton Hoosic Club 47-44--91 +21 21 Ian Kelley Renaissance GC 42-54--96 +26

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

GOLF TRAVEL

Golfing in Sweden

M

y better half and I had been planning a trip to Sweden for several years. She has relatives in the central part of Sweden and always wanted to visit.

Last November while going through my emails, I saw a release from the IAGTO, the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, giving Sweden the award for Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year for 2014. As a golf writer it seemed like a perfect opportunity to combine a vacation with a great story. Wasn’t it Sweden that had given us Annika Sorenstam, Jesper Parnevik, Jonas Blixt and many other great players? Didn’t we have Henrik Stenson on our cover last fall with the title ‘How Swede it Is’ when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship?

The contact person in the release was Per Svensson, a project leader for golf tourism in Sweden. I contacted him immediately.

Within 10 minutes I had a reply from Per (ah, the power of the Internet). “We would love to have you visit some of our courses,” he said.

He gave me the names of course owners, courses to consider and even gave me a name of a golf pro, Steven McDaniel, who had emigrated to Sweden from Framingham, Mass. in 2006 and now is the director of golf at Linkopings Golf Club in Sweden.

What an opportunity, but alas, when it came down to deciding what to do during our ten days vacationing in Sweden with two of our daughters, it was decided that golf would be just too much to fit in with all the visiting and sightseeing in this beautiful country. But that would not keep me from getting as much information for a story.

One morning I get up early to visit Ostad Golf Club in Vaderstad, just north of Jonkopings. “We converted our farm to a six hole golf course in 1987,” said Philip Hilleby whose brother is the superintendent and his mom and dad run the golf shop and kitchen. It sounded the same as dozens of interviews I have done in New England where farms became golf courses.

In 1993 the Hilleby’s added three more holes and in 2003 they expanded it to the current 18. “The Pro shop is where the horse stables were, said Hilleby as he gave me a tour of the pretty course. “Most people walk, but we have individual carts for those who want to ride,” added Hilleby.

A few of the buildings on the property have been converted to cabins for rent for

those visiting the course, and he also has an area for RVs. “Our season is rather short, but during June, July and August we have tee times from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. as you can play till 11 at night. We have some hardy souls who play 54 holes in the same day,” he said with a smile.

“We have 473 golf courses in Sweden and just under a half million registered golfers,” said Svensson. With a population of approximately 10,000,000, that means that about 5% of Swedes are registered golfers. “Golf in Sweden grew for 100 years and peaked in 2004 with our biggest growth in the 1980s as golf became very popular and trendy,” he added.

When asked about the large number of excellent professional golfers from Sweden, Svensson replied, “In the 1980s we started a great system for junior golfers.

We had a tour where you always played at your right level and the lower level tournaments were played close to your hometown. When you won or your rank improved you moved up a level until you reach the elite level. We also have our own Pro tour called the Nordea Tour that every great Swedish player has played on.

Annika Sorenstam was the perfect result of the model. She has helped show other golfers that it is possible to succeed as a Swede on international tours.”

Steven McDaniel offered interesting insight about golf in Sweden. “Unlike the U.S., to play golf in Sweden one must be a member of a golf club and completed a golf education (usually 10 to 16 hours covering basic rules, golf etiquette, technique and the basics on how to play the game).

You must play with a mentor, and once the player has achieved a handicap of 36 he/she can book tee times without the mentor, book on other courses and play in tournaments.”

“The Swedish Golf Federation provides the booking system and membership management system for all clubs. Each golfer is given an ID number. Most people in Sweden play a modified Stableford instead of regular stroke play. People rarely mention how many shots they have taken; instead it is points. One needs to enter their points into the national handicap system to lower or raise their handicap,” added McDaniel who talked about watching Keegan Bradley and Jon Curran at events in Massachusetts.

“Golf as is seen as sport, and beer at the turn really doesn’t exist here,” said McDaniel who added that most clubs have

Philip Hilleby at Ostad Golf Club about 1,000 members and have large and active junior programs with the children having the same playing rights as adults.

Svensson listed many famous courses in Sweden like BroHof Castle, PGA Sweden National, Bokskogen, Bro-Balsta— Sorenstam’s home course and Barseback— Stenson’s home course. Mel Lucas of So. Dartmouth, Mass., the international consultant and expert on greens who helped build Pinecrest GC in Richmond, R.I. did a great deal of work at Barseback for Gosta Carllston the owner of the course. “Mr. Carllston is 92 and works on the course every day. His course was hosting the Swedish Masters a few years ago and his greens needed desperate help from the cold winter. I found some grass in another country that we able to install in time for his event, and he has been forever grateful,” recalled Lucas. “Golfing in Sweden is very much like golfing in the northeast,” he added “We do not get very many golfers from the U.S., but I think they would enjoy our courses very much,” said Svensson.

If any tour operators want to contact me from the U.S., we would love to start some programs,” he added. For individuals who were thinking of golfing in Sweden he suggested you fly into Copenhagen, Denmark and visit Malmo and play Barseback, Vasatopr, Rya, Ljunghusen, Bokskogen and PGA Sweden National.

“You will have a great time. The air is so fresh and clean and the Swedish food is excellent. Having great courses with low prices brings great value for your money in Sweden, enthused Svensson who can be reached at the Swedish Golf Federation, www.sgf.golf.se or email info@sgf.golf.se.

Bruce Vittner is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America and can be reached at bruce@snegolfer.com.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

By BRUCE VITTNER

The Swede in Me

By CAROLYN VITTNER

On this trip I was not the golf widow, as we had too much to do in just nine days. I have relatives living in Sweden and it was time to take a family vacation there. I had heard from many people how lovely this country is, but nothing could describe how beautiful and pristine it really is.

From the time we landed in Stockholm and throughout our stay we found the people to be polite and very friendly; and thank goodness most of them spoke English because our Swedish certainly was not the best.

On our ride from Stockholm to Kalmar was a little town of Soderkoping. We were glad we veered off our beaten path to take in this village with its charming little shops and restaurants on cobblestone streets dating back to the 1200s.

In Kalmar, another town founded in the 12th century, we toured the Kalmar Slott, a beautifully preserved Renaissance style castle. We stayed in this lovely little town for two nights where we were able to walk to dinner and tour the area.

Now it’s time to get back in the car and drive through beautiful farmlands to Jonkoping, where we will stay for two nights, and near where we will meet my relatives.

The Americans have arrived and we are treated royally and fed abundantly.

Everywhere we went there were bread and pastry and kaffe (coffee). Did I tell you that the people here are friendly? One of the highlights of our trip is meeting my cousin’s mother, Lisa, who recently turned 101 years old and is the oldest resident in town. Quite a feat!

Sven (a typical Swedish name) is my cousin and is our family historian. He told us there are as many Swedes in America as there are in Sweden.

We visited very well kept family graveyards and beautiful ancient churches and the old homestead where we were fed yet again. The three days we were there flew by and sadly it was time to say goodbye and to head back towards Stockholm.

This capital city is rich in history. A guided boat tour took us through narrow canals where we viewed beautiful historic buildings in this old town. The Royal Palace, the Vasa Museum, the Skansen Open-Air Museum are just a few of the many interesting places to take in. Two days are not nearly enough here.

The bread that is available everywhere is wonderful and yet people seem to be very fit.

Maybe it is because they walk everywhere.

Stockholm is very bike friendly. Public transportation is very efficient.

I am very glad I have family in Sweden so that I had a good excuse to come to this beautiful country. I hear the golf is quite good also.

33

GOLF TRAVEL

By BRUCE VITTNER

I

Kiawah Island is Spectacular

t is no wonder that Golfweek magazine started out its annual couples golf resort choices with Kiawah Island in South Carolina. The 10,000-acre facility with five golf courses is one of the most amazing places that this reporter has ever visited.

Located just 20 miles from Charleston with easy access from Charleston Airport (forty-minute ride) this barrier island with ten miles of sandy beaches and five excellent golf courses including the Ocean Course that is on many golfers’ bucket list, is rated the 21st best golf resort in America

by Golf Digest.

Kiawah is an Indian name, and the natives hunted and fished on this island in the 1600s. Many of the pirates associated with Captain Kidd roamed the island in the 1700s. Soldiers occupied the island during the Revolutionary War and soldiers from the War of 1812 were located on the island to protect the city of Charleston.

The first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in 1861 could be heard on Kiawah Island. In 1951 C.C. Royal, a lumberman purchased the island for $125,000 to salvage what was left of the island that had been devastated by many hurricanes. In the 1970s Kiawah was purchased for 18.2 million and developed into a world-class resort.

Kiawah Island Resort became a household name at the 1991 Ryder Cup event, “The war by the shore” when the U.S. team held on to beat the Great Britain and Europe team when Bernhard Langer missed a 6 foot putt on the 18th hole at the Ocean Course. Others will remember it as the site of the 2012 PGA championship where Rory McIlroy won by a record-setting eight strokes.

Director of Public Relations, Mike Vegis, invited us to visit Kiawah Island and play three of its courses just before heading to this year’s Masters tournament.

Having covered golf and writing golf travel stories for 20 years, this was my first visit to this barrier island with the great golfing pedigree. What a wonderful treat.

Kiawah Island has something for everyone, not just the golfer. There is ten miles of secluded beach; rated one of the top 10 in America. Tennis magazine rates the tennis facilities as number three 34

The 18th on the Ocean Course among U.S. tennis resorts. The 255room sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort opened in 2004 and is a Southern mansion-style oceanfront luxury hotel and spa rated five stars by both Forbes and AAA. Ninety percent of the rooms have ocean views.

There are dozens of miles of bike paths, and there is even bike riding on the beach.

There are restaurants on the property for every taste and pocketbook. We enjoyed the southern style seafood at Jasmine restaurant, and had a wonderful meal at the clubhouse at the Ocean Course.

Our first round of golf was played at the Ocean Course. Designed by Pete Dye specifically for the 1991 Ryder Cup event, it earns its name as you can see the ocean from all 18 holes. We felt like we were walking along some of the courses in Scotland with the huge sand dunes, wide fairways and waste bunkers everywhere. In fact the waste bunkers are the cart paths, although the ocean course has a wonderful caddie program, and no carts are allowed before noontime.

Make sure you check out the skinny tree on the third hole where McIlroy had his ball get stuck during the PGA Championship. All four par threes are extremely difficult with the 17th being a long shot over a pond to a well-bunkered green. This is the hole that won or lost many of the matches during the Ryder Cup. Paspalum, the newly developed salttolerant grass covers the tees, fairways and greens and is wonderful to putt on. Six feet of sand and soil were put on the existing property at the eastern end of the island when it was built by Dye, so there are drop-offs beside most every fairway. It is one of the most beautiful golf courses this

reporter has ever seen, and a quote from a Charlotte Observer golf writer was, This is as close to heaven as I will ever get.”

Our second course was Turtle Point designed by Jack Nicklaus. There is water on six of the first nine holes with the ninth being a dogleg left around a pond. The 11th hole has an interesting second shot over a pond. In typical Nicklaus style the greens are large and undulating and the areas around the greens are quite difficult.

It hosted the 1990 PGA Cup matches and has a 4 1⁄2 star rating from Golf Digest.

The last course we played was Cougar Point, a Gary Player design that was originally called Marsh Point and was the first course on the island. Said Vegis, “When the course was first built there was not much land available and the course was very tight. We gave Player a redo, and he came back in the 1990s to redesign many of the holes. It is one of the favorites of our property owners.” Holes five and six play right along a large marsh and are quite intimidating. You will remember the 18th, as you tee off over a pond and then look at a long second shot over another pond to a large sloping green.

The Tom Fazio designed Osprey Point was closed for reseeding of the whole course with the Paspalum grass and will not be open again until October 2014. “Many consider it their favorite course on the island,” said Vegis. There are four natural lakes; holes running along the saltwater marsh and many holes are lined with live oaks, tall pines and regal magnolias. “It is a spectacular natural setting,” added Vegis.

Just off the island is the fifth course called Oak Point. It is on land that was a former indigo and cotton plantation and was originally designed by Clyde Johnston.

The course was rerouted, redesigned and renovated in 2004.

The Tommy Cuthbert Golf Learning Center is next to Turtle Point. There are private instruction areas, state-of-theart equipment and practice bunkers and greens. Individual lessons and group clinics are offered on a daily basis, and there is also professional club fitting at the center.

Besides the 255-room Sanctuary, there are 500 villas and private homes in the rental pool for visitors. We stayed in a two-bedroom villa that would have been great for a foursome of golfers. It had a large living room and kitchen as well as an enclosed deck overlooking the course.

Villas are available in one to four room options and some of the private homes could host large groups.

There are also over 18,000 square feet of meeting space and over 22,000 feet of unique meeting areas on the vast property.

This reporter has often reflected back on the three days at Kiawah Island. We were very fortunate to play the Ocean Course on a benign day, but the ocean winds can be very unpredictable and the service of a caddie is very helpful. The island is a true oasis and we never left it during our three-day visit. We saw so many happy faces of golfers, families and couples. It is a high-end resort to be sure, but with golf packages and opportunities to do so many different things on the island, it is something to be treasured.

“We can play golf here all twelve months, but we get the most visitors from the northeast during the spring and fall,” said Vegis who has watched the resort rise from 75th best resort in America to 21st currently by Golf Digest. I can’t image 20 better resorts.

I’m already making plans to bring my wife to see this wonderful resort. For information on Kiawah Resort, visit their website at www.kiawahresort.com or call 1-800-654-2924.

Bruce Vittner is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America and can be reached at bruce@snegolfer.com.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

GOLF TRAVEL

T

By BRUCE VITTNER

Myrtle Beach Golf is a Great Deal

his reporter has been going to Myrtle Beach on golf trips since 1987. It started with three friends from college and within five years we were up to 12 golfers.

We probably could have had 30 golfers, and everyone would’ve had a wonderful time.

We always went on school vacation week in April and there was a 13hour drive down followed by five great rounds of golf, great food, and wonderful camaraderie. The ride home to Rhode Island was always full of golf talk, and golf shots—both the best and worst. The guys who were the winners had bragging rights for a whole year.

Doesn’t get better than that. Wait till next year was always a refrain heard on the ride.

This publication began in 1994.

One of the benefits was to play in the annual Golf Writers of America tournament where up to 125 members would descend on Myrtle Beach before heading to Augusta. What a great time, and what a great place to hold a tournament. More opportunities to visit Myrtle Beach and play more of the 100 courses available along the 60mile Grand Strand.

Upon retiring from teaching in 1999, one of the benefits became going to Myrtle Beach a few times each year—once with the buddies, with the GWAA, and to do a travel story or two. In 2003 I was asked to play in the World Amateur Tournament in August sponsored by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. It was quite hot in August, but the ocean breeze and great competition created something that I did nine years in a row with very fond memories. After a three-year hiatus, I am heading back against in August and look forward to reporting about it.

You have seen dozens of stories about Myrtle Beach in this publication over the years. It is so easy to write about because it is truly a great golfing

destination. The prices are right, the courses are excellent, the climate provides for almost year-round golf and it is very easy to get to from southern New England.

On our most recent trip to MB in April before the Masters we played three courses. The first was the Love Course at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. With four courses on property, Barefoot Landing has become a popular destination in Myrtle Beach.

All four courses are named after their designers—Davis Love, Greg Norman, Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. The Dye course hosts Monday after the Masters with Hootie & the Blowfish.

The Love Course is a fine layout with tough par threes, enough water to get you in trouble and large greens.

The first hole is a short par four, but you must carry the drive over a marshy area. An intimidating first swing. The 18th hole is a long par five that winds around the pond near the green.

Our second round was 20 miles south of downtown MB in Pawleys Island at a course called True Blue.

It is the sister course and next door to Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, (my favorite of all 100 courses). It is a tough test of golf. Designed by the late Mike Strantz and opened in 1998 on a former indigo and rice plantation, True Blue will provide you with some of the most memorable holes and demanding shots that you will find anywhere. There are waste bunkers on all 18 holes, many of which you have to drive your cart through. The slope and rating from the back tees are 145 and 74.3, but there are four other sets of tees that will still provide a great test of golf. Golfweek rates True Blue as the number six best course you can play in South Carolina.

Our last round was played at Pawleys Plantation just down the road from True Blue. Always one of our favorite courses, we have written about it quite

The unique dike teeing area at Pawleys Plantation Golf and C.C.. Players hit across the pond towards the ocean to the par 3, 13th green and then come back down to the lower portion of the dike to hit across the marsh to the par 3, 17th green. often. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the course has a most interesting dike that has eight sets of tees on it for playing the 13th and 17th holes, which are both par threes. (See the accompanying picture.) Sitting close to the ocean, the breezes will affect many of the shots you will play. As always on Nicklaus courses you will find many bunkers, rolling greens and tough green-surrounds.

Besides the great golf in Myrtle Beach, there is great seafood. Many of my golfing friends talk more about the food and other activities than the golf.

Myrtle Beach started as a summertime vacation resort as it is the closest ocean destination for over a dozen states. It is most crowded in the summertime.

In the spring and fall and even into winter the myriad hotels, condos and resorts offer great packages to bring

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

in the golfers. Great golf, excellent packages, great prices and great food make this the most popular destination for golf in the country.

For more information check out www.

MyrtleBeachgolfholiday.com.

Bruce Vittner is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America and can be reached at bruce@snegolfer.com.

To read more of our golf travel stories visit Southern New England Golfer’s website at www.snegolfer.com.

35

SNE GOLFER LOCATOR MAP

www.richildrensgolfcourse.com, DR,CR,CL,CH,O,

Jr. Programs, Clinics, Camps, Instr. Leagues 20. ROSE HILL GOLF CLUB (9) P, X 222 Rose Hill Rd. So. Kingstown, RI, 401-7881088, www.rosehillri.com CR,CL,CH,SB, Leagues 21. TRIGGS MEMORIAL G.C. (18) P Chalkstone Ave. Providence, RI 401-521-8460, www.triggs.us, CR,CL,PS,CH,O

36

22. WINDMILL HILL G.C. (9) X 35 Schoolhouse Rd. (off Rt 136) Warren, RI 401-245-1463, www.windmillgolfri.com CR,CL,CH,O, Restaurant 23. WOOD RIVER GOLF (18) P 78 Woodville-Alton Rd. Hope Valley, RI, 401364-0700, www.woodrivergolf.com, CR,CH,SB,O

RHODE ISLAND DRIVING RANGES

A. HARBOR LIGHTS MARINA & C.C. 150 Gray St. Warwick, RI, 401-737-6353 www.HarborLightsRI.com, Irons & Hybrids only, PGA Pro lessons w/target chipping green, bunkers, putting greens B. IRON WOODS GOLF PRACTICE CENTER 1081 Iron Hill Mine Rd. (off Rt.146) N. Smithfield, RI, 401-766-1151, www.iwgolf.com, putting greens, grass tees, covered area, bunker, lessons, repairs C. MULLIGAN’S ISLAND GOLF & ENTERTAINMENT (9) X 1000 New London Ave. (Rt 2) Cranston, RI 401-464-8855, www.mulligansisland.com 60 stall driving range, covered area, batting cages, mini-golf, par 3 course, 18-hole pitch and putt, PGA Golf Academy, Spargo Golf on premises, club fitting and repairs D. NARRAGANSETT GOLF DRIVING RANGE 1141 Boston Neck Rd. (Rt. 1A), Narragansett, RI, 401-783-1014, mat driving stalls, grass/iron area, bunker, putting area, PGA Pro

MASSACHUSETTS COURSES

24. AGAWAM MUNICIPAL G.C. (18) P 128 Southwick St., Feeding Hills, MA, 413-786-2194, www.agawamgolfcourse.com CL,CR,PS,CH,O, Banquets 25. AMHERST GC (9) P 365 S. Pleasant St. Amherst, MA, 413-256-6894 www.amherstgolfclub.org, CR,CL,PS,CH,O 26. BLACKSTONE NATIONAL G.C. (18) SP 227 Putnam Hill Rd. Sutton, MA, 508-865-2111 www.bngc.net, CR,CL,CH,PS,O,DR 27. BLISSFUL MEADOWS G.C. (18) SP 801 Chocalog Rd. Uxbridge, MA, 508-278-6110 www.blissfulmeadows.com, CR,CL,CH,DR,PS,O 28. BUNGAY BROOK G.C. (9) P 30 Locust St. Bellingham, MA, 508-883-1600 www.bungaybrook.com, CR,CL,DR,PS,CH,O 29. CAPTAINS COURSE (36) P 1000 Freemans Way, Brewster, MA, 508-896-1716 www.captainsgolfcourse.com CR,CL,CH,PS,O 30. CHEMAWA GOLF COURSE (18) P 350 Cushman Rd. N. Attleboro, MA, 508-3997330, http://chemawagolf.com CR,CH,O,CL 31. CRUMPIN-FOX (18) P 87 Parmenter Rd. Bernardston, MA 508-413-648-9101, www.golfthefox.com CR,CL,CH,PS,DR,O 32. EASTON C.C. (18) SP 265 Purchase St. Easton, MA 508-238-2500, www.eastoncountryclub.com CR,CL,PS,CH,DR,O 33. ELMCREST C.C. (18) Private, O 105 Somersville Rd. E. Longmeadow, MA 413-575-7477, www.golfelmcrest.cc.com

34. FOXBOROUGH C.C. (18) SP 33 Walnut St. Foxborough, MA 508-543-4661x4, www.foxboroughcc.com, CR,CL,PS,CH,DR,O 35. GLEN ELLEN C.C. (18) SP 84 Orchard St., Millis, MA, 508-376-2775 www.theglencc.com, CR,CL,CH,Rest.,DR,O 36. JOHN E. PARKER MUNICIPAL G.C. (9) P 17 Fisher St. Taunton, MA, 508-822-1797 CR,DR,CH,SB, Skins Thurs. at 3:45 37. JUNIPER HILL G.C. (36) P 202 Brigham St. Northboro, MA, 508-393-2444 www.juniperhillgc.com, CR,CL,PS,CH,SB,O 38. LAKEVILLE C.C. (18) P 44 Clear Pond Rd. Lakeville, MA, 508947-6630 www.lakevillecountryclub.com, CR,CL,PS,CH,SB,O 39. LOCUST VALLEY G.C. (9) P 106 Locust St. Attleboro, MA, 508-222-1500 CR,CH,SB,O, new low rates 40. MAPLEGATE COUNTRY CLUB (18) SP 160 Maple St. Bellingham, MA, 508-966-4040 www.maplegate.com, CR,CL,PS,CH 41. MGA LINKS AT MAMANTAPETT (18) P, X 300 W. Maine Rd. (Rt 123) Norton, MA 508-222-0555, www.mamantapett.com CL,PS,CH,SB,O 42. MIDDLEBROOK C.C. (9) P 149 Pleasant St. Rehoboth, MA 508-252-9393, CR,PS,CH,SB 43. NEW ENGLAND C.C. (18) SP 180 Paine St. Bellingham, MA, 508-883-2300, www.newenglandcountryclub.com CR,CL,DR,PS,CH,O 44. NORTON COUNTRY CLUB (18) SP 188 Oak St. Norton, MA, 508-285-2400 www.nortoncountryclub.com, CR,CL,CH,SB,O 45. OLDE SCOTLAND LINKS (18) P 695 Pine St. Bridgewater, MA, 508-279-3344 www.oldescotlandlinks.com, CR,CL,SB,DR,O 46. PINE OAKS G.C. (9) P 68 Prospect St., S. Easton, MA, 508-238-2320 www.pineoaks.com, CR,CL,CH,O Retail Store 47. REHOBOTH C.C. (18) P 155 Perryville Rd Rehoboth, MA, 508-252-6259 www.rehobothcountryclub.com, CR,CH,PS,O 48. RIDDER G.C. (18) P 389 Oak St. E. Bridgewater, MA 781-447-9003, www.ridderfarm.com CR,CL,PS,SB 49. SHAKER HILLS G.C. (18) P 146 Shaker Rd. Harvard, MA, 978-772-3330 www.shakerhills.com CR,CL,CH,PS,O 50. SHINING ROCK G.C. (18) SP 91 Clubhouse Way, Northbridge, MA, 508-2340400, www.shiningrock.com, CR,CL,CH,PS,O 51. THE RANCH G.C. (18) P 65 Sunnyside Rd. Southwick, MA, 413-569-9333 www.theranchgolfclub.com CR,CL,CH,PS,DR,O 52. WAMPANOAG G.C. (9) P 168 Old Providence Rd. Swansea, MA, 508-3799832, www.wampanoaggolf.com CR,CL,CH,PS 53. WENTWORTH HILLS G.C. (18) SP 27 Bow St. Plainville, MA, 508-316-0240 www.wntworthhillsgc.com, CR,CL,CH,PS,O

54. HILLSIDE C.C. (9) SP 82 Hillside Ave., Rehoboth MA, 508-252-9761 www.hillsidecountryclub.com, CR,CL,CH,SB,O restaurant, tiki bar, spa, courts

MASSACHUSETTS DRIVING RANGES

E. ATLANTIC DRIVING RANGE/ SHADOWBROOK (9) X 754 Newport Ave. So. Attleboro, MA, 508-7615484, www.atlanticgolfcenter.com, heated tees, retail shop, mini golf, chip and putt F. GOLF LEARNING CENTER OF NEW ENGLAND 19 Leonard St. Norton, MA (Exit 10 off Rt.495), 508-285-4500, www.golflearningcenter.com 1,000 ft. grass teeline, heated bays, putting, chipping, bunkers G. SEEKONK DRIVING RANGE 1977 Fall River Ave. (Rt. 6) Seekonk, MA 508-336-8074, www.seekonkdrivingrange.com covered heated tees, batting cages, mini golf, lessons, available, grass hitting area H. STIX GOLF & BASEBALL FUN CENTER 582 Kelley Blvd., No. Attleboro, MA 508-695-0091, www.stixfuncenter.com, TrueStrike golf mats, grass tees, minigolf, batting cages, putting green, bunker, lessons

CONNECTICUT COURSES

54. AIRWAYS G.C. (18) P 1070 S. Grand St., W. Suffield, CT 860-668-4973, www.airwaysgolf.com CR,CL,CH,SB,O 55. CEDAR KNOB GC (18) P 446 Billings Rd. Somers, CT, 860-749-3550 www.cedarknobgolfcourse.com, CR,CL,CH,PS,O 56. ELMRIDGE GOLF CLUB (27) P 229 Elmridge Rd. Pawcatuck, CT, 860-599-2248 www.elmridgegolf.com, CR,CL,DR,PS,CH,O 57. FOX HOPYARD (18) SP 1 Hopyard Rd. East Haddam, CT 860-434-6644, www.golfthefox.com CR,CL,CH,PS,DR,O 58. LAKE OF ISLES C.C. (18) P Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CT, 860-3123636, www.lakeofisles.com CR,CL,PS,SB,Rest.,O, Golf School 59. RACEWAY GOLF COURSE (18) SP 205 E. Thompson Rd. Thompson, CT 860-923-9591, www.racewaygolf.com CR,CL,CH,PS,DR,O 60. RIVER RIDGE GOLF CLUB (18) P 259 Preston Rd. Griswold, CT 860-376-3268, www.riverridgegolf.com CR,CL,PS,CH,O 61. SHENNECOSSETT G.C. (18) P 93 Plant St. Groton, CT, 860-445-0262 (PS 448-1867), www.shennygolf.com CR,CL,CH,PS,Rest.,O 62. SKUNGAMAUG RIVER G.C. (18) SP 104 Folly Ln., Coventry, CT, 860-742-9348 www.skungamauggolf.com, CR,CL,CH,PS,O

KEY

RHODE ISLAND COURSES

1. BEAVER RIVER G.C. (18) P 343 Kingstown Rd. Richmond, RI, 401-539-2100 www.beaverrivergolf.com, PS,CR,CH,SB,O 2. BUTTON HOLE SHORT COURSE (9) P, X 1 Button Hole Dr. Providence, RI, 401-421-1664 www.buttonhole.org, CL,CH,DR,PS, Lessons 3. COUNTRY VIEW G.C. (18) P 49 Club Lane Burrillville, RI, 401-568-7157 www.countryviewgolf.net, CR,CL,PS,CH,O 4. COVENTRY PINES G.C. (9) P 1065 Harkney Hill Rd. Coventry, RI 401-397-9482, CR,CL,CH,SB, Senior Rates 5. CRANSTON C.C. (18) P 69 Burlingame Rd. Cranston, RI, 401-826-1683 www.cranstoncc.com, CR,CL,PS,CH,O 6. EAST GREENWICH G.C. (9) SP 1646 Division Rd. E. Greenwich, RI, 401-884-5656, www.eastgreenwichgc.com CR,CL,CH,O, Restaurant 7. FAIRLAWN G.C. (9) P, X Sherman Ave. Lincoln, RI, 401-334-3937 www.fairlawngolfcourse.com, CR,CL,CH,SB,O 8. FOSTER COUNTRY CLUB (18) P 67 Johnson Rd. Foster, RI, 401-397-7750 www.fostercountryclub.com, CR,CL,PS,CH,O 9. HARBOR LIGHTS MARINA & C.C. (9) P 150 Gray St. Warwick, RI, 401-737-6353 www.HarborLightsRI.com, CR,PS,CH,O Restaurant, Leagues 10. JAMESTOWN G.C. (9) P 245 Conanicus Ave. Jamestown, RI, 401-423-9930 www.jamestowngolf.com CR,CL,CH 11. KINGS CROSSING G.C. (9) P 655 Old Baptist Rd. N. Kingstown, RI, 401294-2872, www.kingscrossinggolfclub.com CR,PS,CH,O 12. LAUREL LANE C.C. (18) P Laurel Lane, off Rt.138, W. Kingston, RI 401783-3844, www.laurellanecountryclub.com CR,CL,PS,CH,O 13. LINDBROOK G.C. (18) 299 Woodville Alton Rd. Hope Valley, RI 401-539-8700, X CR, CH,O 14. MELODY HILL C.C. (18) P 55 Melody Hill Ln. Harmony, RI, 401-949-9851 CR,PS,CH, O 15. MIDVILLE COUNTRY CLUB (9) P 100 Lombardi Ln. W. Warwick, RI, 401-828-9215 www.midvillegolfclub.com, CR,CL,PS,CH 16. NEWPORT NATIONAL G.C. (18) SP 324 Mitchells Ln. Middletown, RI, 401-848-9690 www.newportnational.com, CR,CL,PS,SB,O 17. NORTH KINGSTOWN G.C. (18) P 615 Callahan Rd. No. Kingstown, RI, 401-2940684, www.nkgc.com, DR,PS,CR,CL,CH,O 18. PINE CREST GOLF CLUB (9) P 25 Pinehurst Dr. Richmond, RI, 401-364-8600 www.pinecrestri.com CR,CL,CH,SB,O, Leagues 19. R.I. CHILDREN’S GOLF CENTER (6) P 2 Fairway Dr. Coventry RI, 401-215-0776

( ) = Holes P = Public SP = Semi Private X = Executive CR = Cart Rental DR = Driving Range

PS = Pro Shop CH = Clubhouse O = Outings SB = Snack Bar CL = Club Rental

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

SNE GOLFER LOCATOR MAP

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

37

SNE GOLFER

Southern New England Golf Expo Set for Feb. 21-22, 2015

Target Your Audience in SNE Golfer!

For advertising information, call Bruce Vittner at 401-4648445 or email bruce@snegolfer.com

38

ballroom that can accommodate 150 vendors. In each corner 10 by 10 foot video screens can be used for many purposes. The giant stage will be used for golf lessons and additional retail from local pros.

There will be a live auction where attendees can bid or buy golf vacations, rounds of golf, merchandise and memberships. Yesterday’s Legends will have sports memorabilia from your favorite New England teams.

“We have had a huge response from the local golf community so far with over 10 local clubs registered and we do anticipate selling out the event at over

120 vendors,” says Hillmann. We have three coordinators working on this full time and we will be announcing vendors, sponsors, retailers and two local golf charities that we will be supporting in the August/September issue of SNE Golfer Magazine,” he adds.

Tickets to the event will be $12 and include two rounds of golf, a one-year subscription to Golf Digest or Golf World and admission to the Expo.

To find out more information visit www.newenglandgolfexpos.com or call Jim Hillmann at 413-563-2669 or email hillsma2@aol.com.

R.I. Senior Open Aug. 12-13 The tenth annual Rhode Island Senior Open will be held at Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth on August 12 and 13. The event is open to both professionals and amateurs with handicaps of 12 and under. The price for pros is $250 and $200 for amateurs. There is not cut. Contact tournament director Rick Holcomb for more information or to sign up at 401-862-4119.

Answer on page 4

T

he Southern New England Golf Expo returns to the Twin River Casino February 21 and 22. Under the direction of New England Golf Expos the event will feature an indoor driving range, interactive exhibits to test your skills and plenty of retail products at huge discounts.

The Expo was last held in the greater Rhode Island area in 2012 when over 6,000 golfers packed the Convention Center.

The new location, according to event manager Jim Hillmann, “Will attract golfers from around New England as we combine golf, restaurants, entertainment and gambling”. The event will run Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

The Event Center at the Twin River Casino offers acres and acres of free parking and inside has a fully carpeted

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

Enduring Relationships.

Part of every Amica policy since 1907.

“Highest Customer Satisfaction Among Auto Insurers in the New England Region�

Honored to receive an award for customer satisfaction with auto insurers for 14 years in a row.

Call 877-372-6422 or visit AmicaRI.com.

Amica Mutual received the highest numerical score among auto insurance providers in the New England region in the proprietary J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Auto Insurance StudySM. Study based on 45,521 total responses measuring 15 providers in the New England region and measures opinions of consumers with their auto insurance provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed March-April 2013. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Lincoln, Rhode Island

9.5 x 10.75 JDP Regional Auto Ad_BLEED_Enduring Relationships_SPRING.indd 1 SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND GOLFER / June-July 2014 / 401-464-8445 / www.snegolfer.com

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