Massachusetts Golf Association

Holy Toledo, These Guys Are Good

2011-07-31T08:47:00.002-04:00

Sorry, couldn't help myself withthat title. I have been at the U.S. Senior Open since Tuesday. Serving on the Rules Committee. It's been a hectic but enjoyable week. Walked the golf course Tuesday and Wednesday to get familiar with it, attended Rules meeting on Wednesday night and we were off and running on Thursday.

Inverness is a great course and the conditioning is perfect. Small greens, rough is thick but not overly long. If you've beenfollowing then you know exactly how good the scoring has been. There was a lot of rain the week prior to the championship which softened the greens somewhat. Combined with the heat and high humidity, it was just going to be difficult for the USGA to get them firm. And then we had some drenching rains in the very early morning hours of Friday which delayed the start by more than two hours.

My first group that I walked with on Friday featured two amateurs, Mike Allen from Austin and Rick Cloninger from Fort Mill, SC. Both are very good players. Mike played well but had three bad holes, and Rick played extremely solid but three-putted the last to shoot one over. The third player in the group was club pro, Sonny Skinner, from Georgia. He got to two-under early but struggled late. We had a few rulings, but all were minor (thankfully). There was a ball against a TV tower on one hole, ball in a lateral hazard and a question whether a ball was actually on the putting green. It was the 18th hole and it was Rick Cloninger. I was fairly certain but had some doubt so I called in a Rover to verify. The fact that it was on the 18th hole in front of the gallery made it doubly inportant to get it 100% right.

It was brutally hot out there on Thursday, about 100 degrees with high humidity. everybody was soaked. We didn't tee off until 2:25 so we were in the real heat of the day. I drank 8 bottles of water and 2 Gatorades during the round and never once had to seek out the port-o-let. OK, that's probably too much info, but that's how hot it was. Nice to get in the AC afterwards.

I was scheduled to go off at 8:40 on Friday with first round leader Olin Browne. Also in the group were Dan Forsman and Mark McNulty. Because of the weather delay we ended up not teeing off until 11:25. Another hot day, but slighty less so compared to Thursday. All three players are nice guys and fortunately never needed my help al day. Olin continued to play well, a very tiday round of two-under with one blemish on #7 where he made double after a poor drive left into the trees.

I was tired, but on Friday night I was invited to a Toledo Mudhens game, the AAA baseball team made famouse by Jamie Farr's constant references back inthe M.A.S.H. days on TV. Great stadium, great game. Voted best minor league stadium for several years running, and right neart the hotel, too. Not too much other sight seeing. Pretty much been golf course and hotel.

Saturday I was an Observer with the Loren Roberts and Willie Wood group. I was out fron to assist the referee. Much less pressure than being a referee. Warm day, but the hunidity was down. Both players played well and didn't need any rules asistance, so it was a walk in the park. I watched the rest of the TV telecast from the USGA hospitality room in the clubhouse. Too tired to do anything, but grab a quick bite at the hotel with Dave Miller and Dr. Bob Ruby. Dave is onthe USGA Senior Am Committee and a member at Charles River who officiates many MGA and NEGA events. Bob is a dentist from CT who is also onthe USGA Senior Am Committee and very accomplished player. He is one of the best Rules guys I know. The three of us have had a nice time this week and have also met some new people along the way.

Final round today and I am going with Phil Blackmar and Steve Lowery at 12:06. They're both former winners on the regular tour and pretty low-key guys, so hopefully it will be a good day out there.

A Busy July

2011-07-28T09:41:00.002-04:00

The heart of the championship season is here, and so far we've had a great July. The 103rd Mass Amateur at Wyantenuck CC could not have gone any better. It was a wonderful week inthe Berkshires and everyone at Wyantenuck treated all the players, officials and MGA staff like family. We only had one weather problem with a brief suspension of play on Wednesday, first day of match play. Other than that it was a perfect week to run a golf tournament.

I think some people were wondering just how the golf course would hold up especially in stroke play. Any doubts were elimated when the players arrived. The course was in pristine condition and played beautifully. Colin Brennan played great golf to earn medalist honors, but nobody ate the place up. The greens and fairways were as perfect as they could be, just outstanding. Peter Bacon, the golf course superintendent, and his crew have been prepping for three years for the Amateur and it showed.

We knew that the golf course would be great for match play and it was. There were many exciting matches and two top players, Ryan Riley and Frank Vana, making the finals. Frank dug himself a hole early y being several down, but hats off to Ryan for his great play and mking 10 birdies in 33 holes in the final in winning his first Amateur.

The New England Amateur last week at Metacomet CC in RI was another good tournament. It's a great old Donald Ross golf course that holds a special place in my heart because it's where I played my high school golf while playing for East Providence High. We used to play 18 hole matches in those days back in the 1970's which was fun. We had great battles with Barrington High who always had a great team which featured one Brad Faxon. I never played Brad head to head but played in the same group several times. Needless to say, EP had a tough time against Barrington in those days, but it was always close. I also played my final RI Junior Amateur at Metacomet in 1979 when I was 17. Faxon actually got beat in the finals that year after having won the previous three years.

The biggest surprise about the New England Amateur this year was that we actually managed to get in 72 holes for the first time in about six years. We've had more weather disasters than I care to remember at that tournament, but this year while hot, we at least got it in. Jeff Heddon from CT played crazy good and shot 13 under par to win by 5.

Gearing Up for the Amateur

2011-07-08T16:27:00.002-04:00

The 103rd Mass Amateur is set to begin on Monday at Wyantenuck CC. After all the planning, work and anticipation it's almost time to get out of the way and let the players play. The club has been preparing for a few years for next week, and we MGA staff and officials who are attending are looking forward to the week in Great Barrington.

The only preparations left to do will be finalizing the course markings and hole locations on Sunday which will be overseen by Jesse Menachem, MGA Director of Rules & Competitions in concert with Wyantenuck member and MGA Official-In-Charge, Tom Berkel.

There is a great article in The Berkshire Eagle that describes all the preparations by course superintendent, Peter Bacon. http://www.berkshireeagle.com/localsports/ci_18437005
Peter's hard work along with the efforts of Tom Sullivan (head pro), Jennie Quenneville (club manager), Jack Dezieck (MGA President and longtime WCC member) and others will be on full display next week.

And by Friday afternoon there will be one extremely happy golfer hoisting a very big silver trophy.

Good Players Shooting Good Scores

2011-07-01T14:41:00.002-04:00

There's been a lot of good scoring recently at the tournaments I've been at. I was fortunate to spend one full day (Friday) at Congressional during the U.S. Open. I wallked the golf course and it was an absolute beast - just long and extremely demanding. But you give the best players in the world soft conditions and they will shoot good scores. Rory McIlroy was off the charts, but many other players were well under par as well. You can't build courses long enough for these top players. The many challege is to get the course playing firm and fast and hope that Mother Nature conjurs some wind. I think top players would rather play in the rain than deal with constant and gusty wind. Absent those conditions and they will go low. All in all it was an exciting championship. Even though it was Rory in a runaway, he is someone good for the game and easy to root for.
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<:AtomicElement>I think any criticism levied against the USGA for this year's Open set-up is somewhat unfair. Mike Davis had no control over the weather. It was over 100 degrees the week before the Open for a few days and then of course the rain came. If Mike is going to err, he's going to err on the side of the player. I know that he and everyone else at the USGA never wants a repeat of what happened at Shinnecock. And speaking of that Long Island gem, it's nice to see that the fences have been mended and Shinnecock was announced as the site of the 2018 Open.
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<:AtomicElement>The week after the Open I was involved in the administration of the Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett CC in RI. Long considered one of the top men's amateur tournaments in the world, the Northeast has a great list of past champions including Ben Crenshaw, John Cook, Luke Donald and Dustin Johnson to name a few. This year another "name" player won - Peter Uihlein, the regning U.S. Amateur champion and Mass native. He set the 72 hole scoring record with a 15 under par performance.
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<:AtomicElement>Again Mother Nature had a hand in the low scoring as the rain leading up to and during the tournament rendered the 6,700 yard course (short for today's elite players), specifically the greens, defenseless. At Wannamoisett the greens need to be firm and fast to challenge players. The rain simply turned it into a dart throwing contest. Luke Guthrie of the Univ of Illinois set the course record with an 8 under par 61 in the first round. That was an omen of what was to come as more than 20 players finished the tournament under par. But it was still exciting golf to watch down the stretch and Peter is a great champion.
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<:AtomicElement>Finally, to continue the trend this past week at the Mass Open featured a rain dampened Oak Hill CC course in Fitchburg. The potentially scary greens had a little bit of their teeth taken out with the soft conditions. Fortunately the weather cooperated during th tournament itself and Kyle Gallo of CT won his first Mass Open.
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<:AtomicElement>We will see what the weather brings in another week or so to Wyantenuck and the Mass Amateur. Whatever the conditions, one happy golfer will be raising a beatiful trophy at week's end.

Tale of Two Four-Balls

2011-06-15T16:51:00.002-04:00

Things are heating up at the MGA. We're in full swing in every department which obviously includes our championship department. Fortunately the weather has begun to cooperate at times. This was not the case early on in the spring during Mass Open qualifying, U.S. Open qualifying, Member Day events and, of course, the Four-Ball.

We moved the Four-Ball to the second week in May this year, a week later than traditional. As soon as that first Monday-Tuesday in May was sunny and 70+ degrees, I had a bad feeling about the next week. The long range forecast was good, but I've been around long enough not to worry about the weather until a couple of days before a tournament. Sure enough and true to form, the weather at Hatherly and Cohasset was just brutal - cold, windy and healthy doses of rain scattered in.

Despite the miserable weather there was still some very good golf played with Hernie Aikens and Ryan Riley winning another title in a play-off when Herbie drained a tricky 12 footer.

Last week at Willowbend and The Golf Club of Cape Cod and Willowbend, the seniors had it a little nicer. The temperatures were well into the 80's and it actually felt (gasp) HOT out there. A little too hot too soon, but we were not complaining. There were several players who'd played in the regular Four-Ball and they were quick to point out the horrible weather from a month earlier. Like we needed reminding. Hats off to Kevin Carey and Ray Richard for a great win.

I hope that everyone is out playing a little more regularly now. Can't say that's the case with me, but that's par for the course this time of year. It's U.S. Open week, though. I've got XM radio in my car, the Golf Channel 'Live from the U.S. Open' on the tube at night and looking forward to the first round tomorrow. Enjoy the toughest test in golf this week!

Almost Game Time

2011-04-25T15:08:00.002-04:00

Next week marks the start of the MGA tournament season with a Member Day event at Cohasse CC in Southbridge. We have a full-field for the tournament and we're just hoping for some nice weather ofr everyone. The weather hasn't exactly been perfectly suited for golf in this early part of the season. The following week we have the Four-Ball at Cohasset GC and Hatherly CC. We will be officially "off to the races" by then, and again we hope Mother Nature cooperates. She hasn't always taken a shine to the Four-Ball in recent years.

Masters Week

2011-04-05T16:18:00.006-04:00

After the winter that we have just endured, the Masters has come just in time. The weather hasn't been too great around here, but just knowing that we'll be getting to watch Augusta National on TV in a couple of days while hearing the silky tones of Jim Nantz, it gives all us golfers hope that real spring weather will be here soon. It's been an active winter for us at the MGA. We're pretty well set for the tournament season which will - hard to belive - be here in a month. The New England Golf Summit was a successful day of education and networking last week at Andover CC http://www.negolfsummit.org/. We've had committee meetings, staff meetings, Rules workshops and various seminars. I think we're all ready to get onto the golf course. But this week is Masters week and I am as excited as any golfer. I love the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and the PGA, but the Masters just has that special aura. I will be hunkered down in my man cave all weekend and my wife and daughter know not to bother me. I'll watch the pre-game and post-game on Golf Channel, I'll be on masters.com, I'll be texting with a few buddies while the tournament is unfolding. And I know I'm just one of a cast of millions doing the same thing. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' improbable victory at Augusta in 1986 at age 46. I'm older now than Jack was when he donned that sixth green jacket which gives me even more perspective. There aren't too many sporting events where I can remember exactly where I was when it occurred. I was a hockey crazed little kid when Bobby Orr scored the overtime goal and sailed through the air in 1970. I watched the Miracle on Ice in 1980 in total amazement in my basement at home. I was at the dinner table with my family when Doug Flutie threw his Hail Mary pass. And I was in suburban Philadelphia in 1986 when Jack made is Sunday charge. I was watching the telecast in the den at my girlfriend's apartment (she's my wife now so she's used to this stuff by now), and I was watching the Masters on a little 13 inch black and white TV. Yes, it's true. Lynda had no interest in golf and was watching a movie or something in the main room on the color TV. I told her I had to watch the Masters and I remember yelling and hooting and telling her that what an amazing thing is happening right here on live TV. After Jack's 5 iron almost went in the hole on 16 I started to get choked up. I'll never forget that day and neither will millions of other golfers. It's not likely that 2011 will produce the same drama as 1986, but you never know. Let's see, it's 4:45 P.M. on Tuesday. If I leave the office in a few minutes I'll be home in plenty of time to watch all of Live from the Masters.

USGA Annual Meeting

2011-02-05T14:42:00.006-05:00

I thought Phoenix was going to be warm, but some unseasonable weather has people wearing sweaters and coats. I shouldn't complain, though, after suffering through so many winter storms at home that we've all had to endure in New England. As the plane prepared for landing Thursday afternoon I looked out the window and saw not a speck of snow. 'Now that's pretty novel,' I thought to myself.

I am here for a few days to attend the USGA Annual Meeting. It's been nice to connect with many of my fellow golf administrator friends from other golf associations around the country as well as the USGA staff and committee people whom I know. The Annual Meeting itself is today, Saturday, at 4:30 p.m. where the USGA will have its annual election of officers. The meeting is immediately followed by a reception and dinner where the Bob Jones Award is being handed out. Presented annually, the Bob Jones Award is the Association's highest honor and given out for sportsmanship in the game of golf. This year's recipient is Lorena Ochoa. I think she is a most deserving winner. I had occasion to meet Lorena during the 2006 U.S. Women's Open at Newport CC. I was privileged to be serving as a 1st tee starter during one of the practice round days. I met many of the girls, most of whom were very friendly and congenial. (I don't think their counterparts at the U.S. Open would have been nearly as cordial.) But when Lorena came up to the tee she was more special than most of the other girls. She smiled, looked me in the eye and said, 'Hi, I'm Lorena', as she shook my hand. She was both warm and genuine and I've never forgotten it. I'm looking forward to that part of the evening.

I am a USGA Committee member serving on the Regional Associations Committee. I am on this committee by virtue of being the executive director of the MGA. In addition to representing the MGA here at the meeting, I am also representing the IAGA, the International Association of Golf Administrators. The IAGA is an organization made up of staff members of state and regional golf associations in the US as well as staff from provincial golf associations in Canada. There are also members from a few golf unions and federations such as Mexico. We have our own annual conference and meeting each fall which provides for great educational sessions and networking among peers.

The IAGA has its own board of directors and I was fortunate to be appointed to the board a few years ago. I am currently the vice president and as such, I was invited along with the IAGA president (Robin Jervey from the Colorado Women's Golf Association) to make a brief presentation to the USGA Executive Committee. Other groups invited to make presentations were the PGA Tour, PGA of America, LPGA, The First Tee, CMAA, GCSAA and AJGA. The tours and PGA had 30 minutes while every other group was slotted for 15. The meeting took place yesterday (Friday) and Robin and I were scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Joining us was Jan Garber, the managing director for the IAGA who also works for the Golf Association of Philadelphia.

Robin and I followed Mike Whan, Commisioner of the LPGA. To say I had the 1st tee jitters while I waited outside the giant board room at the Hilton would be an understatement. Our plan was for me to lead off the talk, giving a brief overview of the IAGA and its history while bringing all the assembled up to speed as to who the IAGA is and who we represent. Then I'd hand it off to Robin would speak to some more specific items like describing what state associations do and how we help the USGA to fulfill its mission. We do that, by the way, by conducting USGA qualifiers, rating golf courses and assisting in the process of amateur reinstatement applications. We do other things as well, but those are the core functions of how we assist. Robin was also planning to thank the USGA for its generosity in continuing to fund the P.J. Boatwright, Jr. Program, an internship program utilized by many state associations. The MGA has a Boatwright intern each summer and he/she is funded by the USGA.

USGA President Jim Hyler came out of the room to collect Robin and me and we were invited to sit at the end of a very large u-shaped table. The entire USGA Executive Committee was present as were members of the USGA Women's Committee, Past Presidents and USGA Senior staff, probably 40 or so people in the room. Robin and I were seated at the bottom of the 'U' with a microphone in front of each of us. There were people sitting around the perimeter of the room who could not fit at the table. I felt like I was about to be questioned at a Senate hearing. All eyes were on us. My heart was pounding out of my chest, but I was trying to play it cool. I said hello to everyone and launched into my portion of the talk. My five or so minutes seemed to zip by and I won't lie, I had a little cheat sheet on an index card in front of me with some notes in case I started to choke. Fortunately, I got through my five or so minutes sounding relatively coherent (or so I was told) and making some semblance of sense. When I was finished I turned it over to Robin who did a great job and then we were done. President Hyler asked us each a question and again, we both answered it without getting tongue-twisted. I shook hands on the way out with a few committee members who I know and we were done. Phew, we survived! I actually enjoyed it and I think Robin did, too.

This morning we had an IAGA board meeting which lasted a couple of hours and then I went to listen in on a talk by members of the USGA Green Section entitled 'The Myths and Realities of Firm and Fast: Will This Work At Your Golf Course?' It was very well done and was basically a clarification of the 'Brown Is The New Green' mantra that President Hyler introduced last year in addressing maintenance practices on golf courses as well as sustainability and water concerns . It's a complex issue because we in America have come to expect golf courses to be lush and green when that's not always what's in the best interests of the turf or for playing conditions.

I went onto the USGA web site a short while ago and they've just reprinted an article from a 1977 issue of their Green Section magazine. Written 24 years ago, it could have been written yesterday and is more applicable than ever. Attached below, I think it says it all and it's right on the money. Paste the link into your browser and read it when you have a few extra minutes.

http://usgamuseum.com/about_museum/news_events/news_article.aspx?newsid=178

Arnie's Last Flight

2011-01-30T13:01:00.002-05:00

I was reading some golf news online yesterday when I came across a story about Arnold Palmer preparing to pilot his last flight. Most people know that Arnie was among the first pro athletes to own and pilot his own plane. His pilot's license will be expiring soon and while he'll still be flying around the globe in his fancy jet, he will not longer be flying the plane himself.

When Arnie pilots his Cessna Citation 10 jet from Palms Springs to Orland on January 31st for his final journey, he will have logged almost 20,000 hours in the cockpit. That's more than two years in flight! What an amazing stat from a guy who not only revolutionized the game, but showed future generations of golfers another way to travel.

Is It Spring Yet?

2011-01-18T14:26:00.003-05:00

We already know the answer to that one. At least we've been able to watch golf on TV the past couple of weeks as the Tour players endured the Hawaiian weather. I remember my short stint (2 seasons) caddying on the PGA Tour and being at the Hawaiian Open feeling pretty smug because the weather back home was pretty similar to what we are getting today. Even the hard core who will play in anything have been forced to put the clubs away with all the courses blanketed in white.

I can't believe I let the entire second half of the season go without posting an entry to the blog. No excuses. I went to a seminar recently on social media and the speaker said that anyone doing a blog should post at least once a week. So from here on out that will be my goal.

The off-season at the MGA has been busy putting the final touches on the 2011 schedule, attending meetings and allied association get-togethers. The holidays are behind us so we will be inching closer to the golf season week by week. Those who play in MGA events will have the opportunity to sign up beginning February 1st. I know that there will be plenty of players registering online thinking warm weather and tournament golf while we are still in our winter doldrums. And I can relate - the older I get, the less tolerant I become of this cold weather. The schedule for the Member Day events is not quite complete so registration for those events will be later this winter.

Plenty of cool new golf equipment to check out both online and in the magazines. I know we all like to think we can buy a better game and I'm no different. We had a great evening at Wellesley CC on January 6 where we honored all our 2010 MGA champions at the Salute to Champions night. It was a great celebration of the game for all who were there as well as an honoring of our worthy champions.

Plenty of winter in front of us still, but I'll be tuning into the Bob Hope this weekend and forgetting that for a few hours.

Moving Day at Sahalee

2010-07-31T20:03:00.002-04:00

It was an exciting day at Sahalee with huge crowds this afternoon at Sahalee. The leaders were teeing off when I was already deep into the back nine. The roars for Freddie were coming early as he rattled off a 31 on the front.

It was a cool, cloudy morning, 55 degrees when I got to the course at 7:15. I wore my long sleeve sweater all day today. I was walking up many fairways with my hands in my pockets - downright chilly! I had a very nice day with two guys who unfortunately struggled. Bill Britton and Jon Feidler are both very good players, but this course will expose any weakness that a player shows. They hit a lot of good shots, but a few loose ones that added up to 78 for each of them. I didn't have anything in the way of rulings other than to have each ask me about the optional ball drop when they both rinsed it from the tee on the par-3 5th.

We had Craig Stadler and Dan Forsman playing directly in front of us. There were a few nice cheers for those two. A nice thing about this week besides the people really coming out to support the tournament is that the crowds are knowledgable, too. They're not just out to follow celebrity golfers. there are a lot of virtual no-names here this week, and I have heard a lot of hearty applause for some of these guys when they play a great shot or hole a nice putt.

I'm staying at a Marriott right in the heart of Redmond, WA - Microsoft country. They're obviously a big part of the community. I saw on TV where Microsoft's new seach engine, Bing, is sponsoring the Seattle Seahawks training camp that is just about to get under way.

Bob Ruby and I are flying out first thing Sunday morning for the long trek back east. Bob is a USGA committe member who has worked several US Senior Opens in addition to the Women's Open. He's also coming back tis way in a few weeks to officiate at the US Amateur at Chambers Bay which will host the US Open in a few more years. Bob and I are going out to dinner tonight with Dave Miller, a Charles River member and MGA official who is also a USGA committee member working his first Senior Open. Joining us will be our fearless leader, Jim Farrell, USGA staffer who announces the players on the 1st tee all four days.

Looks like a battle royale tommorrow between Freddie and Bernhard who both sit tied at 5-under par and five clear of Tom Kite. With Fred growing up in Seattle, the big crowds are rooting for one guy only tomorrow. And even though I will be in the air flying when these guys are out grinding, I'm rooting for Freddie, too.

US Senior Open @ Sahalee

2010-07-30T23:55:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a very nice day walking with Jay Haas, Hale Irwin and Paul Trittler. I can almost guarantee that I was more nervous than the players on the 1st tee. I spoke to my walking scorer and standard bearer. Our group had two walking marshalls for crowd control because it was a notable group. We even had a forward observer, Bill Katz, a USGA Executive Committee to help out. I introduced myself and shook hands to the three players who were all very cordial. USGA staff member and New England Regional Director, Jim Farrell, announced our group and we were off. It took me a few holes to calm down before I started to feel comfortable.

Fortunately it was an uneventful day and there were no rulings, but I stayed on my toes and tried to anticipate what might happen on each shot by each player on every hole. I was a ble to watch some ver nice golf by world class players. It's tough to appreciate how difficult this course is playing unless you see it up close. It's playing very firm and fast and the hole locations are extremely challenging. A course like this will expose weaknesses in a player's game fromt he very first hole which is why you see the names you do at the top of the leader board - Langer, Cook, Watson, Couples. Look all the way down the leader board and there are very few unfamiliar names. These are mostly battle tested tour players who are incredibly good.

On Friday I walked with three unhralded players, Tom Herzman, Rod Spittle and Bob Niger. I had never heard of any of them, but Rod and Bob each made the cut which fell at +10. I had one minor ruling about determining Bob's nearest point of relief for a ball that had come to rest near a putting green. Otherwise just a nice walk in the park. The only wrench in the day for everyone was the 2 hour+ fog delay that occurred about 7:45PM, just a half hour after play had begun. It made for a long day, but fortunately everyone finished. Good thing it doesn't get dark in Seattle until 9PM.

I have a group to walk with today, Saturday. After the cut to the low-60 players and ties, players will play in groups of two today. I am with Bill Britton and Job Fielder at 8:34 local time. I don't know Jon other than I've seen his name. I know Bill is a former PGA Tour player from the early '90's. During my brief two-year stint caddying on Tour, Bill had a couple of good years winning his sole event in Florida at the 1990 Centel Classic if my memory serves me. I will mention it to him today. He won't remember, but I was paired in his group several times back in those days.

Cloudy most of the day today. The weather out here - 70's and low humidity - has been a welcome break from the weather back home. Maybe by the time the TV telecast comes on it will be sunny for the leaders.

The Busy Season

2010-07-29T11:48:00.003-04:00

Yes, we are in the throes of our busy season and we are chugging along. If it's possible to have 'blog guilt' then I have it. Despite promises to myself that I would post an entry at least weekly, here it is the end of July and I haven't chimed in since the Curtis Cup in early June.

The championship season at the MGA has been going well and we have been much more fortunate with the weather compared to the early part of last season. Wellesley Country Club did a beautiful job in hosting the 101st Mass Open in late June. I don't think it could have gone much better. And congratulations to Wellesley as the celebrate their centennial season this year.

And speaking of Wellesley, two-time club champ there, Dan Head, made it to the finals of the Mass Amateur at Myopia Hunt earlier this month. Untested at the state level, Dan got on a roll and played some beautiful golf en route to the final match. He took 2008 champ, John Hadges, to the 35th hole before John finally prevailed. It was a great final match - no one was ever more than two up the final way. I think John was waiting for Dan to fold, but he never did, giving John all he could handle.

Brian Higgins was disappointed to be knocked out of the Amateur in the quarter-finals, but these past two weeks have been quite the consolation for him. First winning the New England Amateur at Yale last week and then qualifying for the US Amateur this week at Boston Golf Club. Congrats, too, to Scott Congdon who also qualified with Brian and Harvard's Tony Grillo who captured the medal at the US Amateur qualifier in Rhode Island at Potowomut Golf Club.

The Junior Amateur is wrapping up today at Foxborough CC. The club has done a wonderful job of hosting. We really appreciate the cooperation of the membership and all the help provided by pro, Lou Rivers, and superintendent, Mike Poch.

Unfortunately I am not at Foxborough this week. As I type this I am in Redmond, WA just outside of Seattle for the US Senior Open which began this morning. I've been here since Tuesday and toured the course the past two days. It's been a welcome break from the heat and humidity back home. The weather this week is morning clouds followed b sunny and upper-70's high temps. Nice. The golf course, Sahalee CC, is a beautiful, lush layout with towering pine trees everywhere. It is without question the tightest golf course I have ever seen. Think bowling alley with 100-foot pines on either side.

All of us rules officials sat in on an hour-long rules meeting yesterday afternoon complete with PowerPoint slides to go over specific situations on the golf course. Each group today will have a walking referee and I was very fortunate to draw the group that includes Jay Haas and Hale Irwin. The third player is an alternate who got in to replace Nick Price who withdrew. Am I a little nervous? Yes, but I will stay out of the players' way and be there if they need me. And if I can't figure something out then I will call a rules rover on my trusty radio. Looking forward to my afternoon which starts at 12:50PM local time.

A Great Few Days at Essex CC Wraps Up

2010-06-14T07:47:00.003-04:00

I have to admit I was sad to see it come to an end. My first Curtis Cup was a special experience. I think it was special for everyone who was involved including the spectators who were treated to some excellent golf from these 16 young women. I bumped into some people I knew who thought they'd just come out to see what the Curtis Cup was about. They were amazed at the level of play. And to be honest, so was I. I knew that these girls were good, but to see them up close gave me a fuller appreciation of just how good.

Despite all the hype that surrounds Alexis Thompson (and make no mistake, she is the real deal), I think the player who impressed me the most was Jessica Korda. She attends Bradenton Prep Academy in Florida and just turned 17 this past February. She's tall, blond and attractive, but it's her long, fluid swing that most impresses. She generates so much power and speed in her swing that she was consistently 30-40 yards ahead of the other three players in the four-ball match that I refereed. This girl has Tour action that would be the envy of many girls currently on the LPGA Tour. I don't know if Jessica is planning to attend college or turn pro, but she's got a complete game already.

Sunday's singles matches didn't hold much suspense as the USA team needed only 1 1/2 points to retain the Cup and 2 point to win outright. The USA clinched the Cup in match #3. I was the referee for match #4 between Lisa Maguire from Ireland and Kimberly Kim, the University of Denver player from Hawaii who won the U.S. Women's Amateur at 14. I think Kimberly will be playing a full amateur schedule this summer and then turning pro in the fall.

The match was all square at the turn and when I walked past the giant scoreboard it was clear that the USA was soon to clinch the Cup with matches 2+3 already well in hand just ahead. What we had here, though, was a horse race. Lisa Maguire and her twin, Leona, are both on the team, and at 15 years old, the youngest players along with Alexis Thompson. The Maguire twins are supposedly fraternal twins, but they look pretty darn identical to me. I talked to the referee who had them in a foursome match and she said that the only way she could tell them apart was that one was wearing different color socks. I'm glad I didn't have that match. In fact, when I refereed Lisa's win in her four-ball match with partner Sally Watson, I congratulated both players on the 18th green. About 15 minutes later I saw Lisa again outside the pro shop, tapped her on the shoulder and said, 'Nice playing out there.' After getting a perplexed look, I quickly realized that it was Leona who had lost her match. Oops. I quickly vacated the area.

Having seen Lisa in action already in her Four-Ball win, I knew that she was a fierce little competitor, a bulldog. She traverses the course almost with a scowl on her face an barely says two words. But like I said, we had a horse race here. She lost the 10th hole to Kim, squared it two holes later and went 1 up after winning #15. She held on for the win and was quickly mobbed by her teammates on the 18th green. It seemed like she was willing herself around the course. Impressive for someone so young.

The GBI girls were playing for pride now, and to their credit, they won three singles matches after the Cup had been decided. The closing ceremony was the perfect topper to a hard fought but friendly competition. GBI Captain, Mary McKenna, was gracious in defeat and USA Captain, Noreen Mohler, called all 16 girls winners. And I would have to agree.

Curtis Cup Day-2

2010-06-13T08:44:00.003-04:00

It's Sunday morning and the singles matches begin in just a few hours. Starting yesterday with a one point lead, GBI must have had high hopes for the day. But when the Americans started off birdie-birdie-birdie in the first match, the GBI team never bounced back as the USA swept all six matches to take an 8 1/2 to 3 1/2 lead going into the final day.

The USA needs only 1 1/2 points out of a possible 8 points to retain the Cup, and 2 points to win the Match outright. The GBI fans who had made the long trek were still vocal yesterday in cheering on their team even when things looked bleak. Several walked the course with Union Jack or Irish flags draped like Superman capes around their necks. Others wore slightly more understated but still very patriotic hats or sweaters.

All the folks whom I've met from the UK have been extremely nice people. They are all fans of the game. Many who made the trip are either friends or family of the competitors or past players. Still others are just fans of amateur golf. Sometimes over the last few days the matches have seemed secondary. The Curtis Cup feels like a celebration of amateur golf or even a celebration of the game itself played in its most pure form.

The Curtis Cup record is tilted well in favor of the USA which holds a 26-6-3 record. I'm sure that no one within the USGA would say it publicly, but I think it might be nice for the health of the Match if the GBI team took a coupleof these in the coming years. Make no mistake, these GBI girls are very good players, but their top couple of players are probably just a step or two behind our top couple and the USA depth chart goes a little deeper as well.

It's still a wonderful competition and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I know I am. I had a less stressful duty yesterday as an Observer in an afternoon match. I was ahead in the drive zone and then up by the green on each hole. I never saw the players up close after cursory greetings on the 1st tee. My job was to help referee, Sarah Haas, with locating golf balls and alerting her of potential Rules situations. There were a few instances where I was able to do just that. Otherwise it was a nice walk in the park, a few times late in the day having to put up the umbrella. For the record our match featured reigning US Women's Amateur champion, Jennifer Song and her partner Stephanie Kono defeating Hannah Barwood and Holly Clyburn by a 3-1 margin.

I'm refereeing the 12:00PM match today so I'd better get ready.

Curtis Cup Day 1

2010-06-12T10:51:00.003-04:00

After all the build up that culminated with the opening ceremony on Thursday, it was finally time to play some golf. I arrived at the course at about 8:30 and in plenty of time to see the first tee shots. Even though my refereeing duties didn't begin until 2:20, I wanted to see the first shots struck at the Curtis Cup - an historical event given the fact that 1938 was last time the Curtis Cup was held at Essex County Club.

There was a big crowd surrounding the roped-off first tee, under sunny skys for the first time n a couple of days. Almost all the USA players were sporting the red, white and blue in the form of temporary ankle or face tattoos. Between the red, white and blue ribbons in their hair and the sporty unifoms all our girls looked very sharp. The GBI girls' uniforms were a lot more modest by contrast, pretty understated. But the important thing was that we were playing golf and all the girls marched off the first tee to resounding cheers from fans from both sides of the pond.

It was almost five hours until my scheduled tee time, but I had too much nervous energy to go to spectate. I ate a little breakfast, cleared out all my emails from the Blackberry and made a few phone calls. I read through the notebook that was given to each Rules official at the previous afternoon's meeting. I read the Local Rules Sheet - 'Notice to Competitors' as the USGA likes to call it. I chatted with Dave Miller, Mimi Henderson and Liz Frem, all Rules Officials from Mass. I think we were all a little keyed up.

There was a large screen TV in the tent next to the club house. Over lunch we watched the Golfchannel telecast which aired from 11-1. The morning foursome matches were very close. Each match ended halved, meaning all three went the full18 holes with each match finishing all square and each team awarded a half point.

Finally it was show time. I picked up my radio in the USGA office and headed over to the first tee. After introducing myself to the players I met the walking scorer, marshall and standard bearers. At 2:20 the GBI team was announced and Sally Watson (age 18 from Ireland) and Lisa Maguire (age 15 from Scotland) teed off. Next up were their USA opponents, Jessica Korda (age 17 from Bradenton, FL and still in high school) and Tiffany Lua (age 19, the elder stateswoman in the group and player for UCLA). They each hit nice drives and we were off to the races. It was a little disconcertaining when I realized I'm old enough to be the father of all 16 players in the Match.

I had two Observer officials with me, Cece Durbin and Ede Rice, both mebers of the USGA Women's Committee and seasoned Rules Officials in their own right. It was reassuring to have these two ladies out ahead of me to spot golf balls in the drive zone or near the green and be able to alert me to any problems ahead of time. Fortunately there were no major Rules incidents. I had a ball embedded, a ball in a water hazard and a player standing in casual water int he rough. Thankfully pretty basic stuff.

I was having a major panic walking down the first fairway, though, as I tried to figure out who was who in the group and wondering how I am going to keep track of all strokes for all players. I wrote a couple of notes on my official score card: 'glasses' next to Lisa Maguire and 'blond' next to Jessica Korda. I put little dots on the score card for each player after each made a stroke. It took me a few holes to get into a flow but I finally calmed down. What never seemed to calm down was players asking me, 'Mr. Referee, who's away?' It happened in the first fairway, on the first green and seemingly on every hole. And many were very close. But I usually took a couple of quick looks and decisively pointed to a player. I think I had more requests to detemine who was away in one round then I've had in the last 10 years combined.

I tried to make light on the third green when I was asked again who's away. 'You girls are making me work awfully hard for this early in the round?' Silence. OK, I guess I won't be attempting any more comic relief for a while. I basically tried to stay out of their way and not speak to them unless they asked. Easy for an old caddy like me. At the conclusion of each hole I announced the status of the match: 'Great Britain and Ireland 4, United States of America 4. The match is all square', or whatever it may have been at the time.

The match was very close with GBI holding a 1 up lead for mcuh of the day. The USA squared the match on the back nine and then GBI went ahead with a late birdie. The GBI girls were 1 up and dormie with one to play. All the other matches had ended so were were it standing on 18 in the long shadows and fading sun. There was a big crowd walking with us and behind 18 green. I took another sip of water and walked down the hill off the tee. All the players were safely in play. When they got around the green, yes, you guessed it, I had to determine who was away. It was a real nail biter as Lisa Maguire had to sink a knee-knocker of a three-footer for par to secure the 1 up victory.

Big cheers went up from the GBI fans and players. I shook hands with and congratulated all four players for a great match. I had a lot of fun out there, but it was probably the most challenging round of officiating I had ever had. Can't wait to do it again.

Curtis Cup is Finally Here

2010-06-11T06:50:00.004-04:00

Well it's Friday morning and after six years of preparation by the USGA and the Essex County Club, the Match is about to begin. I was honored to be invited to serve on the Rules Committe for the Match. The MGA and WGAM are co-hosting a reception tonight for the USGA, Ladies Golf Union and R&A folks in attendance. It was a fair amount of work coordinating with the WGAM and Becky Blaeser and Linda Tisevich from the MGA staff. Even though I'd done fairly well on the Rules exam in the past, I figured my being asked to be on the Rules Committee was a bit of an acknowlegement for helping to put the reception together. Just to be asked was an honor, and I figured that I might get asked to be an Observer in a match or two. An Observer is someone from the Rules Committee who assists the referee usually by going forward into the drive zone on each hole during a match.

I arrived at the course late Thursday morning after having caught a ride from the nearby hotel to the course. Dave Miller, a Charles River member and a member of the USGA Senior Amateur Committee, gave me a ride. Dave is also an MGA official whom I've known for many years. We hung out yesterday and walked the golf course in the drizzle. The course is primed and ready to go. We both attended the 4:00PM Rules Meeting with all the other officials. The meeting was conducted by USGA staff Genger Fahleson and Maggie Giesenhagen. They had put together a nice PowerPoint presentation with photos from the course detailing certain situations out there and conveying other pertinent info. Even the players from the USA & GBI teams were brought in along with each team captain so the girls were familiarized with what was expected of them Rules-wise. As they entered the meeting room, the 25 or so of us stood up and gave them a standing ovation. I think the girls were a little taken aback, but it was just spontaneous on our part and seemed perfectly appropriate. They stayed for about 15 minutes and then they headed out to their next obligationi.

The assignments were then passed out for each day. On the first first sheet it listed all the assignments for the Friday AM foursomes matches. My name wasn't on there so I figured, 'no problem, maybe I'll be an observer in the afternoon.' Then the Friday afternoon assignments were handed out. I did a double take. I'm listed as Referee for the third and final afternoon Four-Ball match. Wow! I started to get a little nervous right then and there. I've done a lot of Rules officiating over the years and plenty of match play officiating at State Ams in Mass and RI, but this is a different deal. I've got first tee jitters and I'm not even teeing it up! I'm excited, though. It should be very cool.

After the meeting the flag raising ceremony was held. You could tell that there was so much work put into it - they had a drum and fife corps, past players in attendance, chairs lined up for all the players. All the pomp and circumstance that you'd expect from such a tradition-filled event as the Curtis Cup. Unfortunately it was raining. But everyone muddled on umbrellas and all. It was special to hear the Star Spangled Banner along with the national anthems of Great Britain and Ireland. Afterwards there was a nice reception under a giant tent, but all I could think about was that 2:20PM Friday starting time. Time to get ready.

Off to the Races

2010-05-28T10:10:00.003-04:00

It's officially busy time here at the MGA. After Herb Aikens and Ryan Riley lit it up at the Four-Ball to win by six, we had a US Open Local qualifying round the next day at Pinehills where Herb continued his great play to become one of the qualifiers and move on the Sectional Qualifying.

This past week we had five sites of Mass Open qualifying. The beautiful weather has been welcome break from much of the bad weather we've fought through in previous Mays for Open qualifying. This is the first bona fide spring that I can remember us having in a long time. I won't even complain about the early season summer heat.

The final field of 150 is now set for the Open to be played next month at Wellesley CC. And the pairings are all set for Mass Amateur qualifying which will begin on June 7th.

This past Tuesday we held our first-ever MGA Member Day at Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth. Meant to give access to an MGA event for higher handicap players, the day was a great success. About 80 players experienced a beautiful day (highs in the 80's) on a beautifully manicured layout. Many players let us know how much they enjoyed playing in something sponsored by the MGA. Most had never played in an MGA event because their handicaps were too high. Several wanted to play the course where Dana Quigley was the longtime head pro. Some drove from as far away as Springfield to play!

We treated the players to a similar experience that they might encounter at a qualifier: starter's tent by the 1st tee, starter's box and an official announcing them. Each player also received an MGA logo hat which was a big hit. The tournament was a Stableford competition, but the emphasis was on providing a fun environment at a nice course at an affordable price. It was a success on all fronts, and based on reactions by the players, it's likley that we will continue to grow this program. We have another one scheduled next week at Foxborough CC on June 2nd.

Here are some highlights of the day: http://www.mgalinks.org/about-us/news/2010/news_2010_052510a.html

I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day weekend. More nice weather - go tee it up!

Four-Ball Day-1: Chilly But Dry

2010-05-10T09:45:00.003-04:00

Well the MGA championship season is off and running for 2010 with the Four-Ball being played today and tomorrow at Turner Hill GC and Ipswich CC. While the players and officials won't be enjoying the same warm weather that we've been experiencing of late, at least it will be dry (today for sure and hopefully tomorrow as well). I don't want to jinx it so I will just be cautiously optimistic.

Last year we weren't so lucky on day-2 of the Four-Ball at Ledgemont and Crestwood. We thought we might be able to fight through some rain and get the day in, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Hopefully we can get it done this year without getting nicked up.

It's a busy week for golf in Mass. US Open Local Qualifying is going on today at Twin Hills and another qualifying round is being played Wednesday at Pinehills. Unfortunately, the weather does not look as promising on Wednesday, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Tonight (Monday, 5/10) will also feature another annual highlight, the Ouimet Fund Banquet in Boston. This year's honoree is Annika Sorenstam. Always a successful event, it's apparent that Annika in retirement still has star power because more than 1,400 are expected to attend tonight's event at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. I read online over the weekend where a senior golf writer commented, 'Who'd have thought that Annika and Lorena would retire before Julie Inkster?' Very true. Former LPGA Tour Commissioner, Charlie Mecham, is the MC tonight. I'll be making my way there after checking in at one of the Four-Ball sites. Should be a nice evening. (I think some Bruins fans in attendance may be checking their Blackberries as our B's try to wrap up the Philly series at the Garden. Who, me? OK, guilty as charged.)

I was very happy for Tim Clark on winning his first PGA Tour event at The Players Championship on Sunday. He played a flawless final round on a golf course that seemed to have really dried out and was playing pretty brutal. Too bad for Lee Westwood and Robert Allenby, but a definite tip of the cap to the wee South African.

And how about Rory McIroy and Ryo Ishikawa shooting final round 62 and 58(!) respectively to win in the US and Japan a week ago. These two young guns sem to be the real deal and will be contending at majors in no time. The Tiger saga is far from over, but at least we have a lot of good young players stepping up to keep the entertainment side of the game interesting. And there seems to be a lot more positive energy around the recreational side of the game, too. The game has contracted a bit, but appears to have weathered the worst of the economic storm. Let's hope the nice weather continues in the northeast to keep golfers out on the course.

New England Golf Summit

2010-04-02T12:20:00.002-04:00

The New England Golf Summit was a big success on March 31. Andover CC was a great venue and we had more than 240 attendees for this one-day educational seminar. It was put on by all the regional allied golf organizations with guest speakers ranging from Leigh Bader (Pine Oaks GG and 3balls.com) to Sue Wegrzyn (CEO, National Club Association). One of the most popular speakers of the day was Henry DeLozier, a principal at Global Golf Advisors. Henry talked about all the current trends and forecasted a solid picture for golf provided clubs, courses and associations pay attention to the customer.

Check out all the presenters PowerPoint presentations and related info on the Summit's official web site - www.negolfsummit.org. We've gotten much positive feedback, so it's likely that there will be another Golf Summit in 2011.

After these devastating rains and flooding we're all ready for some nice weather. many courses are walking only right now, but I think we all just want a chance to get out on the course. I think I'll be breaking the ice the weekend myself and making a few swings.

And when Sunday rolls around, all of a sudden it will be Masters week. With Tiger in the field, all the extra hoopla will make things interesting. But Tiger or no Tiger, the Masters is the Masters and I can't wait.

'The Creed Of The Amateur'

2010-03-05T12:59:00.004-05:00

When I was in Pinehurst last month I ventured into the pro shop at #2 to look around. I really wasn't planning to buy anything, just browsing really. I've got a closet full of golf hats and shirts, and I bought my share of memorabilia last year at the Senior Open and Walker Cup, so I was pretty much all set.

I wandered over to the book section and there were the usual coffee-table style books detailing the history of Pinehurst, etc. Then I happened upon a small hard-cover book titled The Creed of the Amateur. It had a nice green cover, collage photo of US Amateur trophy, '08 Amateur ball marker, '62 Amateur scorecard. I picked it up and leafed through it - it was less than 150 pages. It was bound nicely and looked like it had been published locally. It seemed interesting so I decided to take a chance since it was only $20.

What really sold me were some of the photos. In the back of the book there are black and white photos and one-page bios of many of the great amateurs from days done by - Francis Oiumet, Harvie Ward, Bill Campbell and Billy Joe Patton to name a few. Plus, there was a photo in the middle of the book of Harvie Ward receiving the US Amateur trophy in 1955 with runner-up, Bill Hyndman, looking on. Hyndman was from Pennsylvania and had a storied amateur career, twice finishing runner-up in the US Amateur before twice winning the US Senior Amateur. I actually shagged balls for Mr. Hyndman one day in the early 70's during the Northeast Amateur. He was near the end of his prime, but he could still flat play. He won the Northeast Amateur in 1974 when Gary Koch blew a four-shot lead with two to play, but that's another story.

The book extols the virtues of amateur golf within a smaller framework of championship golf played at Pinehurst. The author is Lee Pace and the book was published in 2008. If you enjoy reading books on golf, The Creed Of The Amateur is a must. And if you typically don't read many golf books, this is one you should consider picking up.

Stranded in Pinehurst

2010-02-10T13:40:00.002-05:00

There are worse places to be stranded if you're a golfer. I didn't exactly have my clubs with me last week during my trip to Pinehurst for the USGA Annual Meeting, but just being in the place that is the St. Andrews of America is very special.

I arrived in Raleigh/Durham at 6:15 pm last Friday, Feb 5, six hours later than scheduled. The big snow storm in the mid Atlantic was wreaking havoc with connecting flights. I rented a car and made the hour or so drive to Pinehurst in poring rain. Fortunately, I also rented a Garmin or I might never have made it.

I had been to Pinehurst a couple of times before, once for a meeting and the other time just passing through after a meeting in Florida. I instantly fell in love with the old style, southern charm that combines beautifully with their rich golf traditions. Pinehurst was founded by James Walker Tufts at the turn of the last century. A Boston Philanthropist who had made his fortune from a thriving soda fountain company, Mr. Tufts wanted to built a New England style town that would be a retreat for people. He chose the sand hills of North Carolina because of its mild year round climate and it was only a two-day train ride from the northeast.

If you've ever visited Pinehurst you probably know a little about it's history. Golf wasn't even in the cards originally, but after a nine hole course that was laid out proved successful, Donald Ross was hired by Mr. Tufts to build another course. Ross had come over from Scotland and was the head pro at Oakley Country Club in Watertown. Donald Ross fell in love with Pinehurst and the face of American golf would change forever. I won't continue on with the history lesson, but suffice it to say if you haven't been to Pinehurst, you should make a plan to visit at some point.

The USGA Annual Meeting is basically just a one-day affair each February. It's all around the country and it's typical of a lot of annual meetings. Committee reports get read and a new slate of officers is voted in. The Annual Meeting is held at 4:30, but earlier in the day there was a seminar entitled 'The State of Golf Course Architecture: A Panel Discussion'. It was actually quite interesting - sitting on the panel were Golfweek writer, Brad Klein; USGA Agronomist, Jim Moore, golf course architect, Gil Hanse; golf writer, Jim Dodson; and USGA Executive Committee member and golf course architect, Steve Smyers.

Jim Moore probably made the most compelling remarks in stating that "Brown is the new green." In other words, we can't keep courses as lush and green as we've been used to because of the exploding green budgets. We need to cut back both for economic and environmental reasons. Jim Hyler was sworn in as the new President of the USGA later in the day and he made similar comments as part of his President's Speech. I t will certainly be a matter of education to attempt to sway the American golfer's mindset. Personally, I'm all for it, but when golfers watch The Masters each spring, it makes it a more challenging sell.

I was able to visit with many friends who work for golf associations around the country as well as other USGA committee members whom I know. The Joe Dey Award - the USGA's top award for a volunteer and won by our own Harry McCracken a few years ago - was given out at the meeting. The day culminated with a nice dinner in the ening at which the Bob Jones Award was given out, the USGA's top honor. Famed LPGA golfer and World Golf Hall of Fame Member, Mickey Wright, was this year's recipient. Unfortunately, she was not able to attend, so golf writer, Rhonda Glenn, accepted on her behalf. I was disappointed because I had never seen Mickey Wright in person. I knew her playing record, and I always remember reading where Bobby Jones considered her swing the best golf swing, man or woman.

I was scheduled to fly home the next morning, but found out just prior to dinner that my flights had been cancelled. I try to reschedule to no avail. I was stuck in Pinehurst for another day. It was pretty cold the nexct day and I didn't have my sticks anyway, so I decided to visit some of the courses I had heard about. I visited the pro shop and main clubhouse at Pinehurst #2. It is a golf museum unto itself with all the memorabilia on the wall. I drove a few miles down the road to Pine Needles and Mid Pines, two championship Donald Ross designs located across the street from one another. Long the home of famed golfer and instructor, Peggy Kirk Bell, each clubhouse has its walls lined with historic black and white photos and other memorabilia. There are also the photos of the three US Women's Open champions from recent years at Pine Needles - Annika, Kari Webb and Kristi Kerr.

I drove to yet another nice little public course called Southern Pines. There were a few brave souls out playing in temperatures that hovered in the low-40's. I tried to pay a visit to the Country Club of North Carolina, a very exclusive private course, but not knowing a member, I wasn't able to get past the front gate.

So I ended up wathcing the Saints beat the Colts in a little watering hole in Pinehurst called the Tater Barn. It was literally a cement barn where they stored potatoes many years ago. My friend, Jack Nance, executive director of the Carolinas Golf Association, had been telling me about it, so he met me there. It was small and dingy, but had its own charm. Plus you couldn't beat the two dollar Budweisers.

So I made the most of my extra, unplanned day in Pinehurst. If you haven't visited, you must put it on your to-do list. For purists and beginners alike, I don't think there's a better place in American golf.

Happy New Year

2010-02-02T10:11:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year to all. I knew it had been a while since I wrote a blog entry when I struggled to remember my login password. It's not like we haven't been busy at the MGA, but I fell out of the habit of logging on and the time has really slipped by.

A lot has happened in golf since I last chimed in here in late October. No, I will not get into my take on the Tiger Woods saga as everybody has talked about it and disected it ad nauseum. I don't think anybody really knows when he might return to competition.

The off season has been a busy one preparing for the new 2010 season. We have another great rotation of courses for MGA championships including Myopia Hunt for the Amateur and Wellesley for the Open. On-line registration will begin around mid-February. Check the web site for updates.

In addition to our usual offering of championship events, the MGA will be offering one-day events for any MGA member (anyone who holds an MGA/USGA GHIN Handicap). Called MGA Member Days, these one-day events will be an opportunity for any MGA golfer to play a nice course at a reasonable rate. The emphasis will not be on the competition, but there will be tournament prizes. There will just be a few events in 2010, and they are being finalized right now. Turn to the web site in the spring for updates and more info on this program.

On March 31 at Andover CC the MGA will be teaming with several allied golf organizings to present the New England Golf Summit. A day of education and networking, the summit will feature talks on 'Golf and the Economy', 'Golf and the Environment', 'Legislative and Club Issues' and 'Growth of the Game'. Aimed at attracting club officials (presidents, golf chairs, green chairs) in addition to golf professionals, superintendents and club managers, it is hoped that the day will offer some timely information during a time in which the game and many clubs are struggling. Later this week there will be info on the MGA web site as well as web sites of the other organizations that we are partnering with (NEPGA, GCSANE, NECMA, WGAM, Ouimet Fund, Deutsche Bank Championship, USGA).

Random Musings

2009-10-29T10:14:00.003-04:00

Well another month plus has slipped by without my chiming in. Not that there hasn't been anything newsworthy at the MGA or in golf, but it was a fairly busy finish to the season.

Firstly, condolences to the Pitts family as they lost their patriarch, Fordie, this week. I can't say that I knew him well other than to know that he was a golfing legend in the state over a very long period of time. There is a great article by Nate Crossman from The Patriot Ledger that was posted on the MGA web site. I know that he had many, many friends and I'm sure it will be fully evident to his family at the wake and funeral services.

The MGA season has finally wound down. It was a great finish to the season at the Senior Amateur at Salem the last week of September with Paul Murphy capturing his first individual MGA title. Talk about a player who's been on the scene a long time competing at a high level, that's definitely Murph. Well deserved.

The Tri-State Matches were another romp for Team Mass. Pleasant Valley Country Club was the scene for the 6th straight win for Team MGA. The guys played extremely well especially in the foursomes format on the first day. Mass is so deep right now that if CT and RI are missing any of their top guns (they were), then it really is an uphill battle for them. Aside from the competition, the Tri-States are just a great couple of days of camaraderie. It's a feather in the cap for the 12 players from each state who make their respective teams. It means they've played well all year and earned a spot on the team. This is the first year that each team expanded from 10 to 12 players. Traditionally, each team comprised eight mid-am players and two seniors. With the explosion of senior golf the three state associations got together after last year's matches and agreed to add two more seniors per state beginning in 2009. It was very well received by all involved.

I have to admit that I didn't get too jazzed up about the Presidents Cup. As one golf writer put it, "it's not even Ryder Cup Lite." The Internationals need to get more competitive in order for it to be a little more compelling. It certainly put exlamation marks on the years of Tiger and Steve Stricker, though.

Rickie Fowler has certainly proven to be the real deal since turning pro after the Walker Cup. He's already earned enough money to be partially exempt for next year and is now exempt to the finals of Q-School. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if he locked up his 2010 full card this week and thereby bypassing Q-school altogether. Either way, this kid is going to be a force. I love that he has a home-made sort of swing that relies on feel. Definitely old school. Here's a link to a great article from Golfchannel.com talking about the evolution of Rickie's swing.
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/quick-barry-mcdonnell-33410/

Two other big developments on the bigger golf scene have been the approval of golf as an Olympic sport and the naming of a new LPGA commissioner. I think it's almost impossible to overstate the significance of golf making it to the Olympics. Even though the game has leveled off here and many clubs are struggling in the USA, the impact for the game worldwide is going to be huge. And I think the trickle down effect will eventually add new energy to the game here in the states. The appointment of new LPGA Commissioner, Michael Whan, comes at a critical time for the LPGA. It's quite telling that they hired a marketing expert who is an unknown quantity to most in golf circles. I'll admit, I'd never heard of the guy. I hope he can turn things around and repair some of the damaged relationships with tournament sponsors. The ladies' tour has a great product, so hopefully Mr. Whan can get them firing on all cylinders before too long.

We're busy putting 2009 to bed here at the MGA while also planning for 2010. All the sites for the 2010 championship proper schedule are in place, and we're working to finalize all the qualifying sites. Hopefully we'll be just about there by Thanksgiving.

Brian Higgins - Lights Out

2009-09-21T15:38:00.002-04:00

Some of the players at last week's 25th MGA Mid-Am were wondering what course Brian Higgins was playing. With rounds of 66-65-65 at Haverhill Country Club, Brian absolutely lapped the field. The runner-up was Phil Smith who was 12 shots back. It was a very deep field - all the best players were there. I watched Brian play a few holes and he was definitely in the zone. The best part was that many of the players stuck around for the trophy ceremony. Oftentimes players just hit the road when they're done and there are not too many people around other than MGA officials and staff. This time, though, there were a dozen players or more who stuck around. I thought that was very classy.

Brian will be representing Mass in the USGA State Team Championship this week in St. Louis along with teammates Frank Vana and John Hadges. That's a strong team that I know can contend. Hopefully the putts will be dropping for the boys. The tournament is Wednesday thru Friday.

Since the Pats weren't looking too sharp on Sunday, I started flipping to different channels and happened upon the Nationwide event where Fran Quinn was in contention. He made a couple of clutch putts while I was tuned in, and even though I didn't stick around to watch the finish I went online later to find out that Fran had won with a clutch birdie on the final hole. It was Fran's first win on the Nationwide in nine years. Congrats to him. That puts him 18th on the money list with about four events to go. The top-25 at year's end get their PGA Tour cards. Hopefully he can hang in there.

42nd Walker Cup Match at Merion

2009-09-12T18:18:00.005-04:00

The 42nd Walker Cup Match is being played at Merion Golf Club this week. The biennial match pits 10 amateurs from the USA against 10 from Great Britain and Ireland. I took the rainy, 5 1/2 hour drive to the Philadelphia area on Friday morning. My reasons for going were two-fold. First, I had never been to a Walker Cup before and this one was driveable. Second, I lived in and around Philadelphia for nearly seven years in the 1980's to early-90's and really enjoyed the area. When I was workin at UPENN in Philly I used to caddy at Merion on weekends just for a chance to see the course. In fact, I was married nearby and was fortunate to play Merion with my dad the day before my wedding. So the course has some extra meaning for me personally.

And what a course it is. Designed by the father of the Philadelphia-style of golf course architecture, Hugh Wilson, the course features one of the most memorable collection of holes of any course this side of the Atlantic. The flagsticks are topped by red wicker baskets instead of traditional flags which only adds to it mystique. Bobby Jones completed the final leg of the Grand Slam by winning the US Amateur here in 1930. Ben Hogan came back from his brush with death in a 1949 car accident by winning the US Open here in 1950. Hogan's one-iron shot at the 72nd hole is immortalized in the famous photograph. These are the two most famous exploits at Merion, but that only begins to tell the story .

The 2009 Walker Cup marks the 18th USGA event hosted by Merion, more than any other club in the country. The scheduled 2013 US Open will be Merion's fifth. Short by modern standards, the backs tees measure 'only' 6,846 yards, and this after the course has been lengthened some 300 yards. This is the distance to course will play for 2013, but it's all the golf course a player could want. I've seen many of the best courses in the US - more as a caddy than a player - but Merion takes a back seat to none of them. And I'm talking Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, Pine Valley, Winged Foot, Augusta. You name them and Merion does not pale in comparison to any.

So do you get the sense that I really like this place? It's an absolute shrine to the game. Nicklaus said, 'Acre for acre Merion may be the best golf course in the world.' Other greats have spoken more eloquently about the place but none more succinctly. It's that good. That I had a chance to play it a couple of times and walk around it perhaps a hundred times as a caddy makes it even more special for me.

OK, now that I've completly gone over the top in gushing about the place, what about the Match? I arrived at Merion early Friday afternoon for what was scheduled to be a practice round and the Opening Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. There wasn't much practice going on as it was pouring buckets when I arrived. I had my full gortex on - coat and pants - and decided to walk the course anyway. I got about six holes in but decided the tent outside the clubhouse might be a better idea. I bumped into a gentleman, Clive, from the UK who is over here watching for the week. He was non-plussed about the rain so he pressed on. I headed for the pro shop to look at the merchandise.

The outdoor ceremony was supposed to be in the middle of the 1st fairway. There were chairs laid out for the teams and flag poles erected for the respective colors to be raised, but it was just raining too hard. Hastily, the Opening Ceremony was moved under the large tent that had been set up over the outdoor patio sited next to the clubhouse. It was quite cramped, but at exactly 5:30 the players and captains filed out followed by the committee members from the USGA and R&A. In his opening welcome, USGA President, Jim Vernon, wryling stated, 'Welcome to the 109th United States Open Championship at Bethpage State Park' which drew a round of laughter. The rainy conditions dampened the grounds but not everyone's spirits. After the GBI team was introduced, the local high school band played 'God Save The Queen' followed by the Irish national anthem (I forget the name of that one).

Then US Captain, Buddy Marucci, introduced the US team followed by the band's rendition of the 'Star Spangled Banner'. Made all the more poignant by the 9/11 anniversay, when Marucci went back up to the mike he said, 'If that doesn't get you then you're not breathing.' The entire ceremony was pomp and circumstance, but demonstrated all that was great about the Walker Cup - camaraderie and competition.

Today (Saturday) I was able to bump into and speak to many people who I knew. Everyone from MGA 1st Vice-President, Jack Dezieck, to one of my old Merion caddy friends, Poncho, who is caddying for one of the GBI players. I was even able to chat with Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein, who was not here as a giant of the golf industry but as a proud father watching his son, Peter, compete in his first Walker Cup Match. And Peter performed. He holed a crucial 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole of his morning foursomes match to win the hole and secure a 1-up victory for he and partner, Nathan Smith. It was an unlikely win after the team had been down all day. The crucial point helped the US to a 3-1 lead after the morning.

Peter continued his great play in the afternoon by winning a tight singles match against opponent Tommy Fleetwood. The star of the day, though, was Rickie Fowler. He and partner, Bud Cauley, closed out their match early with a 6-5 victory and then Fowler waxed Sam Hutsby 7-6 in his singles match. Although he's supposed to be entering his junior year at Oklahoma State, Fowler will be turning pro right after the Match. I can't say I blame him. This kid has got 'it' - that special something. I watched him play a few holes today. He's just got that Lanny Wadkins-style swagger that says, 'I'm going to beat you and you're going to watch me while I put this beating on you.' In other words, quietly cocky but with the game to back it up.

Truth be told it's tough to actually see the golf at the Walker Cup unless you sit on a green or tee. There is a charm to being able to walk the fairways with the players, but it doesn't translate into great golf viewing. Figuring that I'd seen some good golf, talked with friends and soaked up the atmosphere at my favorite course, I took the shuttle back to my hotel at about 3:00. I watched the remainder of the singles matches on the Golf Channel (while also flipping over to NBC occasionally to watch Tiger put the finishing touches on his 62) and the day finished up with the USA in command with an 8-4 lead. It's far from over, though. Sunday should be a good one. I'm driving back tomorrow, but my wife is setting the DVR.

Tiger Fans On The Prowl (Including Me)

2009-09-05T10:23:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am a fan of Tiger just like -seemingly- everybody else. When I looked at the starting times for Friday's first round, whose name did I search out first? That's right, Mr. Eldrick T. Woods. Because I happen to follow the game so closely I recognize most of the players in the field and can tell you a little bit about each one. (Although Michael Letzig, James Nitties and Scott Piercy - not so sure.) So the very casual fan, of which there are many, is even more about Tiger. I ducked out of my office to watch Tiger play a hole in Thursday's pro-am and I went out of my way to watch him tee off on his first hole (#10) on Friday and then I made my way to the grandstands behind 9 green to watch him finish his round.

He finished his round with a par and a pedestrian one-under round, but it was on this final hole that Tiger subtley displayed his genious. After his fellow competitors Steve Stricker and Heath Slocum had hit their seconds -to the middle of the green and a short, right flair to the gallery respectively- Tiger was third to play. He was standing in the middle of the fairway maybe 165 out. The hole was cut front right not more than four paces from the nearest edge, not readily accessible. At first blush it looks like the shot calls for a right-handed player to hit some sort of little cut shot in order to get it close.

Tiger launched some type of short iron that - from my perspective sitting in the grandstands behind the green - first looked like some crazy little block shot. I lost sight of it and others were oohing and ahhing that it was off-line, too, until a couple of people said, 'here it comes', and the ball landed just short and right of the green and began to trickle left, coming to rest just off the green about 12 feet right of the hole.

It wasn't until hours later that I realized exactly what Tiger had done. Because the end of the fairway just short and right of the green in the approach area slopes right to left towards the green, Tiger was actually trying to draw the ball into a right flag, land the ball on that pitched area of ground and use both the slope and the hook spin that he imparted on the ball to feed the ball to the hole. Even though he just missed the putt for an uneventful day, it was an amazing shot, but one that didn't fully sink in for me until hours later.

Shots like the one I describe are what separates Tiger. Like Wayne Gretzky in hockey who could 'see the ice' better than anyone - that is, envision where the puck would be 2, 3 or even 4 plays ahead and get himself or the puck in the perfect position, Tiger has the uncanny ability to see golf shots and the golf course better than anyone else.

The tag line goes, 'These Guys Are Good', and they are. They're the best players in the world. They're all operating in the stratosphere of golf skill level. But when Tiger is firing on all his cylinders he's operating in outer space and the other guys can't get there. When he's on, he is the best. He knows it and the other players know it. He knows they know it, and they know that he knows they know it.

Tiger has appeared mortal this year, missing putts on the 72nd hole at both the PGA Championship and The Barclays that would have forced play-offs. But five wins and rarely a finish out of the top-10 after major knee reconstruction is pretty good. He was still rehabbing when the rest of the guys were coming out of the gate in Hawaii. It will be interesting to see how 2010 will play out for Tiger.

I love wathcing all the guys play. Even when Tiger isn't in the field I enjoy sitting down on a Sunday afternoon and watching some guys have a good battle down the stretch. But when Tiger is in the mix it's even more fun. Phil The Thrill is great to watch because he is like watching a drag racer. The peddle-to-the-metal mentality yields a lot of excitement when everything works out perfectly and unfortunately a lot of morbid curiosity when he gets in a wreck. When Tiger is in full command he is like a maestro, conducting beautiful music, always in control, ready to take a bow when the masterpiece has been flawlessly executed.

Here's to a weekend of beautiful music at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

The Circus Has Arrived

2009-09-01T08:52:00.003-04:00

But I mean that in a good way. The PGA Tour and FedEx Cup Play-offs have arrived at TPC Boston for the Deutsche Bank Championionship. With our office building which is on site at TPC serving as tournament headquarters, the place is buzzing with activity. The DB staff led by Tournament Director, Eric Baldwin, works full-time, year-round preparing for this one week. Since May they have added about 15 interns to the staff. The 18-wheelers first arrived more than a month ago building the grandstands and scoreboards. It's only gotten busier from there. The FedEx and UPS trucks have been delivering truckloads of boxes for weeks.

The MGA staff (as well as all the other organizations' staffs - Ouimet, WGAM, etc) have to wear lanyards with special badges identifying ourselves to gain entrance to the building. Most of the staff has to park remotely and walk to the office, but the inconveniences are fairly minor. It's an exciting week around the office.

This morning is the Red Sox pro-am. It was an 8:00 shot-gun that features a tour player, Red Sox legend and three amateurs. Tomorrow is just a practice round with another pro-am scheduled for Thursday. The first tournament round is Friday with the Monday, Labor Day finish.

Of course the buzz is Tiger Woods. Word on the street is that he will be arriving early on Wednesday for his first practice round. That usually means about 6:00AM. Tiger likes to get his work done before the crowds arrive.

Going Low & Going Global

2009-08-17T10:27:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure what was more impressive recently - Ryan Riley's 63 in the final round of the Public Links at Franconia to seal victory or Y.E. Yang facing off with Tiger and beating the world's best.

Obviously two different stages here, but Ryan Riley's 63 last week was phenomenal. Sure, there were a total of 20 players who finished the tournament under par. Sure, Franconia GC is a little on the short side. But you still have to get the ball in the hole, and to sleep on the lead after a 66 and then come out and fire a 63 is a rare feat for pro golfers, let alone amateurs. I was at the scoring table when Ryan handed in his scorecard. I looked at the card and said out loud, 'I've never seen so many 3's on a card before.' The 63 overshadowed host club favorite Bobby Loguidice's 64. It's tough to shoot 64 and lose ground. That's really golfing your ball, guys. Congrats to champion Ryan and everyone who played well.

I thnk the entire golfing world was waiting for two things as the PGA Championship unfolded Sunday at Hazeltine: 1) Tiger Woods to kick it into gear, and 2) Y.E. Yang to fold up his pup tent on the back nine and go packing. Neither happened and when Yang stuffed his 3-hybrid at 18, I was stunned to think that Tiger Woods wasn't going to win. It was a stretch to think that Tiger would hole that chip from the muff at 18 to force Yang's hand, and when he didn't the reality really sank in.

I'm as big a Tiger fan as anyone. He's great for the game, always has been, and especially in these tough economic times. I've always rooted for Tiger, but when I root for him now I feel like I'm rooting for history. I want to see Tiger catch and surpass Jack's record 18 majors. A few years ago it seemed like a foregone conclusion. Now I think that it seems likely but not sure bet. As Brandel Chamblee and Frank Nobilo analyzed the Tiger of 2009 versus the Tiger of, say, 2000 they are two completely different players. The old Tiger used to demoralize a field and have the ability to win by 10 or more. The new more tactical Tiger is more consistent, but probably a little less intimidating to some of the players. Yang's victory on Sunday only adds fuel to the notion that Tiger is actually human and beatable in certain circumstances.

Taking a longer view it certainly isn't the end of the world that Tiger lost. I don't think anyone could really feel bad for Tiger. If he never hit another shot he still goes down as arguably the best who ever played. Y.E. Yang's win is huge for golf on the global level and specifically throughout Asia. With China in its infancy in golf terms, Y.E. Yang winning a major proves that it can be done by an Asian player. The women of South Korea have certainly proven they can win majors starting with Se Ri Pak, but not until Hazeltine has a male golf from that part of the world closed the deal. Most close watchers of the game probably thought it would be K.J. Choi, but no matter. That Y.E. Yang pulled it off helps grow the game almost overnight several time zones from us. And what perfect timing by Y.E. to win a big one right after the anouncement that golf will likely be added to the 2016 Olympic Games.

Many of us in the states - especially those of us who work in the game - have been bemoaning the stagnation in golf, how the game has been flat or declined, how fewer players are taking up the game. This is all true, but I like to think the glass is half full. Golf is still strong in the USA, and with Y.E. Yang's win golf becomes a bigger sport around the world which can only help the game here. Just think, only eight months til Augusta. Or maybe more importantly, only two weeks to the Deutsche Bank Championship when we get to see Tiger and Y.E. in person.

Final Thoughts From Crooked Stick

2009-08-03T12:14:00.004-04:00

Well, not actually from Crooked Stick since I'm back here at the MGA office. I had hoped to get home before the tournament concluded so I could watch a bit, but as luck would have it my connecting flight from Chicago Midway was delayed almost two and a half hours. While sitting there at the gate I had my Blackberry refreshing every ten minutes to see how things were progressing. Fred Funk had a two-shot lead when I had to shut my phone off and when I landed in Providence I turned the phone back on and saw that he'd won by six. After shooting 33 on the front, I guess it was academic. Norman faltered, Sindelar couldn't keep pace and Loren Roberts was too far back from the start despite his big move. I taped it, though, and will look forward to watching later this week.

Tim Jackson is still a tremendous story. He shot 73-76 on the weekend to fall to 11th, but what a showing. Many other players who found themselves in his position after two days might have folded up like a pup tent, but he really hung in there. A T11 for and amateur at the US Senior Open is an amazing accomplishment, and I'm sure it will be one of his all-time personal highlights.

A couple of other Rules situations cropped up that I forgot to mention. In Friday's round Kemp Richardson missed the green on the par-3 13th. His ball ended up in a terrible lie in thick rough. In gouging the ball out on his second shot he double hit the ball. The strange part came after the double hit - the ball went straight up in the air, landed on the green and began rolling. It rolled right into the cup. The other two players in the group were dumbstruck. The referre in the group was Bob Ruby from the CSGA who I had been hanging around with. Later that night I heard about the whole situation first-hand from Bob. The player knew he had incurred a penalty, but didn't know if it was one or two strokes. It's actually a very simple, straightforward ruling. Rule 14-4 says 'if a player's club strikes the ball more than once in the course of a stroke, the player must count the stroke and add a penalty stroke, making two strokes in all. So Mr. Richardson made a routine par.

The other reportable Rules incident actaully occurred in my group on Saturday, but I didn't realize it until reaching the 18th. Because I was the forward observer in the Jim Thorpe-Scott Simpson group, I was always ahead of the players, either in the drive zone or by the green. Referee Glen Nager informed me on the 18th green while the two players were putting out that there had been a problem on the 15th hole. I hadn't heard any radio transmission or seen any commotion so I couldn't imagine what it could have been. 'Scott Simpson was in front of the markers on 15 tee,' remarked Glen. So Glen saved Scott Simpson a two-stroke penalty. He thanked Glen and Jim Thorpe joked that maybe he should play way behind the markers because Simpson had been outdriving him all day. Simpson ended up finishing T6 and making more than $83,000. It would have been a very costly mistake. It underscores the importance for all the referees to walk up to each tee box and be positioned to see where the players are teeing it. On some of the holes it was not convenient to walk back to the tee boxes, but Glen did the right think. In my one day of serving as walking referee - Friday - I did the same, and I made sure to look where the players were teeing it on every hole in case there was a problem. It's highly unusual for this situation to happen, but it did.

I don't know if they mentioned it on-air, but Roger Maltby was in one of the towers instead of doing his usual foot-soldier duty because he got hurt earlier in the week. Rog was following a group on Thursday when he walked up an embankment to get a better vantage point. In doing so he tore a calf muscle, went down and had to be taken from the course. Sounds like Roger is out of commission for awhile, at least for following groups on-course.

That's about it, I think. Back to the work at the MGA. We've got the Father & Son this week at Segregansett and we're preparing for next week's Public Links at Franconia. All in all, a grat week in Carmel, Indianna. I hope to get a chance to do it again. One thing I learned, though. I'm pretty good with the Rules, but I've got a long way to go to even get in the same ball park with some of these top Rules people. They are the best of the best. I have a feeling that I know what a lot of my winter reading will be about.

Moving Day at Crooked Stick

2009-08-02T06:21:00.004-04:00

As the day wore on there was a buzz in the air at Crooked Stick. It definitely felt different than the first two days. I arrived at the course early to watch a little golf . Mostly I just went onto the range and watched the players warm up. They were all business at the world's biggest senior golf tournament.

I was out at 1:00 with Jim Thorpe and Scott Simpson. My duty was to be the forward observer, to assist the referee for the group. Basically I go to the drive zone to make sure that the balls land safely and then I head up to the green to make sure there are no issues with the approach shots. It's not the most exciting duty, but it was still a fun walk. When I'm the only guy walking down the edge of the fairway or up to the green I can see the gallery watching me probaly thinking, 'What the heck is this guy up to?' I did a lot of chit-chatting with the volunteers and met a lot of nice people. I met a woman from Iowa who signed up with her husband to volunteer. They took vacation time to be here and said they've enjoyed every minute. Every hole has 12 or more volunteers stationed at various spots. These players are so good that most don't hit it too far off line so it's got to be a little boring for some of these people stationed in the rough in the drive zone. On another hole a woman said not much had happened, but her exciting moment came when Bernhard Langer's ball flew over her head and she chased it down next to a trash barrell.

I chased down Scott Simpson's ball on the 9th. I was positioned up by the green and he was going for the green in two on the par-5. He hit an uncharacteristic snipe into the gallery about 90 yards short of the green. I ran up to see where the ball ended up. It wasn't too far into the gallery. One of the marshalls had it spotted. I didn't want to steal his big moment so when I verifed that the ball hadn't been stepped on or moved by a gallery member I headed back to the green. I reported to the referee, Glen Nager, that we were all set. One other time I radioed to him that Jim Thorpe's ball came to rest on a greenside sprinkler head. There were a couple of other minor issues but that was about it. The real fun began as soon as I walked off 18 green. I shook hands with both Thorpe and Simpson and was barely off the green when Jim Farrell called over to me and said, 'Hey, let's go.' I got into his golf cart and he whisked me to the NBC TV compound on the other side of the course.

A sea of cables surrounded several trailers and we headed up the steps into the command central trailer where the telecast was being produced. It was fairly close quarters in low light with seven people in there in front of a wall of 20 hi-def TV screens. Many screens were feeds from a different camera. Some screens had up to seven picture-in-picture shots representing even more cameras. There was a main screen front and center of the two producers, Tommy Roy and Tom Randolph, which represented what was going out over the air. Everyone in there had a head set and there was a lot of shouting and gesticulating by the producers to camera men, on air talent or to the engineer on the other side of the room. It was absolutely amazing. When they cut to commercial there were conversations going on between the producerse and Dottie Pepper, Bob Murphy, Gary Koch and Mark Rolfing. You think the on-air folks call the shots? Not a chance. They're the golf experts offering analysis in the field, but the two producers are making it all happen and if they don't like something the on-air person is doing, they're not afraid to tell them.

Jim and I watched the last 70 minutes of the telecast inside the production truck. It was beyond cool. With Greg Norman and Fred Funk duking it out, it's set up more a great finale. With Funk's slim, one-shot lead it will be fun to see how he does or if Sindelar and Norman can make a run or if amateur Tim Jackson can get back on the birdie train. Jackson really hung in there. No matter what happens he's had a tremendous week and earned the respect of all the tour veterans.

I wish I was staying for the final day, but I'd made arrangements to fly out today so I can get back to work on Monday. I do plan to go to the course briefly this morning (Sunday) to collect a few things from my locker and watch a few of the early players tee off. It's been a great week and I'm sad to see it end. I just hope to get home in time to watch the last few holes on TV.

The Amateurs, The Volunteers and The Golf Course

2009-08-01T09:10:00.005-04:00

Friday was a perfect day at Crooked Stick. The weather could not have been better. It's the second coolest July on record in Indiana which I'm sure is not a disappointment to the players. I was expecting 90-95, but it's been low-80's all week and the humidity has been relatively low. I had my own group to officiate yesterday - the 2:30 tee time off #1. Jim Dent withdrew prior to the round with a bad back so it was only a twosome with Dave Eichelberger and John Ross.

I wasn't familiar with John Ross. Apparently he was a longtime mini-tour player who recently got his Champions Tour card. I am certainly old enough to remember Dave Eichelberger. He was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and six-time winner on the Senior Tour including the 1999 US Senior Open. Dave has a relatively short swing. It doesn't look classic in any way but it's efficient, repeats and has stood the test of time. John Ross' swing is very short, quick and handsy. It was a fairly uneventful day out there. Both players were grinding all day. Eichelberger started at +3 and Ross started at +2.

Once we made the turn it looked like both players would have to shoot around even par on the way in to make the cut. Dave hit a few of the classiest shots during the round that I'd ever seen but he made a few bogeys coming in and shot 75. I think he might have just ran out of gas. He is 66 years old and still plays great golf. He retired last year from full-time play. Ross, on the other hand, seemed to find a nother gear on the back. He made a couple of late birdies and posted a two-under 70 to easily make the cut which fell at +3. I was impressed with his course management a couple of times when he found a little bit of trouble. On two occasions he turned a potential big number into a par.

My main thing yesterday was to just stay out of the way and shepherd the walking scorer and standard bearer who were standing in the wrong spot a few times. My heart only got going one time. On the 9th hole, a reachable par-5 with several treacherous bunkers fronting the green, John Ross went for it in two, but he came out of the shot with his hybrid club and sent the ball right. I thought it might end up behind behind the grand stand, a TIO. I didn't actually see the ball land, but I immediately got on my radio. 'Back-nine rover near number nine green, this is Joe with the 2:30 group. I have a player who just hit his second shot wide right - might have some TIO trouble.' The reassuring voice that transmitted into my earpiece said, 'OK, got it - be right there.'

I followed the player up a steep bunker bank around the green. I thought we'd still be wallking, but his ball had come up well short of the grand stand. It was perched atop the grass on one of the bunker banks, somewhat blocked by a tree limb. But no TIO which made me happy. I spotted the rover nearby, PGA Tour official Brian Claar. I ducked under the ropes and walked over to his cart. 'I think we're all set,' I said. 'Thanks, Brian.' He gave me the thumbs up, said 'have a good one' and drove off.

Amateur Hour

The story of the day is obviously the leader, amateur Tim Jackson who's leading by one at 11 under-par. What a crazy game - Tom Waston at 59 almost wins the British Open and now an amateur leads the US Senior Open. There were actually 25 amateurs in the field, a pretty amazing number that speaks to the quality of amateur golf around the country. I actually know six of the amateurs in the field quite well, five of them through the Northeast Amateur and one, Craig Stechowych of New Hampshire, through his competing in New England Golf Association events. I was able to catch up with all of them to say hello and chat - Bert Atkinson, Frank Ford, Danny Green, Buddy Marrucci, Craig and, of course, Tim Jackson.

I saw Tim about an hour before his tee time on Thursday. He introduced me to his wife and son who is caddying for him this week. Tim is a mild-mannered, true southern gentleman from Germantown, Tennessee. He is a classy guy, CPA by trade, who has won two USGA Mid-Amateur Championships. I think it might be a lot to expect Tim to win this weekend, but I hope he hangs in there.

3,000+ Volunteers From 6 Countries

That's right, you read that correctly. There are more than 3,00 volunteers here who paid $125 each for their uniforms for the right to put in long hours at some very unglamorous jobs. It seems like there are a dozen or more volunteers on every hole. I've gone out of my way to say hello to many of these folks. The tournament can't really happen without them. That's the old cliche that you hear in acceptance speeches, but it's absolutely true. They all think we rules officials with our USGA shirts are big shots walking with the players. I don't think of it that way. To me it's a privilege to be doing what I'm doing this week and everybody needs to thank these volunteers.

Perhaps the most dedicated volunteer might be a white-haired, stocky gentleman named Mike Cook, the head of transportation here at the Radisson Hotel. He sits at a desk inside the front door and coordinates all the shuttle rides to and from the hotel, airport, etc for all the officials, USGA staff and others. There are scores of drivers who work in shifts to take us to and from the course in fancy new Lexus vehicles. The drivers don't work all day, but Mike does. He has been at his post from 6AM until 9PM every day since last Monday and will continue to be through Monday morning. He will not see a single golf shot except on TV. My hat is off to Mike.

Pete Dye Country

This golf course, Crooked Stick, is really good. One of Pete Dye's earlier designs, it is a great test of golf with a nice variety of holes. There are the usual railroad pilings in places, but not like some of his later works. As demanding as the course is for this champinship, it's a course that members can enjoy provided they pick the right set of tees. Pete Dye walks around like a god here. Players talk to him, USGA staff conferes with him, fans seek his autograph. I even had him sign the back of my rules badge. He's in his 80's but still sharp as a tack. You can tell how much he's enjoying the week. The large, VIP tent is called the Pete Dye Club.

The golf course is getting very firm and the greens are getting extremely crusty. I don't think they're putting a whole lot of water out. It should be an exciting weekend of golf on TV. I go at 1:00 today as a Rules Observer with USGA Executive Committee member, Jay Rains, as the referee. Our group is Jim Thorpe and Scott Simpson.

Day One In The Books

2009-07-31T07:49:00.003-04:00

Thursday was an exciting day at Crooked Stick. Even though my group wasn't going until 2:10, there was no way I was going to just hang around at the hotel. I answered my emails, called the office and then got to the course around 9:45. I went to USGA hospitality to grab a bite (yes, they feed the officials well) and talked to Bob Ruby and Harry Easterly. Harry is a USGA Committee member from Massachusetts who helps out at MGA events and has worked many USGA championships, most recently at the Women's Open.

I walked out onto the golf course to watch some golf for awhile. Greg Norman who played in the morning was quickly moving up the leaderboard. The course is in great shape and the low scoring in the first round didn't surprise me. Even though the course is long, the fairways are extremely wide. The course tips out at 7,316 yards, but the USGA is not playing it nearly that long. I'm not sure of the official yardage, but it's probably in the 7,000 range. The wide fairways are firm so a good drive also gets some roll-out. The greens are fast but in watching the players putt they're not scary fast.

After grabbing a bite of lunch I decided to go to the range to watch some players warm up. Even the guys I'd never heard of swing it so well. I was sitting next to another official and we were both commenting on the swings. The key to all these great players' swings is the tempo. With them is all swing and tempo. There's no 'hit' element or speeding up once they get to the top. It's a treat to watch - now why can't I do it?

I had my pairing sheet and I was actually waiting to say hello to one particular player, Steve Haskins. I caddied for him in 3-4 Hogan Tour events in 1990. During my short two-year stint caddying on the PGA Tour, I moved over to the Hogan Tour in 1990 for a few events when I didn't have a loop on the big tour. I hooked up with Steve Haskins and we hit it off - almost won one tournament, too. He could really putt. He Monday qualified for numerous PGA Tour events, but he could never get through Q-school over the years. He had a nice career on the Hogan/Buy.Com/Nike/Nationwide Tour, winning twice. Anyway, I spotted his caddy first who came up to the range with the Nike tour bag and 'Haskins' on the back of his caddy bib. Steve finally walked up. 'Hi, Steve, my name's Joe Sprague. I caddied for you in a few events in 1990 on the Hogan Tour.' I think he was pretty surprised to hear that from some guy who just looks like another USGA official to him. We chatted for a minute. He said, 'Oh, you work for the USGA now?' I said that no, I'm just volunteering and that I actually work for the Massachusetts Golf Association. He pretended to remember me, at least, so that was nice. I think he shot a couple over in the first round.

It was getting closer to my time so I thought I'd wander to the first tee area. Jim Farrell is the first tee announcer all four days so I wanted to see him in action. I stood outside the ropes as Mike Reid's group teed off - polite applause for everyone in that group. The next threesome featured Fuzzy Zoeller. As soon as Fuzzy walked onto the tee the bleachers went wild. Everybody loves Fuzzy. The group in front of mine was next - Joe Ozaki, Ian Woosnam and Tom Watson. Ozaki and Woosnam made their way together to the tee to a smattering of applause. Less than a minute later a smiling Tom Watson strode to the tee escorted by an Indiana State Trooper. The place absolutely erupted. Everyone in the bleachers and outside the ropes gave him a standing ovation that lasted well over a minute. I have to admit I got goose bumps and I even got a little choked up. It didn't matter that he didn't pull it off at Turnberry. To everyone here it's as if he won.

Watson's group was off and running so I ducked under the ropes and met up with the referee with my group, Lew Blakey. As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, Lew is one of the top Rules minds in the game. He's taught many workshops and sat on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. Lew has been directly involved in writing decisions that appear in the Decisions on the Rules of Golf Book. He has officiated at eight Masters, one British Open and countless US Opens. In short, he's the man. And I was going to be able to walk alongside him for about five hours.

Our players arrived on the tee - Scott Hoch, Scott Simpson and Olin Browne. Jim Farrell introduced the players to Lew and me as well as to the walking scoreres and standard bearer, a nice young kid named Kyle. All three players hit good tee shots and stuck their approaches inside 10 feet. All made easy pars and we were off. Olin shot one-under on the front with a triple bogey on the 4th hole. Most amateurs would be done after a triple, but Olin showed no anger and just kept plugging. He hit it great all day, but shot even par. Scott Hoch was five-under through 16 and at the top of the leaderboard until he made triple on the par-3 17th. He got an unlucky break after a pulled tee shot, hit his second over the green from a bad lie, hit his third off the front of the green again, chipped up and two-putted. It was really too bad to see a great round spoiled by one swing. Scott Simpson, on the other hand, avoided trouble all day, made some putts and shot a very tidy four-under round. He's on the first page of the leaderboard and I'd expect him to play well the rest of the week.

The best part of the day was walking with Lew. He put me at ease and we talked about golf, our families and, of course, the Rules of Golf. Lew is a retired college professor so he is Dr. Lew tomany people. I asked him how he got so good at the rules. He said he spent 40 minutes a day for seven years studying the rules. That blew me away. I've got a lot of work to do, I guess. Lew has his own rules website, http://www.throughthegreen.org/ . I checked it out briefly - very cool if you are a rules person.

I'm on my own for today's round (Friday). Jim Dent, Dave Eichelberger and John Ross shot 76, 75 and 74 respectively so they'll all have to play well to make the cut.

TIO 101

2009-07-30T06:46:00.004-04:00

It's Thursday morning, 6:44 am and I just got off the elevator to come down to the Raddison's business center to use the computer to type another blog entry. I hit the 'down' button on the elevator sporting my blue t-shirt, shorts and flip flops with my hair more than a little unkempt and who comes up right behind me? None other than USGA President, Jim Vernon who, of course, is decked out in official attire ready to head to the course for the day. 'Uh, good morning, Jim,' I said. He smiled and said, 'Hi, Joe.' Surprised that he remembered my name, I said 'Looks like the weather should be ok today.' Fortunately it was a short elevator ride so I could wish him good luck and quickly duck down the hall.

At 12:30 yesterday there was a rules refresher on the golf course conducted by Larry Startzel (PGA of America Rules Dept) and Genger Fahleson (USGA Director of Rules Education). About 40 of us marched out to the 11th green where there were both scoreboards and grandstands. Larry already had a couple of tees in the ground and a golf ball on the ground positioned just behind the temporary scoreboard to the right of the green. 'This is going to be a review of TIO's,' said Larry. 'TIO 101, if you will.' Larry is a former tour player and club professional and has worked every major championship multiple times. He has officiated at countless Ryder Cups and taught at more than 60 USGA/PGA Rules of Golf Workshops. To say that Larry knows his stuff is an understatement. He has such complete command of the rules and an ability to apply them in the field that it is almost frightening. He had the complete attention of all the officials gathered. And this just wasn't the volunteer officials like myself from the various states. We're talking Mike Shea, the senior official for the PGA Tour, Gene Smith from the Champions Tour, Derrick Cooper from the European Tour and none other than Tom Meeks, Indiana native and former Senior Director of Rules and Competitions for the USGA.

I won't bore you with all the esoteric points about granting a player relief for Temporaty Immovable Obstructions, but basically if a player's ball lies 'in, on, under or behind the TIO so that any part of the TIO intervenes directly between the player's ball and the hole and is in his line of play' he can obtain relief. The trickiest point is when the player has intervention for his line of play. Suffice it to say that if I have a TIO situation I'm calling in a rules rover on the radio. I'm not going to try to be a hero.

Later yesterday afternoon there was a Rules meeting at a nearby conference center. Actually it wasn't that nearby - it was about a half hour away and the USGA had rented a bus (a very nice bus) to take 60+ rules officials all decked out in ties and blue blazers. After opening remarks from Jim Hyler (USGA Championship Committee Chair) and Jeff Hall (USGA Rules Staff and Official in Charge), David Hayes (Rules staff) launched into a PowerPoint presentation about all the different course markings. This highly sophisticated presentation replete with photo slides and diagrams was put together by Jim Farrell, Director of Regional Affairs for New England, who also serves in the USGA Rules Education Dept. Jim is a good friend and has been a mentor to me over the years. He has been on staff for more than 25 years at the USGA and is as proficient with the Rules as he is with the computer. He arrived at Crooked Stick over a week ago and took about 750 photographs around the course to prepare for this one-hour presentation.

The slides illustrated every point on the Local Rules sheet that the players receive plus some other pertinent information on ground under repair, etc. (There was another New England connection to the presentation. David Hayes, the presenter, grew up in Easton, Mass.) After the presentation we were all treated to a very nice dinner before being bussed back to the hotel.

My assignment today isn't until 2:10 pm. Because this is my first rodeo, so to speak, they didn't throw me to the wolves right away. Each of the 52 groups Thursday and Friday has its own walking Rules referee. I am the Rules Observer with referee Lew Blakey. Lew is, himself, a preeminent expert who has sat on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee and taught at numerous Rules workshops. I'll be walking ahead to spot balls and help him whenever possible, but I'll be trying to soak up whatever pointers Lew can pass my way.

Our group at 2:10 is Olin Browne, Scott Hoch and Scott Simpson. Tomorrow I've got my own group - Jim Dent, Dave Eichelberger and John Ross.

From TCC to Crooked Stick

2009-07-29T14:14:00.003-04:00

Well I didn't chime in after the Amateur after at The Country Club, but what a week it was. The news media had it well covered ni telling the special story about Bill Drohen winning with his brother Andy on the bag. Tough to script that one with Andy beating Frank Vana in the final at TCC the last time it was played in Brookline. The storybook week was made even more special for everyone involved because the weather was perfect (finally, hooray!) and we could not have been treated any better by the club. Players, officials and spectators alike were all made to feel so welcome that it was a tribute to the club and the game itself.

Last week at Portsmouth CC in New Hampshire, Thorny Lea's Matt Parziale continued his torrid play by capturing the New England Golf Association Amateur Championship. More weather problems (surprise) to start the week, but everything ended up great. I helped out one day, and Harry McCracken and company did a great job. And a very nice course to boot.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I arrived in Indianapolis for the US Senior Open. I was invited to be a rules official and was thrilled to be asked. I flew in and a volunteer - a retired gentleman named Al - was there to greet me with a sign with my name on it. There was another volunteer there with a sign that said 'Mike Reid'. I thought, 'Gee, what's wrong with this picture?' Mike is a career tour player who now plays the Champions Tour and I'm just some rules official. I was just looking for a shuttle ride to the airport and Al said that he would escort me to fill out some paperwork so I could pick up my Lexus courtesy car. I was stunned for a second until we figured out that Al mistook me for a player in the field. He said, 'You look like a player.' I said, 'Yeah, but you haven't seen me play. No, I'm just a rules official looking for a ride.' We had a laugh and then he drove me to the Radisson about half hour from the airport.

I bumped into Bob Ruby in the Providence airport who was also traveling straight through to Indianapolis to also serve as an official. Bob is a doctor from Connecticut who I know through the Connecticut State Golf Association - he has officiated at three other Senior Opens so he said he'd take me around. We got to the course and with our 'All Access' badge got to go straight into the clubhouse and locker room where officials were sharing the same space with the players. Hale Irwin and Tom Lehman walked by and nodded and I realized I'm not at just any golf tournament.

Bob and I walked the front nine at Crooked Stick to familiarize ourselves with the course. The Pete Dye design is in absolutely mint condition. We walked inside the ropes and read through the hole by hole description provided by the USGA Rules Staff that lists all the hazards, obstruction and TIO's (Temporary Immovable Obstructions). The TIO's are basically all the grand stands and TV towers that only come into play at Tour events and national championships. We bumped into a group on the third hole that featured Tom Purtzer, Gary Hallberg and Larry Nelson. We stayed out of their way but watched them hit shots all the way around the front nine as we checked out the course. Larry Nelson, of course, is a former US Open and PGA Champion and Hallberg and Purtzer are multiple tour winners. Purtzer and Hallberg have two of the sweetest swings going. Gary chatted us up after a few holes and started asking us how the course would be set up. We explained that we were just a couple of volunteer officials and that course set-up was a little above our pay grade for the week.

101st Amateur Musings

2009-07-16T10:16:00.002-04:00

What a week it's been at The Country Club. We started the week on Monday with 144 players extremely excited about the prospect of playing the venerable Brookline course that has hosted US Opens, a Ryder Cup and a host of other USGA Championhips. I had always heard about TCC and watched on TV when Curtis Strange won the US Open there, but I had never been on the property until the '99 Ryder Cup. I was there for the opening ceremonies, but never saw much of the golf course.

I arrived on the property for a second time in 2007 when Dick Haskell, the longtime executive director for the MGA, invited me to lunch shortly after I was named executive director. Mr. Haskell gave me a brief tour and I was amazed at all the history and tradition. I returned to the club later in the '07 season when the club's GM, David Chag, invited me for lunch a a tour of the grounds. This time I got the full tour and behind-the-scenes look of a place that seems like it still partly exists somewhere back in time. Never had I visted a golf facility that also has a curling rink in winter along with a skeet shooting range and a skating pond. Don't play much golf? No problem. There's tennis and other racquet sports as well as a swimming pool. And they even had horse racing at the turn of the last century!

The Country Club is one of a kind, and for the MGA to be playing its 101st Amateur Championship there is very special. I think that most players feel very fortunate to hvae had the opportunity, and late Friday afternoon one player will truly feel special in winning a coveted state championship on such hallowed golf grounds.

With the course having a total of 27 holes, the players played the Championship course in Monday's qualifying round. The Championship Course is a combination of the 18-hole main course and the third nine know as the Primrose nine. This combination course is the same course used for both the US Opens and Ryder Cup. It is an absolute bear and the scores reflected that. The still-difficult but more manageable main course was used for Tuesday's qualifying round and the match play portion.

A combination of youth and experience survived the 36-hole cut to the low-32 for match play. The cut dipped to a score of 150 late Tuesday as a few players turned in great scores late in the day. Most people including me were very surprised that the cut fell at 150. It was looking more like 152 for most of the afternoon. Wednesday's first round of match play also offered a few surprises as the medalist, Brian Higgins, and last year's runner-up, Matt Parziale, went down in the first round. I picked both to go deep into match play. I refereed a Round-of-16 match between John Gilmartin (who took down Parziale in the morning) and Ben Bridgeo who plays out of Cohasse CC. John has been a longtime good player around the state, but I didn't know Ben very well. The match was close all afternoon until Bridgeo pulled away with some clutch putting down the stretch. He's got a beautiful golf swing and he's one of the fastest players I've ever seen. Doesn't wast any time at all. It will be a great finish to the week I'm sure.

Rain Rain Go Away

2009-07-08T14:31:00.003-04:00

This is the summer that doesn't seem to want to arrive. After the Bethpage weather debacle we went right into the Mass Open which battled the remnants of the the same weather system that plagued Bethpage for the week. Fortunately we were at Belmont Country Club, a great track with even greater drainage. As hard as it rained on day-1 of the tournament (June 22) on top of all the rain over the previous weeks, there was never a suspension of play. It seemed like the Belmont greens - re-done about four years ago - could take an unlimmited amount of water. The golf course superintendent, Mike Rose, and his crew did a phenomenal job keeping the course in championship shape throughout the three days. Belmont was a great site for the 100th Mass Open and Rob Oppenheim's five under-par total and four-shot victory was great scoring in brutal conditions on a very demanding course.

Matt Parziale fired the only round in the 60's on day-3. His 68 was two shots clear of the next lowest score for the day and good enough for a one-under total and a tie for second which also bagged low amateur honors. Matt continued his roll by driving to Pinehurst with his dad and making it to the quarter-finals in the North & South Amateur. Matt has to be one of the guys to beat at The Country Club next week.

After the Open ended it was straight to Wannamoisett CC for me and the Northeast Amateur. I am still on the committee for that tournament and have had involvement in the tournament (caddie, grounds crew worker, committee member) for 29 years. Long considered one of the premier men's amateur events in the country, the Northeast Amateur is special to me and I enjoy setting up the golf course which is my main duty there now. With all the rain leading up to the tournament, the hope for firm and fast conditions wasn't to be. The course played soft and slow and these great young players were firing darts on every whole. It was still an exciting tournament, but the scoring record did go down with the winner, Dan Woltman, finishing 72 holes at -11. The course was perfect, but there just wasn't any intimidation factor this year. We had four Mass players in the field: Frank Vana, Brian Higgins, John Hadges and Taylor Fontaine. Frank was the low Bay Stater with a respectable +4 total, edging Brian Higgins by a stroke. I remember years when +4 would be a top-10 finish! We also have a full complement of MGA officials who help out every year. This year there were about a dozen led by Harry McCracken and several others who gave generously of their time.

We're gearing up now for a special week in Brookline and the 101st Mass Amateur. We have a great field set and a great site in The Country Club. The folks at TCC could not be more accommodating and welcoming in preparing for the championship. We're pretty much set to go. Now if we could only get a little sun...

Back In Black

2009-06-16T11:50:00.003-04:00

Rain or no rain Bethpage is going to be a brute this week. I was fortunate to spend Sunday and Monday at the golf course and it was a sight to behold. MGA Director of Rules and Competitions, Jesse Menachem, Jesse Menachem, and I met up Sunday morning and drove straight to the golf course. I got some badges that allowed us to go wherever the staff could go which was basically 'all access'. Being the day before spectators were allowed, security was not as tight although there was still a big security presence with both local police and state troopers.

Jesse and I had the luxury of driving our cars right to the clubhouse. We parked and walked straight to the Rules Committee trailer. Hard at work in front of their laptops were several of the Rules staff. I've known Mike Davis, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions, for many years and he is just a gracious, nice person. Jesse had a chance to meet Mike as well as several other senior Rules staff. Everyone was too busy to show us around, but Mike basically gave us carte blanche to walk around the course and go wherever we liked. He was disappointed about all the rain and the wet forecast, and how the course wouldn't play quite how they wanted. He admitted that the last several Opens have been relatively dry so they were probably due. The good thing is that the long-range forecast called for just rain without lightning so hopefully suspensions of play would be kept to a minimum.

Jesse and I checked out the clubhouse which is a beautiful, old structure - much nicer and more stately than I expected. As we walked down the hallway Angel Cabrera strolled by. 'Guess we're in the right place,' I thought. We chatted with Ron Read, USGA Regional Affairs staff, who is the 1st tee announcer all four days. He was stationed outside the player check-in room. We also walked by Jim Furyk and David Duval who were checking in, too. Next we strolled into the press tent which is absolutely enormous, the size of an indoor soccer field. People were unpacking boxes and generally getting ready for the onslaught.

Out to the Course

Having visited Bethpage in 2002 for a practice round I knew the best thing to do was check out the course. The place was buzzing with workers and USGA staff, but it was otherwise eerily quiet. No spectators and only a few players. We started on the 1st tee and began trudging outside the ropes in the thick, wet rough. Since Mike Davis had pretty much given us the green light I suggested we hop out onto the fairway. We walked the first few holes right down the middle of every fairway. The most amazing thing about Bethpage Black is the conditioning given that it is a public access golf course. The place is absolutely mint. The fairways are so pure and cut so tight it looks like you can eat off them. The rough is thick and juicy even if it's not the long, laying-over kind of rough that people typically associate with a US Open.

There was a lone player teeing off #1 with his caddy when we started our walk - not anyone we recognized - and we quickly jumped ahead of him. We walked a few holes marveling at the conditions and commenting on how tough the course will play. We eventually spotted a group up ahead which looked liked a foursome of players with their caddies. 'Must be some guys playing a casual money game while they get familiar with the course,' I suggested to Jesse. They were a hole and a half away. We eventually caught up.

Hey Rocco

We caught up to the group on a green. I think it was #5, but I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention when Jesse said, 'Look who it is'. I scanned the group and it was none other than Rocco Mediate playing alongside Matt Bettencourt (T4 at Memorial) and a local pro who'd qualified. All three three players of course had their caddies and Rocco's girlfriend was also along for the walk. Rocco was wearing a black sleeveless vest with a red golf shirt underneath. The best part, though, was the cargo shorts he was sporting. He was talking a mile a minute to the other players, putting to different spots, explaining where certain hole locations might be. Jesse and I figured we's hang with this group for a few holes.

We walked right next to the tee on the next hole and watched them tee off. We let the players and caddies exit first and then we followed right behind. Rocco was last off the tee and as we started down the walking path basically shoulder to shoulder with him he turned and said, 'Hey guys.' I think I asked him something about the course set-up and he said, 'If I shoot four rounds of 70 I can win this thing.' He was alluding to the difficulty of the course. Then I mentioned what a great job Mike Davis has been doing setting up the Open courses since he took over. 'Mike's the best,' said Rocco. 'He just gets it right.' Then I alluded to some of the more unfortunate set-ups like Shinnecock that got away from them. Rocco was quick to defend Tom Meeks, then the set-up man for the Open. 'Oh, I liked a lot of Tom's work, too,' Rocco offered. 'They just had a few problems with the weather.'

Rocco embraces the U.S. Open. He loves it. He likes the tough conditions. Obviously Rocco is a great player, but to succeed at an Open you have to embrace the tough conditions. Like his comment about shooting four 70's. He knows it's not going to be a birdie-fest. He knows par is a great score. Rocco offered up another comments about the players who complain about the conditions: 'Too bad, it's supposed to be tough.' That's why I pick Rocco to do well again this year. He's not moanning and groaning like a lot of these pampered pros. The guys who complain might as well go home now because it'll just be a Friday night plane ride for them anyway. Rock on, Rocco!

Jesse and I walked a few more holes and then decided to walk ahead lest Rocco and company think we were getting a little stalker-ish. I wanted to snap a picture of Rocco and Jesse, but I didn't want to invade his space that much. We were having such a nice time and I didn't want to hear later that Rocco went up to Mike Davis and said, 'Who were these two clowns wearing the USGA badges following me around snapping pictures?' Not that Rocco would do that - he's pretty loose - but I figured I'd just play it cool.

That was the highlight of the day, I suppose. Later, Jesse and I walked into the merchandise tent which is absolutely massive, like a huge department store. Who did we bump into shopping with his girlfriend? Yes, it was Rocco shopping like everyone else in there right before he was scheduled to sign copies of his new book about last year's Open entitled Are You Kidding Me? Jesse and I couldn't stop laughing at the title. Pure Rocco.

We caught up with Jim Farrell, USGA New England Regional Director, a good friend of mine and a friend to all the golf associations in New England. He was in the Rules trailer working on the PowerPoint presentation that Mike Davis will deliver to all the Rules officials prior to the championship. Jim has been doing this for several years, and he typically will shoot about 1,000 photos around the golf course and then cull the most appropriate ones to highlight situations or potential Rules scenarios. And then there are all the photos of the TV towers and other structures that can come into play - in Rules-speak they are called 'TIO's', Temporary Immovable Obstructions. But that's a whole other conversation. Jim treated us to lunch in the USGA hospitality area and then Jesse and I headed to the driving range. Not much action there so we called it a day.

Monday at the Open

On Monday security was much tighter. No driving to the clubhouse this time. I didn't want to park at Jones Beach and be shuttled so I parked in a supermarket parking lot about a mile away and walked to the course. Getting onto the grounds was like getting through security aat an airport. Cameras were allowed but absolutely no cell phones. Empty your pockets and put coins and keys into the little dish as you walk through the metal detector.

I finally got in and made it to the driving range around 9:00. A few players who I'd sorta heard of were hitting balls. One was European Tour player Raphael Jacquelin. He was absolutely striping the ball. So many good players who can all hit it. Just comes down to 100 yards and in and that area from the neck up. Jesse arrived a short while later as we's agreed to meet at the range. We watched players hit balls for about an hour and then headed to the main scoreboard short distance away. There we were scheduled to meet our RIGA compadres who'd taken a very early ferry from New London and driven. Bob Ward (executiv director), Jim McKenna (dir. R&C), Rob Eaton (USGA intern) and Joe Koziarek (rules official) all arrived more or less on time. We had a few laughs and snapped a couple of pictures. Jesse and I had had a long enough walk on Sunday and weren't figuring to do another loop. I told those guys they were on their own. We walked down to the Trophy Club tent where we parted ways.

Jesse and I had some lunch and then went in search of Mike Welch and Kevin Silva, twwo Mass pros who'd qualified. They were plaaying a practice round together and we caught up with them as they came off #16 green. We had to wait for them to finish signing autographs - one woman even had Mike Welch sign a golf ball - before we could say hello. They were all smiles and obviously loving the moment. We wished them good luck for the week and then I told Jesse that I was packing it in. 'See you at the office tomorrow,' we said to each other. I trekked back to the supermarket hoping my car wasn't towed. Thankfully it wasn't and I headed down the road to the ferry thinking what a great Open it's going to be. Rain or no rain it's sure to be memorable. And I'm pulling for Rocco.

Foggy Notion

2009-06-12T18:28:00.004-04:00

As I was driving back east on the Mass Pike this past Tuesday it was pretty ironic when an old song by The Velvet Underground popped up on my iPod, "Foggy Notion." I had just left Tekoa Country Club and one of the final Mass Amateur qualifying rounds in cold, drizzly weather. Typcially that wouldn't have been a big deal - golf is an outdoor sport and we're used to the elements. What made the day unusual is that we started the day off at The Blandford Club in Blandford, MA.

Blandford is a 9-hole private club that is celebrating its centennial this year and they were looking forward to hosting Mass Amateur qualifying. When heavy rain forced played to be suspended around mid-morning all the officials were hopeful that the rain would pass and we would get the players back onto the golf course. That's when the fogged rolled in. We've probably all experienced fog at a call course one time or another, but this fog just kept rolling in and out. You couldn't see 100 yards at its worst. As a one-hour delay got closer to two-hours it became apparent that we might not be able to get this round in. We couldn't possibly ask players to play when they couldn't see their ball, even though it had stopped raining.

MGA Director of Rules and Competitions, Jesse Menachem, was very quick on his feet, though. He had noticed Tekoa Country Club in Westfield on his drive to Blandford. Tekoa was only about 10 minutes away and not at the same elevation. He called head pro E.J. Altobello who immediately agreed to accommodate the full field of stranded Mass Amateur hopefuls.

The players were gathered and announcements were made, and just like that, 40 players and another 10 or so officials drove down the road where new times were assigned and the field got off at Tekoa without incident. There were five happy qualifiers at the end of the day, but a real hat's off to E.J. and new Tekoa owner Dan Burack for bailing us out. This is my 18th year in golf administration and I have to say that this was a first. I've experienced plenty of rain-outs and a fog delay or two. I was even at the 2006 US Women's Open at Newport CC when an entire day was cancelled due to fog. But this was the first time that a weather event forced the move from one site to another on the same day.

I also want to thank the President of The Blandford Club, Steve Delnickas, for being so understanding of our predicament and realizing we had no other chioce but to move when given the option. I toured the course with him after all the players and officials had left. It's a nice 9-holes and they are all very proud of their club and were looking forward to hosting qualifying for the Mass Am. Congrats to them on their Centennial. We'll be back. Next time hopefully no fog.

In Full Swing

2009-06-08T16:16:00.002-04:00

It almost seems like it happens overnight: preparing for the season, then the Four-Ball and all of a sudden - Boom! - we're shot out of a cannon and we're in full swing. We;ve had our weather issues, especially at the Four-Ball, but the Open qualifiers went well and we have a nice field set for Belmont CC in a couple of weeks highlighted with defending champion, Jim Renner.

Amateur qualifiers are underway. We were praying for nice weather last Wednesday (June 3) when we had five qualifiers going on. Needless to say we were stretched a bit thin that day, but the weather was on our side and we made it through. We have a total of 12 qualifying sights - no surprise that we filled all of them with a chance to play The Country Club on the line.

How about Tiger Woods yesterday? He must be chuckling after all the media and armchair quarterbacks analyzing his every swing since he's returned. How he's not the same Tiger, the knee's not healed, he's had to make too many changes in his swing, he can't clear his left side like he used to. Hey, it's not like the guy's been chopping. He won Arnold's tournament and had four other top-10's in six events. And then yesterday he authored another highlight reel of a round to shut the door on his 67th career victory.

I didn't get to see the one-handed chip-in for eagle live, but I did see the replay once I finally tuned in. And then I was locked in for the finish as player after player seemed to melt under the pressure. For the other players it seems like there's pressure and then there's Tiger pressure. Even Jim Furyk couldn't handle it. And I think his performance at Muirfield Village sends a pretty strong message in the run-up to Bethpage. Should be fun to watch in a couple of weeks.

A Great Day On Tour For Mass

2009-05-18T17:28:00.002-04:00

I was glued to the TV on Sunday watching James Driscoll polish off a sparkling 62 that put him leader in the clubhouse at 15 under at the Valero Texas Open. It was nice to see James play so well since he's been struggling since last year. As a player not fully exempt on Tour, he has to take advantage of the limited opportunities he has and he certainly did. When he coolly rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole I was hoping that might be good enough. But when you've got a Masters champion with several holes to play and only one back I'm sure James was mentally preparing for a play-off.

James looks to be in phenomenal shape and his swing looks better than ever. Ian Baker-Finch and Jim Nantz were very complimentary of Charles River's favorite son. I thought James' swing looked very free and rhythmic compared to the more deliberate, mechanical swing I'd been used to seeing. A few of his drives were absolute bombs - frozen ropes.

It didn't go his way in the play-off against Zach Johnson, but James has to be brimming with confidence. And the $658,000 payday wasn't too bad either - that ought to pay a few bills. I know James has a big following in these parts and here's to hoping this is just the start of more great things.

Another favorite son played great yesterday on the Nationwide Tour. Five-time Mass Open Champion, Geoff Sisk finished T7 and collected nearly $23,000 in the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Alabama to move up 10 spots on the money list from 28 to 18. Geoff is off to a very nice start this year. The top-25 at the end of the year automatically earn their PGA Tour cards.

Already In Full Swing

2009-05-11T16:32:00.002-04:00

OK, so I have to do a little better than once a month. The Masters has come and gone and I think most of us felt a little badly for Kenny Perry.

April was a busy month at the MGA as we prepared for the start of the season. The Ouimet Banquet in Boston was another huge success. No doubt people came out for Tom Watson, but even in this economy the Ouimet Fund still has such strong support across the state. It was heartwarming really and it speaks both to the passion that people have for the game and for the Fund.

A group of about 20 MGA committee members and officials visited the USGA Museum last month for a day or so. Everyone went down on their own dime and were treated to a tour of the test center and the museum. If you haven't visited the USGA Museum before it is worth the trip. Last year the Museum reopened after a $22 million renovation which included an addition to the main building. The new wing is named after Arnold Palmer and features and entire room dedicated to The King. The focal point of the new wing is the Hall of Champions, a large wood-paneled room with plaques on the walls listed by year and all the champions for each year beginning in 1895. Of course, there were only two championships in 1895 - the US Amateur and US Open. In the middle of the Hall of Champions sits all the USGA Championship trophies, all proudly dsiplayed in glass cases. It's an impressive sight. If you haven't been, you need to go - www.usgamuseum.com.

The Four-Ball was not exactly the perfect start to the season that we'd hoped. After an uneventful day-1 at both Crestwood and Ledgemont the weather turned bad last Tuesday. We tried to play on and all the players were great sports about it, but the courses became unplayable. We ended up declaring co-champions for the event, the second time this has been done in several years. Let's hope the weather cooperates a little better from here on out.

Cut Day At The Masters

2009-04-10T15:11:00.003-04:00

I'm here working at the office but I have the Masters web site in the background on my computer. Live at Amen Corner is a great feature for those of us at work who want to keep track of the action. It was nice to see the good scoring on Thursday. Mother Nature is cooperating and the Masters officials are setting the course up (so far) so that the players can play.

Can't wait to relax a bit on the weekend and take it all in. There are numerous storylines, but everyone will have their eyes on Tiger to see if he can make a weekend move. I read an article published Monday on Golfchannel.com which talked about how many of the Masters legend's are Tiger fans.
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/legends-watch-admire-tiger-woods-28970/

Everyone from Sam Snead who could hardly see towards the end of his life but would sit just a few feet from the TV when Tiger played to Bob Goalby, Doug Ford and Larry Mize. Just like the rest of us golfing mortals, these giants of the game marvel at what Tiger has been doing and what he is likely to do. I'm not much of a collector of golf memorabilia, but I have to admit that I've saved every issue of Golf World in which Tiger has apeared on the cover from his amateur days to the present - it's a lot. I don't feel like as much of a geek when I hear Masters champions gush about him

I hope the Masters folks continue to make it a user friendly set-up so we can have some back nine fireworks around 5pm Sunday. I know where I'll be.

Ahh, The Masters

2009-04-06T11:52:00.003-04:00

I know many of you are just as jazzed about Masters week as I am. For me it's a toss up between the Masters and US Open, but the Masters probably wins out as my favorite tournament. It's such a special week and for us golfers in New England it definitely marks the beginning of spring. The forecast in Augusta is for iunseasonably cool weather the early part of the week with the temps not reaching the 70's until Thursday. With the wind blowing early in the week, hopefully the course will be playing fast for the players. At 7,400 yards they'll need all the help they can get.

I checked out the Masters web site www.masters.org last night for the first time. You know it's a different era when the Masters is on Facebook and Twitter. I'm not on Facebok and I hardly even know what Twitter is. I hope Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jones aren't rolling over in their graves. The Masters has always embraced change which is a good thing with technology and for us television "patrons" being allowed to watch all 18 holes unlike the old days when the telecast didn't come on the air until 4:00. I know I'm not alone in thinking that they've overcooked the golf course, though. The back nine excitement has been stifled with the course now more characteristic os US Open survival than old-time Masters charges. It seems almost impossible to think that a player could should 30 or 32 on the back nine to mount a charge - which is too bad. But it's still the Masters and I'll be watching.

Every few years or so Masters Sunday falls on Easter and when I found out that that was the case this year I immediately lobbied my family for an early dinner. My sister who lives in Providence is hosting so I called her up and said, "How does a 1:00 dinner sound to you?" After I explained my ulterior motive she agreed. She was probably rolling her eyes on her end of the phone, but that's OK. I'll be back in front of my 40-inch screen in time for the leaders to make the turn.

Is Tiger Woods unbelievable? The media has run out of superlatives and who can blame them. I thought there was no way he makes that but on the 72nd at Bay Hill. Absolutely unreal. So good for the game that he's back. He may well be putting on another green jacket come Sunday. Either way I can't wait.

Gearing Up

2009-03-16T16:22:00.002-04:00

Despite the recent snow storm it seems like we are finally on the verge of spring. With the mercury sneaking into the 60's a couple of times and golf courses drying out and starting to open, the full-fledged season can't be far away.

It's getting busier here by the week at the MGA. The phones are ringing. Players have questions about tournaments. Clubs are wondering when the handicap season starts (March 31). The economy is tough, but I think golfers are looking for something to feel good about, and that something will be getting back onto the course.

Golf has been taking a beating in the press lately, lumped into the same conversation as the financial institutions that are receiving bailout money, and some of the instititions happen to also sponsor PGA Tour events. As Golf Digest Publications Chairman and Editorial Director, Jerry Tarde, put it in his eloquent rebuttal in the March 16 issue of Golf World [It's Time For A Pause In The Action], "Golf is the baby, not the bath water." He very clearly describes in his one-page piece how much golf brings to the economic table. He even referenced our own Deutsche Bank Championship that "generates at least $50 million annually to the region."

I went to the Golf World web site to try to link his article to my humble blog piece, but it was not available. A similarly good piece in the same issue, Why Golf Is A Dirty Word In Washington, co-written by Dave Shedloski and Ron Sirak, can be found here -http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/columnists/2009/03/gw20090316shedloski.

The good news is Tiger Woods is back, the one-man stimulas package that our game needs right now.

The Sheriff's Back In Town

2009-02-25T13:24:00.003-05:00

With all the bad news swirling around these days it's a relief to have something good to talk about. And talking about the return of Tiger Woods can take us golfers' minds off everything else for a while. While I have enjoyed watching golf on TV this winter, it just hasn't been the same knowing that Tiger wouldn't be in any tournament. I was thinking he might not come back until Doral, so it's exciting to see him start back this week in the run up to The Masters.

It doesn't really matter if Tiger wins at the Match Play or not. His return signals a breath of fresh air for the game and for sports in general. No one moves the meter in his sport more than Tiger. With rounds played flat and clubs struggling in '09, Tiger's return to the game can only help. More casual golfers may be inspired to play more. If he goes on another one of his tears then maybe some more people will consider entering the game. It's a fact that more people will be watching golf on TV especially if he's in the hunt. And that only helps the sponsors who pay for these high-price events, many of which are also struggling.

Tiger's not bigger than the game, but he sure is a great ambassador, and the game needs him more than ever. Nice to have you back, Tiger.

P.S. Another nice piece by Jim McCable at Golfweek - http://www.golfweek.com/commentaries/mccabe-022409

A New Year

2009-02-06T09:47:00.004-05:00

Happy 2009 everyone. Yes, it's been a while, and I do plan on doing a better job keeping up with the blog this year. I was surprised by how many people came up to me to say that they had read it.

Many people probably think the MGA staff and I are sitting around waiting for the snow to melt. While the holidays are a slower time to recharge and spend some time with friends and family, once the new year hits it's off to the races again.

We had a great night on January 8th with our annual Salute to Champions. All the championship winners were given their proper due in front of about 175 people at the beautiful new Wellesley CC clubhouse. The evening culminated with Brian Higgins receiving his Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Award.

A week later Scott Whitcomb and I delivered a course marking seminar to the Cape Cod superintendents at Southers Marsh GC. It was a snowy forecast, but about 70 supers and turf industry people were in attendance.

Jesse Menachem, our new Director of Rules and Competitions, has already been in touch with some clubs in making preliminary plans for some qualifiers and championships. Jesse, Scott and I had a phone meeting with senior staff at The Country Club to go over many of the logistics for this summer's 101st Amateur Championship. I'm sure that many players are eagerly anticipating a return to this venerable venue. The club is treating this like the major event that it is, and they will be working very closely with the MGA to provide a memorable week.

Yesterday was the first day of online registration at the MGA. We had a total of 257 entries on day-1 of registration, easily eclipsing last year's first day total. Despite the tough economy, I guess this harsh winter has players pining for the spring and summer days out on the course. I know I am.

This is a challenging time for many clubs and courses to say the least. The MGA knows it can't solve the issues that many clubs are facing, but we have set up two one-day seminars in conjunction with the National Club Association (NCA) on March 31 and April 14 for club officials and general managers to discuss the challenges that exist. We are co-presenting these two days with the New England Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America. Two speakers from the NCA will be speaking about trends and issues at clubs along with some marketing stategies. More information will be forthcoming on the MGA web site.

I think we're all awaiting the return of Tiger Woods. The game needs him more than ever, and it seems like he is now practicing without restriction and fine-tuning his game for a return to competition. It's been fun to watch the Tour telecasts to see warm places like Phoenix and Honolulu, and it will be even more enjoyable once Tiger gets back into the mix.

Finally, for those of you who read Golfweek Magazine, you've been treated to some great pieces of late by longtime Boston Globe golf writer, Jim McCabe, who's now crafting his words for Golfweek. Sad news for Globe readers, but good news for golfers who enjoy reading some really good golf writing. Jim will have a much wider audience and he seems to have hit the ground running. Here's a recent piece about the recent passing of literary legend, John Updike, which features a decidedly Massachussetts flavor - http://www.golfweek.com/commentaries/mccabe-020109

Stay warm everybody!

World Golf Hall of Fame

2008-11-12T11:50:00.004-05:00

I'm back in Florida for a couple of days attending the Golf 20/20 Conference. Golf 20/20 is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation which also oversees The First Tee and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

I arrived Monday afternoon in Jacksonville and drove to my in-laws who are staying temporarily here in Jacksonville. I'm staying with them for the short time that I'm here. Moday evening I attended the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony. You may have seen it on the Golf Channel Monday night. It was outdoors and it was COLD! Fortunately it was only about an hour and a half and then everyone headed indoors to the Hall for a reception. The evening was mc'd by the Golf Channel's Rich Lerner who did his usual nice job.

The six inductees were Denny Shute, Craig Wood, Carol Semple Thompson, Pete Dye, Bob Charles and Brockton's own Herbert Warren Wind, the acknowledged poet laureate of golf writers. At the reception later I met Tony Jacklin, a Hall of Fame member himself, who was there to present for Bob Charles. Tony and I share a mutual friend so I introduced myself and he was very gracious. Also in attendance were Curtis Strange and Greg Norman who preseted for golf course architect, Pete Dye, the famous (some would some infamous) designer of many courses including the Stadium COurse at TPC Sawgrass.

Tuesday morning at the conference center adjacent to the Hall there was the Golf 20/20 meeting. Golf 20/20 was created in 1999 to address the flattened participation in the game. It was created by PGA Tour Commissioner, Tim Finchem, and others. The initiative had somewhat floundered until this week when a new grow-the-game program was unveiled called "Get Ready For Golf In 5 Days." Basically it's like a First Tee program for adults aimed at getting adults who've never played into the game. It's also desinged for the lapsed golfer who may want to take the game up again. It's still a work in progress, but representatives from all the major governing bodies were in attendance and it looks like it may have some good traction once it starts to roll in 2009. I'm sure you'll be reading all about it and seeing promos on the Golf Channel.

While I was here in Jacksonville I decided to look up the guy who I used to caddy for on tour. Yes, for those who don't know I caddied on the PGA Tour in 1989-1990. It was a great experience and I have many fond memories. Jeff Sluman was the most famous player I ever caddied for. Most of the guys I worked for were guys out of the Q-school none of whom are still on tour.

I caddied for a guy named Ray Barr, Jr. for most of 1990. I recently went onto the PGA of America's web site and found that he is the head pro at Jacksonville Golf & Country Club. As luck would have it the course is about five minutes from where I'm staying. I headed over there today around 10:00 and completely surprised him. I walked into the pro shop and the assistant pro greeted me. I asked, "Is Ray here?" He said, "Yeah, he's right in his office. Who should I say is here?" I said, "Tell him it's his old caddy." I walked into his office and Ray's jaw about hit the floor. He knew who it was right away. He looks the same with just a few more gray hairs - he said the same about me. He was shocked taht I remembered his daughters' names - Kaidee and Kelly. They were tots back then - now one is a college grad and the other in soon to be.

I had a great time working for Ray. I picked him up at the first event of the year in 1990 in Tuscon. We made the cut and he asked me to stick with him. We had a good west coast swing making every cut. Starting in the Florida, though, he began to have it struggles. We ended up splitting up later that summer but remained friends. Ray never got back on tour after that and I lost track of him. He played college golf at Houston with Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Blaine McCallister. He even knew Jim Nantz who went there at the same time and was a somtime player on the team. Ray seems happy with his gig as a club pro. I told him about my journey in golf as an administrator, and we had a few laughs about our times together. He had to run to a meeting so we had to cut our reunion short. I told him I'd stay in touch.

Back Online

2008-11-03T12:48:00.003-05:00

People warned me. A few told me that the toughest part about doing a blog is keeping up with it. I kind of brushed that aside, but they were exactly right. I haven't posted since the Deutsche Bank Championship week in late-August and here it is early-November and I'm just checking back in. It was a busy finish to the MGA season, but I'd say that we had a good year. The championship season finished on a soggy note with the first day of the Senior Amateur being washed out. Eastward Ho! is a beautiful course in Chatham that the players were looking forward to playing so I was disappointed for them that we couldn't get both days in.

We making final preparations to the 2009 schedule now. The championship sites are just about set, and we're trying to finalize the qualifying sites which hopefully will be done towards the end of the month.

I must confess that as I write I am in Destin, FL attending the annual IAGA conference. The IAGA is the International Association of Golf Administrators which comprises staff members from most of the state and regional golf associations from the U.S. There are also the provincial golf associations from Canada that make up the group, hence the "international". Once a year we meet to network, share ideas and participate in various educational sessions.

We have about 160 people attending the conference from associations all around the country. All six New England Associations are represented. Most of the attendees arrived Saturday and we had a full day of educational sessions yesterday (Sunday). There were breakout sessions for executive directors along with other department meetings - rules & competitions, handicap & course rating, communications and junior golf. Attending from the MGA besides myself are Scott Whitcomb, Director of Field Operations, and Scott Guild, Director of Handicapping. Scott Whitcomb actually was one of the presenters in the Course Rating breakout. I ducked into the meeting for awhile to listen to some of the lively discussions on rough & recoverability, trees, effective playing length, rating teams. Scott did a nice job. I used to do a fair amount of course rating so I was actually able to keep up.

Yesterday afternoon we heard from some of the senior staff at the USGA, Pete Bevaqua, Chief Business Officer; Alex Withers, Managing Director of Digital Media; and Kevin O'Connor, Senior Director of Handicapping & Regional Affairs. They gave us a lot of good information and it's quite apparent that the USGA is going to get more and more involved in utlizing their internet presence over the coming months and years to communincate with golfers and state associations. Since the hiring of Alex Withers from espn.com, the USGA's website has undergone a complete overhaul. There will be another complete overhaul in early 2009 http://www.usga.org/.

The USGA folks also talked about their updated museum in Far Hills, NJ. I think the number is about $20 million that they spent to upgrade the museum which was unveiled just before this year's US Open. Most of the people convened here have not seen the new museum so there was the requisite slide show and presentation. I was fortunate to visit the museum about a month ago. I would encourage anyone to go - it's fantastic. The museum even has its own new dedicated site, http://www.usgamuseum.com/.

I am part of the IAGA Program Committee this year so part of my duties were setting up some of the sessions. I invited David Chag, General Maager at The Country Club in Brookline. He graciously accepted and gave a great PowerPoint presentation this morning about club managers working with the other professional staffs at their clubs and working with golf associations. David is a great public speaker and a class act. His talk was very well received.

Today (Monday) and tomorrow we have several more educational sessions before the conference wraps up late Tuesday. Destin is in the pan handle of Florida, and believe it or not, it is so far west that it's in the beginning of the central time zone. Bet most people aren't aware that Florida crosses time zones. I know it's cold back home and I don't mean to rub it in, so I'll leave you with just the facts: sunny and 74 degrees.

Home On The Range

2008-08-26T16:45:00.002-04:00

I did make it to the range last night after work, but it was just Cliff Kresge hitting balls, me watching and a Norton police officer making sure I didn't get out of hand. After about 20 minutes of watching Cliff five iron after five iron I headed home.

Late afternoon today was a little busier. The Red Sox pro-am was this morning which featured former Sox players and current Bruins players (along with a smattering of business people) playing with a Tour player. I hit the range again with Jesse Menachem, our newest MGA staff person. We walked through the maze of equipment trailers right onto the range like we onwed the place. Watched Tommy Armour III working on his drver. He was being watched by Hazel Mae (former NESN anchor) with whom he played in the pro-am earlier in the day.

I was talking to Titleist tour rep Skip Haugen when Ian Poulter stopped by for a quick hello. It was pretty cool being inside the ropes watching the guys being pretty relaxed and working on their games. Nick Thompson whose sister Alexis won the USGA Junior Girls last month was also working on his driver.

After Jesse and I figured we'd probably never hit the ball like that we headed off the range and back to the office.

Deutsche Bank Championship Week

2008-08-25T14:53:00.004-04:00

OK, yes, I've been a little out of touch with the blog since the Amateur. A couple of people told me that once you sign on to do a blog the tough part is keeping up with it. They weren't kidding.

It's been a hectic five weeks or so since John Hadges' great win at Kittansett. The Junior, SeniorFour-Ball, Public Links, Father & Son, Father & Daughter - not to mention the Mid Am qualifiers - all went well and now we have a slight breather until the sprint to the finish that includes the Mid Amateur at Berkshire Hills and the Senior Amateur at Eastward Ho.

Now is the time of year when we start to finalize next year's schedule. Most of the championship sites are finalized, but the qualifiers are another story. That will keep me quite occupied throughout the waning days of summer and into the fall.

It's a very busy week here in Norton with the PGA Tour in town. Out Golf House building becomes tournament headquarters and the MGA staff must all wear name badges. It's actualy been extremely busy here for the last month. Tournament Director Eric Baldwin and the other Deutsche Bank tournament staff and interns have been logging long hours in preparation for the big week.

It's here now and there is definitely a buzz in the air. All the grandstands have been up for weeks and over the past 10 days or so the rest of the tented villages have been erected. It's amazing to me how much work goes into an event that lasts just one week. I can only imagine what the Olympic organizers in China must have gone through.

On my lunch break I walked up to the club house and strolled out onto the range. All the equipment trailers are in, but with the tournament not starting until Friday it's still a bit quiet. I noticed Chad Campbell pulling away in his courtesy car. On the practice putting green next to the range Ian Poulter was working on his putting with his caddy. Only one player was hitting balls, but I didn't recognize him. There is a pro-am being played on the course today and the Red Sox pro-am is tomorrow. I'm sure that it will be much busier then. I may head back to the range when I leave the office to see if I can pick up any pointers.

Perfect End To A Perfect Week

2008-07-18T10:50:00.003-04:00

Friday 11:06 a.m.

We've had some great matches this week to complement the beautiful weather. After a squirly first day with the tough wind the rest of the week couldn't have gone any better. Club mates from Thorny Lea, John Hadges and Matt Parziale are battling it out in the final match today. Both have played beautifully all week and either one will be a deserving and popular winner.

I've been fortunate to be staying in one of the upstairs guest rooms at the club house with a view overlooking the putting green and first tee and the ocean off to the right. As hot and sticky as it's been in the city, I've had a nice breeze each night. It's really a slice of heaven here at Kittansett and we've all been fortunate - players and officials alike - to be here all week. I don't think there's a more natural layout using the ocean and the land perfectly.

Dave Colt, our MGA photographer, has taken some wonderful shots of both golfers and course this week. Here's a link to the photos. http://www.mgaphotosonline.com/.

Down To 32

2008-07-16T05:52:00.002-04:00

The players caught a breather on day-2 at Kittansett. The winds that demoralized some players during the first round subsided to a whisper on Tuesday. It was actually a beautiful day, a chamber-of-commerce type day with sunshine, a light breeze and temperatures in the 80's. It could not have been nicer.

There actually was not a breath of wind in the morning which made for ideal scoring conditions. Many players responsed with much better scores. I think good players would rather play in the rain than in the wind we had on Monday. Kevin Velardo had the biggest turnaround of the match play qualifers. The player from CC of Billerica followed up his first round 81 with an even-par 70 to make match play on the number. Cyprian Keyes' Dan Falcucci followed his 77 with the low round of the tournament, a two under-par 68 to finish in fourth position.

Players were hunkered around the score tent all afternoon as the scores came in. The cut for match play hovered around 153/154 for quite a while until it dropped to 152 late. With just two groups to finish there were seven players at 152 and an imment 7 for 1 play-off seemed definite. Then what I like to call the golf administrator's dream occurred. A player in the last group off hole 18, Joe Cunningham of Brookline GC, posted a 72 and 147 total to knock out all the 152's. After the final group of the day finished on hole 9 is was done - No Play-off! Among the disappointed seven players at 152 were defending champion, Burgess Houston.

There are a lot of exciting matches lined up for Wednesday morning. It should be an interesting day - usually is. And I think I owe Joe Cunningham a beer.

Kittansett Wins Round 1

2008-07-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

Well it's appropriate that this is British Open week or as they like to call it the Open Championship. Kittansett had just about all the ingredients of the most stern Bristish Open test imaginable. Topping the list was the steady 20-25 MPH wind which made the course, in a word, brutal. It was a survival test for the 144 players who teed it up today. The wind wind wreaked havoc with just about everyone's game. It made the pace of play exceptiionally slow (not a fun day for us golf administrators) and it made the course play like a bear (not a fun day for the players).

I'm not sure that there would be many guys who would characterize their rounds as "enjoyable". A "survival test" might be more accurate while some guys might say it was closer to "torture". The setting and the course were beautiful - it was just a tough day. John Hadges, playing late in the afternoon of #1 tee, shot the only round of even-par 70. It was a special round given the conditions. A score of 71 was the best anyone else could must and the 32nd score (the number of qualifiers for match play) was 77. The old addage "double it and add one" would make the 36 hole cut for match play in the neighborhood of 155 - a high score for this talented field. I hope the wind is a little more benign tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see. It should be an exciting finish to get to the low 32.

Ah, Kittansett

2008-07-14T11:04:00.003-04:00

Well I have been pretty remiss in not posting anything since Jim Renner's convincing victory at the Mass Open at Stockbridge. My week segued straight to the Northeast Amateur and Wannamoisett after the Open and it seems like we've been busy with State Am preparations ever since.

But the day has finally arrived and the morning wave of players are on the golf course at Kittansett for the 100th Mass Amateur. At 7:20 this morning Bill Foley, 1964 Mass Am champ and MGA Past President, struck a ceremonial first ball to kick off the 100th playing of the Amateur. He striped it down the middle and we were off and running.

The membership and staff here at Kittansett have been incredible. We have parking passes for all the players and a committee made up of Kittansett members are monitoring the parking situation which is a challenge because of the limited space at the club house. So far so good and the afternnon wave will be getting ready to go shortly.

Superintendent John Kelley and his crew have the course in great shape. They were here late on Sunday night and back at the course before 5AM this morning. Golf pro Steve Demmer and his staff have been hugley helpful in aranging for many of the golf related logistics. And club GM Jerry Garcia and his staff coould not be more accommodating.

The wind is pumping pretty good here so there are not likely to be a lot of low scores. I think we set a moderate course for the players - not too punishing, but the wind is punishment enough. If we can keep that rain away that's to our west we'll be in good shape. OK, I'm back out to the course now.

Mass Open Continues

2008-06-18T08:33:00.002-04:00

The first day of the Mass Open didn't exactly go as planned. After a beautiful morning at Stockbridge GC in the Berkshires the clouds rolled in. And then came the dark clouds with the thunderstorms.

After an afternoon meeting on Monday I jumped in my car and headed down the Mass Pike. I was following the U.S. Open play-off by text messages and cell phone calls. It was sunny when I left mid afternoon and about 4:30 I got a call that all the players had been taken off the course because of lighning in the area. I hit the massive storm about 20 miles from the course - lightning, thunder and heavy rain. I was nearing my hotel at 6:30 when I got the phone call from Ryan Magee, our Director of Rules and Competitions, that played had been called for the day.

With the entire afternoon wave yet to complete play, it was an early wake up call Tuesday as players had to get in position for 6:30AM to complete anywhere from three to 11 holes. With the first round complete we only had to back up the day-2 starting times by one hour. We lucked out with the weather and completed play just after 8:00PM.

Forty-six players made the cut for the final round with Plainville's Jim Renner tied for the lead with Falmouth, Maine's Shawn Warren. Renner is on a roll after having winning the Vermont Open last week by a whopping 14 shots. The field will have it's hands full. I'm heading out now to get ready to walk with the fourth to last group that features Four-Ball champion Brian Higgins at the 10:21 tee time. As well as he's playing Brian is not the low amateur so far. That honor goes to Brockton CC's Mike Calef who starts the third and final round in solo third after firing rounds of 73-67 which puts him at even par one behind Renner and Warren.

Mass Open & US Open Converge

2008-06-16T09:49:00.003-04:00

Well if you you were like me you were riveted to the television yesterday afternoon and evening. The U.S. Open in prime time was pretty special. And the best golfer ever to lace up a pair of spikes (no offense, Jack) did not disappoint. I figured that there was no way Tiger Woods makes the putt on 18. He just didn't seem to have his mojo working and he spent all his heroic chips in Saturday's eagle-fest.

But of course Tiger willed that putt on 18 into the hole and he has a noontime date with Rocco Mediate to decide the 108th U.S. Open. Rocco has nothing to lose and Tiger is expected to win, bum knee and all. It should be exciting. I'm sure the naysayers will be out in full force bemoaning the 18 hole play-off format, but I still think it has a place. It's our national championship and sudden-death or even an aggregate four-holer doesn't seem quite right.

I thought that Mike Davis and the Championship Committee at the USGA did a great job of setting the course. With the graduated rough, alternate tees, drivable par-4 - I thought that they got the whole thing right.

While Tiger and Rocco are battling this afternoon, the first day of the Mass Open will be in full effect. I have a meeting this afternoon and then I will be heading out to Stockbridge Golf Club in the western part of the state for the final two rounds. After Tuesday's second round the field will be cut to 40 and ties for Wednesday's final round. There are past champions in the field, but the defending champion, Geoff Sisk, will not be playing. Geoff actually called me back in the spring to tell me he wouldn't be playing because he didn't want to give up a week on the Nationwide Tour where he is fully exempt this year. I appreciated the call and completely understood where Geoff was coming from.

I'll be chiming in about our Open over the next couple of days. Stay tuned.

Curtis Cup Victory & U.S. Open Qualifying

2008-06-03T12:53:00.005-04:00

The Curtis Cup Match ended this past Sunday at The Old Course at St. Andrews with the U.S. team scoring a decisive 13-7 win over the Great Britain and Ireland Team. It was Team USA's sixth consecutive victory, and Westford, Mass', Alison Walshe, went undefeated in her first appearance in the Match. Way to go, Alison! http://www.curtiscup.org/

The Mass Open final field is set and the and the pairings for the first two days are on our web site. http://www.mgatpp.org/results/pairings.aspx?ID=30 The championship will be played at Stockbridge GC on June 16-18.

The U.S. Open final field is also set with all but one Sectional Qualifying site being conducted yesterday, June 2. Fourteen sites from around the country including one in England were contested yesterday with the 15th site having been playing in Japan on May 26th.

The site in Purchase, NY featured many local players and the medalist was Kevin Silva of New Bedford. The former UNC Charlotte golfer fired rounds of 70-69 over the two courses (Old Oaks CC and Century CC) to claim medalist honors by three strokes. It will be Kevin's first trip to the Open. http://usga.usopen.com/qualifying/purchase.html

It was a strong field in NY that featured local PGA Tour Player Brad Faxon as well as former PGA Tour and current Nationwide Tour Players, Mathias Gronberg and Scott Dunlap. Former PGA National Professional Champion, Ron Philo and 2004 USGA Mid-Amatuer Champion and New Hampshire native, Austin Eaton III, were also in the field.

There were a total of 65 players playing for four (4) qualifying spots, and Plainville's Jim Renner missed the play-off for the final qualifying spot by a single stroke. His 144 total was one one too many for the play-off that featured three players for one spot. Steve Alminas from East Longmeadow was another shot behind at 145.

Also competing but not qualifying were Kernwood CC head pro, Frank Dully; Harvard golf coach and pro at Leo J. Martin, James Burke; newly minted pro from Woburn, Jason Parajeckas; West Springfield's Rick Fleury; South Yarmouth's Bobby Pandolfi; Seekonk's Jeff Dantas; and amateurs Chris Marinaro (Skyline CC) and Brandon Parker (Pleasant Valley CC). Congrats to all these players for making it to Sectionals, and a special congrats and good luck at Torrey Pines to Kevin Silva.

Ouimet Banquet & Curtis Cup

2008-05-26T09:09:00.004-04:00

It seems like all of a sudden the season is in full swing. Funny how that usually works out. Last week was a busy one with two Mass Open qualiers (CC of Pittsfield and Oyster Harbors), the Ouimet Banquet and readying for the rest of the month and beyond.

On Monday, May 19th the Ouimet Fund held its 59th Banquet at the Boston Convention Center. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance along with 1,400 of my closest friends. It was another hugely successful evening in terms of money raised for the Fund and awards presented. Starting out with the presentation of the Richard F. Connolly, Jr. Distinguished Service Award to Anne Marie Tobin for all that she has done for the Ouimet Fund and for women's golf, the next presentation was actually a re-presentation. Harry McCracken received the Joe Dey Award in February 2007, the highest award that is given to a volunteer by the USGA. People may have read about it, but since the award was presented to Harry in San Francisco at the USGA's Annual Meeting many of his friends were not able to be there.

The Ouimet Fund arranged for an edited version of the videotaped presentation in San Franciso to be shown. The longtime Charles River member was lauded for his more than 40 years of selflesss dedication to the game. MGA Past President and Ouimet Board member, Denny Goodrich, did the re-presentation citing that it was special for him to be able to do it becaue he had met Joe Dey, the legendary USGA Executive Director and first commissioner of the PGA Tour, when Denny worked on the grounds crew under Joe Dey's direction at the 1965 US Open at The Country Club. A few good natured barbs were traded between Harry and Denny and the evening was off to a flying start.

The 13th honoree was Gary Player, winner of 9 major championships and 163 tournaments worldwide. The World Golf Hall of Famer was the third person to win the modern grand slam after Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan, and in accepting the award he told many stories of his early days in the game to his belief in physical fitness to his efforts on behalf of human rights in his native South Africa and around the world. In addition to talking about fitness ("I did 1,000 push-ups the other day."), the 72 year-old who could easily pass for 10 years younger also talked about nutrition. "People thought I was cracked back when I talked about fitness and no other golfer was doing it, and look what's come to pass." He felt that the same would hold true for nutrition in the future. "There probably aren't five people here tonight that eat correctly." And he was probably right.

The highlight of the evening, however, was not Mr. Player, but the Ouimet student speaker, Ryan Durkin, who would be graduating from UMASS later in the week. This young man stole the show. At 21 he spoke both eloquently and engagingly. He talked about how his father had died of cancer when he was five. How his mother, Nancy, had to raise he and his two siblings, Brad and Lindsey, as a single mom. He talked about how he started hawking golf balls at Indian Ridge and selling them and then eventually caddying there.

Ryan was a just a kid from the neighborhood forced to grow up faster than most. With the odds stacked against him he has excelled in everything he's undertaken. A stand-out cross country runner at Andover High, he went on to star in that sport at UMASS. http://umassathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-track/mtt/durkin_ryan00.html

Ryan excelled not only athletically, but academically as well. He received other scholarships besides the Ouimet. And when he started to choke bag tears when telling everyone that his brother had recetly shipped off to Iraq and that he would be joing the United States Marine Corps this summer, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. Ryan received a prolonged standing ovation.

When Gary Player got up to speak he was still visibly moved by Ryan's speech. "Ryan, you cried at the end of your talk. I'm crying at the beginning." The first five minutes of his talk was about Ryan, and whether planned or inspired by the moment, Gary Player announced that he would be donating $100,000 to the Ouimet Fund - to the endowed scholarship that had been set up in Player's parents' names. A special evening to be sure.

Curtis Cup Dreams

With all the talk of Tiger's knee, other significant events in the golf world can go unnoticed. A rather special one is taking place this week (May 30-June 1) at The Old Course at St. Andrews - the 35th Curtis Cup Match. http://www.curtiscup.org/

The biennial event that pits the best women amateurs from the U.S. against the best from Great Britain and Ireland has particular significance for Bay State golfers - not only from its humble beginnings but this year as well.

The Curtis Cup, formed in 1932 "to stimulate friendly rivalry among the women golfers of many lands", was named after Mass natives Harriot and Margaret Curtis whom between them won four USGA Women's Amateur championships in the 1920's. The U.S. dominated the match for many years, but it is now much more competitive.

There are eight players on each squad, and this year's U.S. team features the top amateur in the country, Duke golfer Amanda Blumenherst, who was a part of the victorious 2006 U.S. Curtis Cup team.

One of the eight players on the U.S. team this year is Alison Walshe, the Irish-born, Westford, Mass native who recently graduated from the University of Arizona where she starred on the golf team. She started her college career at Boston College and then transferred to Tulane. She transferred a second time when Tulane suspended their women's golf program after Hurricane Katrina. http://www.curtiscup.org/players/usa_profiles.html

I'm sure that we will all be rooting for Alison and the U.S. team captained again by amateur golf legend Carol Semple Thompson. It will be tough to watch on TV especially with the time zone difference but I'm sure that the Golf Channel will have some highlights. The next time the Match is played, however, you will have an easier time watching it in person as the 2010 Curtis Cup will be played in Massachusetts at the Essex County Club.

Four-Ball Wrap-Up

2008-05-10T12:39:00.007-04:00

Day-2 of the Four-Ball this past Tuesday went as well as day-1. When the weather is on your side it makes running golf tournaments a heckuva lot easier. We had our usual complement of dedicated MGA officials at both Maplegate and Franklin on Tuesday. I spent most of the day again helping out at Maplegate. MGA Championship Committee member, Peter Waldinger, was the Official-in-Charge (OIC) at Maplegate and he did a great job oraganizing the two days.

When I arrived at Maplegate at 6:15AM, not only were several officials alreading convening in the pro shop over donuts and coffee, but our official MGA photographer, Dave Colt, was also there with all his gear. No sooner was I in the door when Dave was asked about the whereabouts of the video camera. The MGA purchased a video camera recently so that we can document our tournaments in another unique way. I shot some video on Monday and Dave was hot to trot to go shoot some more before he settled in to shoot his still photos. Dave is a camera and video expert whose full-time job in managing one of the Apple stores.

Dave e-mailed the next day (Wednesday) and he had already edited the raw footage into a nice little piece that you can view through the MGA web site. You can also view Dave's great photos from the tournament. http://www.mgaphotosonline.com/MGA_Photos/2008_Events.html

Just click the video option next to the Four-Ball and check it out. It takes a minute for the video to load before you can press play so just be patient. Not that we're going to become the Golf Channel, but I think delving into video will allow us to do some cool things in the months and years ahead.

Back to the golf: After helping Scott Guild, our MGA Director of Handicapping, enter the hole-by-hole scores into the laptop I headed off to Franklin to watch the finish over there. Brian Higgins and Brad Stewart, had already posted a seven-under 64 and were leaders in the club house with a two-day total of 134. After talking to Ryan Magee, MGA Director of Rules and Competitions, and Tom Bagley, the MGA OIC for Franklin, I headed out onto the course to catch some golf. The golf course was immaculate thanks to all the work by superintendent, Mike Luccini, and his crew. I bumped into Mike out on the course who was already starting his crew on aerating greens behind the final groups.

I headed back in and first round leaders, Ray Androlewicz and Dale Smith, were posting a solid two-under 69 which put them at 134 tied with Higgins and Stewart. A play-off was looming, and sure enough, the final groups could do no better than 136 so we headed to the 1st tee in the twilight hours for a sudden-death play-off. Brian Higgins made a clutch 10-footer for par on the first to keep his team alive and after both teams made four on the next two holes, we went to the par-3 4th as the sun began to dip behind the trees. Tom Bagley and I were running the play-off and we agreed that we could probably squeeze in two more holes, and if there was no winner we'd have to suspend play until the following day - not a prospect we were relishing.

The gods of golf administration must have been looking down on us because Brian Higgin's pulled iron shot caromed off the bank to the left of the green and settled 12-feet from the hole. After his fellow-competitors had made their par, Brian surveyed his putt and proceeded to bury the 12-footer, center cut. One Tiger-esque fist pump later and the Higgins and Stewart team were the new Four-Ball champions.

Musings from Day 1 of the State Four-Ball

2008-05-06T06:44:00.000-04:00

OK, I know that I haven’t written a blog entry for a while. It’s not like things have not been busy, but I didn’t want to write about the minutiae of getting ready for the season. I guess I could have written about the USGA Regional Affairs Meeting that I attended last month in Greenville, SC and how my plane was struck by lightning, but I suppose I was too traumatized at the time to want to put it into words. That’s a story for another day.

The championship season got off to a flying start today with some beautiful weather at Maplegate CC and Franklin CC. I knew it was the beginning of the season when my alarm went off at 3:58 a.m. I take my hat off to all the milk men of the world. Actually, I think they get up much earlier than that.

Ryan Magee, our new Director of Rules & Competitions, and I were nervous last Thursday with the long range forecast not looking too promising for this week. With this being my 17th season (hard to believe) in golf administration I knew not to get too worked up until Saturday or Sunday. Lo and behold, the forecast changed for the better which made the weekend much easier. Easier for me, but Ryan had to go out in the pouring rain on Sunday for final preparations at both courses.

I was at Maplegate today acting as a starter on the 1st tee for both the morning and afternoon rounds. The course is owned by Lenny French and run by he and his family. They could not have been more accommodating to players and officials alike. Lenny’s son, Mike, was out putting the finishing touches on the bunker renovations that he’s been working on. (Mikes’s son , Peter, won the MGA Junior Boys Division in 2007.) Lenny’s son-in-law, Mark Winters runs the pro shop and helps out on the crew – he was great. Mark’s son, Ian, played in the tournament. He and his partner, Scott Wardner, shot even par. And Amy who works in the kitchen was at the course just about as long as we officials. She served many sandwiches and even more post-round beers with a smile. All the guys on the grounds crew were back late in the day to prepare the course for tomorrow. A big thank you to those guys, too.

The low score of the day was shot at Maplegate by Ray Androlewicz and Dale Smith who play out of Webster-Dudley GC – a seven under-par 65 to lead by one. Everyone who played at Maplegate will go over to Franklin tomorrow and vice versa. It should be an interesting finish. I’ll be at Maplegate in the morning and then make my way over to Franklin. If there’s a play-off it will be held at Franklin.

With more great weather on tap, it should be another perfect day for golfers and golf administrators alike. I may sleep in ‘til 4:15 a.m..

The Golf Season is (Almost!) Upon Us

2008-03-27T14:14:00.001-04:00

Well it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve checked in here. The MGA staff is hard at work preparing for the season ahead. Golfers in Mass may start posting scores next week – a sure sign of spring. The MGA staff will be making visits to clubs for our Regional Member Services Seminars. The first one is next week at Plymouth CC. If you are in the South Shore or Cape area and would like to attend there is still room. Please call the MGA office if you are interested in attending or refer to our web site for a complete list of seminars.

Our staff has also accepted invitations from several clubs to conduct Rules or Handicap seminars. Ryan Magee, our new Director of Rules and Competitions, and Scott Guild, Director of Handicapping, will be busy in April and May. Last night (March 26) four of us from the staff went to a special meeting at Braintree Municipal GC. In my 16 years in this business I have never seen a club embrace a golf association seminar like the men and women at Braintree. There were more than 100 men and women jammed into one room at the club to listen to Scott Whitcomb (master of all things Course Rating), Scott Guild, Ryan Magee and myself talk a little about the MGA and then offer some insights into Course Rating, Handicapping, Rules of Golf, The First Tee of Massachusetts and our junior golf programs. They had all sorts of snacks and drinks available and the group was attentive and asked great questions. I want to thank board member, Fred Foley, for organizing the whole evening, and to the BMCC course superintendent Daryn Brown and PGA pro Bob Beach for their attendance and support.

Earlier this week I attended the Connecticut Section PGA’s annual spring meeting at the Mystic Marriott Hotel. There were more than 180 people in attendance, mostly golf professionals. The Connecticut Section PGA Executive Director, Tom Hantke, invited me to attend along with other allied association representatives from the Connecticut State Golf Association and the Connecticut Golf Course Superintendents Association. We each gave a short presentation about our respective associations.

You might be wondering what the heck I was doing there, but you’ll be surprised to learn that 42 of our Massachusetts club professionals from the western part of the state are actually members of the Connecticut Section PGA. Connecticut is a lot closer for them than the greater Boston area. I was able to meet Peter Chapman, head pro at the Country Club of Wilbraham as well as Jim Nittoli, head pro at Longmeadow CC.

This year marks the CT section’s 75th anniversary, and to make the day more special Joe Steranka, CEO of the PGA of America, was also in attendance. He delivered a town hall style talk where he talked about the PGA’s grow-the-game initiative Play Golf America as well as their PGA McGladrey Team Championship. The PGA of America is the national body that represents the 28,000 PGA members throughout the U.S. They employ 200 people at their national headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and another 230 in the field. The PGA conducts the PGA Championship, The Ryder Cup and PGA Club Professional Championship.

One particular comment by Mr. Steranka that really stuck with had to do with golf in China. He has visited China a few times and met with the head of their golf union to try to help them grow the game there. Right now there are just 400 courses in all of China. The country expects that the game will start to take hold after the Olympics are held there. With the emergence of the middle class in China golf is expected to catch on like wild fire and predictions are that there will be a minimum of 6,000 courses and as many as 10,000 courses in the country by 2020. The game may be flat in the states right now, but the global growth is getting healthier.

As of March 26 there were 156 teams entered into the MGA Four-Ball Championship with two weeks to go before entries close. Obviously a lot of people are thinking golf, and after a long winter it’s about time. Hope you can get out and enjoy your first round soon if you haven’t already.

A Visit to the NE Regional Turfgrass Conference

2008-03-07T11:28:00.002-05:00

Spring is in the air this week. We’ve been getting more and more phone calls at the office. Lots of players are signing up online for tournaments. Our Director of Handicapping, Scott Guild, has been getting a lot of phone calls and making club visits. We know we’re going to get hit with some more bad weather, but at least the season is within sight.

The recent rain and mild weather has melted the snow off many courses, but others in western Mass and northern New England still have a significant snow pack. It’ll be a while until the golf course superintendents in those areas can start their clean up work. This week, though, many superintendents from around the region gathered in Providence at the Rhode Island Convention Center for the 11th Annual New England Regional Turfgrass Conference and Show (http://www.nertf.org/). The show ran from Monday, March 3rd to Thursday, March 6th.

Golf course superintendents from all over New England (and some from other parts of the country as well) came together for this successful conference and show that is, in many ways, just a smaller version of the national show in Orlando that I attended last month. While there are other green industry professionals such as lawn care and athletic field experts who attend, the majority of the attendees are golf course superintendents.

Classes on computer training and financial skills are offered along with a host of other educational sessions where GCSAA points can be earned. There are classes with names like “Systematic Approach to Dollar Spot Management”; “Turf Insects if New England”; and “Increasing Effectiveness of Preemergence Herbicides” just to name a few. If you think your golf course superintendent is just the guy who cuts the grass, you are mistaken. There is so much more to the job.

USGA Day – March 4
I attended the conference on Tuesday which is the USGA hosted day. The USGA Regional Affairs and Green Section Departments put together a full day of education for the superintendents, and the day is also opened up to golf club and golf association officials. I think that I’ve attended every one since the conference’s inception. Unlike the above mentioned classes which would be Greek to a layman like me, the USGA day has educational offerings that appeal to a broader group.

There was a technological slant this year with presentations on how to prepare a successful PowerPoint presentation delivered by Jim Farrell, USGA Northeast Regional Director.

The USGA’s Senior Photographer, John Mummert, gave a presentation called “Golf Course Photography in the Digital Age”. He showed examples of his photographs from many championships including the U.S. Open. He gave good pointers to superintendents about the best time of day to shoot (early morning or late in the day) to document their golf courses. Being a bit of a photo buff myself, I was taking copious mental notes.

USGA Senior Agronomist, Keith Happ, who lives in the Pittsburgh area, gave a talk called “Apples to Oranges: Is It Fair To Compare?” He premise was basically how often golfers compare the conditioning of one course to another when many times it’s not a fair comparison. Mr. Happ went on to explain that everything from the age of the course, rounds played, soil types and weather are all major factors in course conditioning. And then there’s the mother of all factors – budget. According to the GCSAA, the average annual budget for a course in the U.S. is $675,000 and the average number of workers is 20. How is a course with a green budget of $1.5 million going to compare to a course with a $500,000 budget?

Perhaps the most compelling presentation of the afternoon was delivered by Herb Stevens. His talk was called “Global Warming: Palm Trees in Providence?” Herb’s premise is that global warming is a politically charged myth. He is trained meteorologist who has a syndicated television program and web site (http://www.snocountry.com/) that provides ski condition information for ski areas around the country. Herb also has a business where he provides mid to long range forecasting for golf course superintendents. [Personal disclosure: Herb is a friend of mine whom I have known for more than 15 years. He is a long-time tournament player in Rhode Island and once qualified for and played in the U.S. Amateur at Baltusrol.]

Herb provides scientific data debunking all the global warming “hysteria”, and he strongly disagrees with the assertions of Al Gore and others in the global warming community. Herb claims that what we are characterizing as global warming is nothing more than a cyclical warming trend that has occurred at other times in recorded history. With all the talk of global warming potentially affecting course golf courses - especially those in mid-Atlantic transition zones that may have to contemplate switching from bent grass to Bermuda grass in the future – Herb’s assertion was not to worry. A web site that corroborates much of his premise is http://www.icecap.us/.

Much like the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, I was able to meet up and visit with many of our local superintendents – Jim Medeiros (Thorny Lea); Mike Iacono (Pine Brook); Peter Hasak (Tedesco); Steve Curry (Berkshire Hills); Bruce Packard (Stockbridge); Neil Wendell (New Bedford) – just to name a few. And that doesn’t count all my old friends from Rhode Island. I even saw Gary Sykes, Executive Director of the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation who has been responsible for organizing and growing the show over the past 10 years. Gary was formerly the golf course superintendent at Green Valley CC in RI.

The opening of the Trade Show on the Convention Center floor was also Tuesday night where more there 150 exhibitors were on hand to demonstrate their products and services – seed companies, irrigation specialists, chemical and equipment companies. Mike Vrabel from the Patriots was the keynote speaker late Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately I had to leave before he spoke. Actually, I probably could have stayed, but I’m just getting over the pain. I’m happy that Randy Moss was re-signed, and Sox opening day is not too far away.

Rules School Day 3 and Day 4 (Exam Day)

2008-02-22T19:51:00.002-05:00

I didn’t chime in on day 3 or day 4 while I was in Kentucky because I was busy studying the night before the test, and then test day this past Wednesday was a blur between taking the exam and then getting to the airport.

The snow is coming down pretty heavily in this Friday storm today. (Did you know that under the Rules of Golf snow is either “casual water or a loose impediment, at the option of the player”?)

The final day of instruction (Tuesday) finished up around noon time with Mike Davis and Larry Startzel covering Rules 24-32. Rule 33 (The Committee) and Rule 34 (Disputes and Decisions) had been covered on day-one. After lunch there was an indoor review session conducted by both Mike and Larry. It was too cold to go outside.

After a dinner of scrambled eggs at the Waffle House I went back to my room to do some studying for the next day’s exam. Unlike every other year (I think I have attended six previous Rules workshops) when I hardly studied beforehand, I actually put some study time in this year prior to arriving. While my wife and daughter were in the living room watching American Idol most nights recently, I was shuttered away in the bedroom with my Decisions book open. So the night before I figured I either knew the material or I didn’t. I went online with my laptop to the USGA’s web site and took a few of their online Rules quizzes. I quit when I went 10 for 10 twice in a row. Then I settled in and read and re-read the 50+ Definitions at the front of the Rules book. As any Rules person will tell you, the Definitions are the foundation on which the Rules are built.

One definition that is among my favorites is “Move or Moved”. “A ball is deemed to have moved if it leaves its position and comes to rest in any other place.” In other words, if you are addressing your ball and it wobbles or moves slightly, as long as it returns to its original positions it is deemed not to have moved.

So I read my Definitions and then hit the hay. I slept OK but woke up early. I packed up the car and headed down the road one mile to the Marriott where the class had been held and where the exam was about to be administered.

Moment of Truth
The adrenaline started to flow as soon as I entered the big room at around 7:20. I chit chatted, drank my cup of tea and then settled into my chair as the program coordinator, PGA Master Professional Dave McAtee, passed out the exam booklets and answer sheets. I had that same nervous feeling of being on the first tee before a tournament. I had my #2 pencil and was ready to let it rip. At precisely 8:00 Dave uttered the words, “You may begin.”

The first 50 questions – multiple choice - are closed book - no materials at all. You just have to go on memory. I was nervous reading the first few questions, but then I started to relax and got into a flow. There were a few hard ones that I had to come back to but I finished the first half in 50 minutes, handed in my test sheet and then picked up the sheet and booklet for the second half – 50 more questions, this time open book. Not only can you use your Rules and Decisions books, but you can also use any notes or other printed materials.

Two and a half hours more was barely enough to finish the open book portion. The questions are more involved. Some I knew without any look-up. Others I needed to refer to the Decisions book to find the answer. Here’s an example of a typical open-book test question which is copied verbatim from the study guide that is mailed about a month prior to the workshop.

The competitor’s tee shot comes to rest just within the margins of a lateral water hazard but not in the water. The competitor makes a stroke at the ball and it dribbles down the bank into the water and cannot be played. He drops another ball on the bank within the lateral water hazard as near as possible to the spot where the original ball was last played. He decides not to play again from that lie and drops a different ball within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than the spot where his original ball last crossed the margin of the lateral water hazard and plays on from there. How many penalty strokes has the player incurred?

A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four

Give up? OK, the answer is “B”. The player incurs two penalty strokes. Rule 26-2 is Ball Played Within Water Hazard. When the player dribbled his second shot into the water he dropped another ball from where he last played – essentially taking one penalty stroke under “stroke and distance”. When he didn’t like what that gave him he had three other options: Add an additional penalty stroke and go back and drop a ball and play it from the tee; add an additional penalty stroke and drop a ball outside the hazard keeping the point where it last crossed the margin between himself and the hole.

The player chose to drop outside the hazard two club lengths from the point his original ball last crossed the margin of the hazard – another one of his options. So he incurred a total of two penalty strokes and could play on. That’s the beauty of Rule 26-2. It allows a player to regress outside a hazard. Years ago before this Rule was introduced when a player played a ball from within a water hazard farther into the hazard, he was all done. The Rules did not provide a player to regress.

The above question is actually an easy one for a seasoned official. I won’t bore you with a really hard one.

At 11:00 our coordinator, Dave, announced, “Thirty minutes to go.” He did the same at 15 minutes, ten minutes and five minutes. I had skipped six questions, but went back and finished in time. I answered them all, but my brain was fried.

After a short break we came back into the room for an optional review. We were given a sheet to jot down our answers while taking the exam so we could self-grade during the review. Mike Davis and Larry Startzel took turns going over the questions with an old-fashioned over-head projector displaying the questions and answers in groups of four onto the screen.

After all was said and done I did pretty well – my best score in seven tries at the exam. Most people bolted for the parking lot, but since my flight from Louisville wasn’t until the evening I went into the restaurant to have some lunch. Larry graciously invited me to join Mike, Dave and himself for lunch. Mike asked me about some of the courses in RI and Mass. He loves old-style New England courses. I couldn’t do much but concur since they are my favorite as well.

I learned that Larry played on the PGA Tour from 1979-80 before embarking on his club pro career. Dave is the club pro at Helfrich Hills GC in Evansville, IN. We didn’t talk too much Rules stuff. I think we were all Ruled-out at this point. After lunch I thanked the guys and headed to the parking lot. As I pulled away I cranked up my iPod – LOUD. Anything to drown out the Rules haze still simmering in my head.

Rules School... Day 2

2008-02-19T07:24:00.001-05:00

Today was a long day. After covering 13 Rules and many of the Decisions relating to each, you start to wonder if you know anything at all about the Rules. We started at 8:00 sharp and cover Rule 10 – Order of Play, a pretty straightforward Rule. Then onto Rule 11 – Teeing Ground. More things can happen on the teeing ground than you might expect. We all know that the tee itself can be no longer than four inches in length, a relatively new modification. Not that many years ago there was nothing to prohibit you from teeing a ball on a pencil or water bottle, or even an eight inch tee if you had one.

One of the great things about having these two top-notch instructors this week – Mike Davis from the USGA and Larry Startzel from the PGA - is that they can both cite examples of Rules applied at the highest levels of competitions. And since Mike sits on the Rules of Golf Committee with both the USGA and R & A, we are privy to the philosophy behind some of the Rules changes. You were previously not allowed to identify your ball in a hazard, and there was no penalty for hitting a wrong ball out of a hazard. Under the new Rules you will be penalized for hitting a wrong ball out of a hazard.

Mike gave an example of a player hitting a ball from a water hazard or bunker that he wasn’t sure was his ball, and the ball becomes lost by either going out of bounds or into another water hazard. If you were never sure if it was yours in the first place how do you proceed? That was one example of why the Rule was changed – that and the Rules of Golf Committee wanted to apply more consistency across the Rules. Under every other situation you were allowed to identify your ball except in a hazard. Now you can identify your ball everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. If you want to play a ball that is moving in a water hazard (e.g. trickling downstream in a shallow brook), and you think it’s your ball, but you’re not sure – you may play that ball moving in the water and if it turns out not to be your ball there is no penalty. There are a lot of exceptions in the Rules.

I flew all the way to Kentucky and did not figure to know too many people. Surprisingly, I know quite a few people. My friend, Mark Hill, who is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Golf Association, is here. Two other executive director friends of mine, Jeff Rivard from Western Penn and Ken Tackett from West Virginia are also here. And we even have a Massachusetts connection – MGA Rules Official, Allyn Sullivan, who lives in Plymouth is here along with Jim Malone, a summer resident of Nantucket who plays in MGA senior events. Jim won the Golf Nut Society’s Golf Nut of the Year Award in 2007. You can check out the web site to see why.

There are 19 staff members of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in attendance. There is a former USGA Senior Amateur Champion, Jim Stahl, and USGA Vice President, Jim Hyler, also in attendance. There’s also a guy named Greg Shanks here.

Can’t believe it’s 50 degrees in Boston today and it’s 35 and windy in Lexington. Oh well, like the Rules, sometimes life just isn’t fair.

A Day In the Life of a Rules of Golf Student

2008-02-18T10:07:00.002-05:00

OK, so here I am in Kentucky this time. Don’t worry, unlike Orlando, it’s not warm and sunny here. I didn’t write another entry because I didn’t think outlining some typical day-to-day activities at the MGA office would provide compelling reading. Although we did go live with MGA championship online registration on February 6, and we received a registration within the first five minutes, and more than 400 entries online during the first week. So it’s quite obvious that, despite the weather, many people are thinking golf in Massachusetts.

I’m here in Kentucky on a Sunday not to scout out a seat for the Kentucky Derby, but for a PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshop. While many of you may have been watching Phil Mickelson and Jeff Quinney battle it out at Riviera, I was in a conference room of a local Marriott here in Lexington learning about the Rules of Golf.

I flew into Louisville yesterday afternoon and made the one hour drive to Lexington. I connected in Chicago, and during the latter part of my flight the woman next to me turned and asked, “Are you a Louisville or UK fan?” Of course she was talking basketball. After a pregnant pause, I replied matter-of-factly, “Neither.” Short conversation. She did, however, help me out by confirming my driving directions from the Louisville airport to Lexington. I’m not sure what’s bigger here – college hoops or horses.

Today was nothing but the Rules from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a couple of breaks in between. The USGA and PGA of America have been jointly running Rules workshops since 1975, and they do a great job. Each year there are several all over the country from January through March. I usually make the drive to Far Hills, NJ to attend, but I made the effort to go to Kentucky because of the instructors. Each workshop features one instructor from the PGA and one from the USGA, and this week I have two of the best. From the PGA, Larry Startzel who has been a pro at many golf clubs over the years including two in Vermont, Stowe CC and Country Club of Vermont. He is a past chairman of the PGA Rules of Golf Committee, served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee and refereed at all four majors multiple times plus The Ryder Cup and many other USGA amateur championships. A dynamic and articulate speaker, when Larry talks, you listen.

From the USGA, this week it’s Mike Davis, the Senior Director of Rules and Competitions who is in charge of setting the golf course for the U.S. Open, Senior Open, Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and The Walker Cup Match to name a few. Mike is more soft spoken than Larry, but no less authoritative.

Rules Rules Rules
I’ve been preparing for this week for about six weeks by reading the Decisions on the Rules of Golf each night. The Rules book which most people are familiar with is a 182-page booklet that you may even carry in your golf bag. (If you don’t, you should.) The Decisions book is a 556-page tome that I actually read cover to cover leading up to this week. The USGA mails you a study guide, but I just read the book.

After two more eight-hour days of Rules there is a 100-question exam on Wednesday morning. I’ve taken it several times and it’s a killer – three and a half hours of mind-numbing brutality. That may be a slight exaggeration, but only slightly.

The great thing about the Rules is that no matter how much you think you know, there’s always more to learn. Kind of like playing the game really, you’re always a work in progress.

Musings From The Golf Industry Show

2008-02-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Well here I am in Orlando at The Golf Industry Show. I've been here for three days and it's been about 80 degrees every day – first time I've seen these temperatures in about five months. Pretty nice, but I didn't bring my clubs, though.

The Golf Industry Show is the annual conference and trade show comprising the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) and the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA). Supporting organizations who also participate are the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) and the National Golf Foundation (NGF).

You're probably thinking, you work for the MGA – what are you doing there? The organization that I belong to is the International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA), and I was fortunate to be elected to the board in 2006. Steve Mona, the CEO for the GCSAA and former golf association staff person himself, is kind enough to extend an invite to IAGA board members to attend the meeting so we can interact with various leaders from the industry.

I arrived Wednesday and met up with my fellow IAGA friends – our President, Jack Nance, who is the Executive Director of the Carolinas Golf Association; Tom Ryan, Executive Director of the Minnesota Golf Association; and Emily von Doehren, Managing Director of the IAGA and staff member at the Southern California Golf Association.

After attending a couple of receptions on Wednesday evening we went to the GCSAA Opening Session on Thursday for our first full day. We walked into one of the main auditoriums at the Orange County Convention Center, and it was like walking into an auditorium before a rock concert. A couple of thousand seats on the floor, stage set up with seating, lights, dais and '80s music pumping through the house PA.

Adam Barr from the Golf Channel, the morning's MC, came out to a big round of applause – there were more than 2,000 people in the room by now – and after one of the GCSAA board members sang the National Anthem, our own Jim Fitzroy, superintendent at Presidents GC and GCSAA board member, delivered a very heartfelt invocation.

Several annual awards were handed out, and Massachusetts was very prominently represented. Jeff Carlson, superintendent at the Vineyard Golf Club, received the GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship. Jeff uses only organic chemicals and no pesticides in maintaining his course on Martha’s Vineyard. Then Don Hearn from Weston Golf Club received the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award. In accepting Don talked about his beginnings in the game as a caddy. My friend Tom from Minnesota turned to me and said, "What's with all the Mass guys?"

The final award is the GCSAA's most prestigious – the Old Tom Morris Award – given annually to a person who has contributed greatly to the game of golf. This year's winner was Greg Norman, and The Shark was treated to a standing ovation when he walked out on stage. Rather than a normal acceptance speech, Greg sat down and was interviewed talk-show style by Adam Barr. He talked about his career in golf and his work with golf course superintendents in course design. He even introduced his fiancée, Chris Everett, who was seated in the audience. Adam asked him about the 1996 Masters where Greg famously collapsed in the final round to lose to Nick Faldo. "Thanks for bringing that up," quipped The Shark.

Trade Show Floor
After a quick lunch we were off to inspect the trade show floor, all 700, 000 square feet of it. It's absolutely staggering in its size. Everything from the latest mowing equipment to ball washers to clubhouse fixtures to shampoo for the locker room. There were Formula 1 race cars in the middle of the floor where attendees could test their skills as pit crew tire changers. I even spotted a guy in a Sasquatch costume walking the floor. His name badge read simply, "Big Foot".

Most state and regional superintendent associations had their own receptions in the evening. I headed to the Nor'Easter Room where I met up with many new acquaintances from Mass and old friends from RI. I met Steve Curry from Berkshire Hills, talked to Mike Iacono from Pine Brook and Paul Barrett from the Titleist Test Center in Acushnet was very nice to buy me a beer.

On Friday morning there were more Mass connections when during the USGA session, the USGA handed out its Green Section Award to Ted Horton, a UMASS Turf grad and former superintendent at Winged Foot among other clubs.

David Chag, club manager at The Country Club, gave a very compelling talk on teamwork at a golf facility. David is also chairman of the National Club Association (NCA) and I’ll be attending a forum that he is running Saturday afternoon.

In all there are more than 30,000 attendees at the show. It is amazing how many dedicated people there are in the golf industry – an industry that accounts for more than $70 billion nationwide on an annual basis. All of these people working to make golf a better game and to help people enjoy the game as much as possible.

I'll be visiting a friend up the road on Saturday night and flying home Sunday. Hopefully in plenty of time watch our Patriots take care of the Giants.

Welcome!

2008-01-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Massachusetts Golf Association's blog.

This site was created in January 2008 in hopes of keeping Bay State golfers informed about key issues facing the golfing community. From championships to handicaps to The Rules of Golf, Joe Sprague, the MGA's executive director, will provide you with his unique insight.

We encourage you to provide feedback and questions via email at info@mgalinks.org. Thank you for your support and interest in the Massachusetts Golf Association.