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VOL 25, NO. 2

FALL/WINTER 2015

Top Senior Amateurs Talk about Life as a “Competitive Amateur Golfer”

By Richard J. Skelly

Golf, once known as a sport of the gentry, has evolved since the early 1900’s from a sport played by an elite few at private golf courses to where it is today in America, played by millions of people on affordable public courses.

However, the business of financing amateur golf -- where players are in it for the sheer joy of competition with no prize money -- remains a careful balancing act for most amateurs who play in national competitions.

For some, money is not an issue, but for most, they have to strike a conscious balance in their lives between work, family, practice and setting aside enough money to play in amateur tournaments throughout the golf season.

decades. Marucci, the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, was a guest speaker at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Galloway Township, NJ recently, where he and other top amateurs will vie for the U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship in late September. Marucci was candid and forthcoming in his comments.

Philadelphia-area amateur, George E. “Buddy” Marucci has been involved in national amateur golf events for more than four

Over the years, Marucci sold cars and insurance -- actual products -- and found the financial brokerage business a tough one to be

“For me, the best way to go, was having my own business,” he explained on the patio at Hidden Creek, “I had the chance to go into the family business as my father had an accounting firm. But I found out selling time wasn’t the way to go, nor was selling billable hours of accounting time wasn’t the way to go. I realized I had to sell a product.”

in while still keeping up his frenetic pace as an amateur. Marucci was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia and lives in Villanova, Pa. He played collegiate golf at the University of Maryland, and is now also a golf analyst on FOX Sports.

“From a financial standpoint, it’s not easy,” he continued. “I don’t know if it’s more difficult now or not. One of the things that’s better now than in the old days which we didn’t have, we couldn’t get free equipment. Nowadays you can get equipment and let’s face it, equipment can be costly. With caddie fees, tournament entry fees, hotels, rental cars and airplane tickets, competing on the national level is expensive,” he added.

“One of the things that’s changed in golf is people don’t necessarily have to be of means to be able to play the game competitively,” he pointed out. “Yet, at the end of the day, golf does require time and it does require resources and it’s just a matter of do you sacrifice other things? I know, at the beginning, I did that.” continued on page 3

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golfer’s tee times Editor-in-Chief/ Publisher.................................................................................Marian Castner Graphic Design........................................................................................................ Daria Little Senior Writer...................................................................................................... Richard Skelly Contributing Writers............................................. Sean Fawcett, Bob Oliver, and Steve Gordon Advertising & Marketing ......................................................... Lowell Schmidt & Sean Fawcett Copyright 2015 - All Rights Reserved Visit us on our new website: www.njgolfnews.com Office: Golfer’s Tee Times Media Group PO Box 163, Marlboro, NJ 07746-0163 Phone: (732) 577-1995 Email: editor@njgolfnews.com Golfer’s Tee Times welcomes editorial ideas and submissions by writing or email.

We assume no responsibility for unsolicited materials nor do we guarantee that work submitted will be published. Editorial & advertising inquiries should be addressed to: editor@njgolfnews.com Photo Credits: Basking Ridge GC/ Kelly Pantone, Bill Castner, Joanna Coe, Sean Elliott/Honora Keane, Sean Fawcett, Hidden Creek Golf Club, Steve Gordon, Paul Kaster, New Jersey Golf Association, Metropolitan Golf Association, PGA TOUR, Richard Skelly, USGA

GOLF CONTACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW Garden State Women’s Association (GSWGA) (732) 747-2261• www.gswga.com Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) (610)687-2340 • www.gapgolf.org Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) (386) 274-6200 • www.lpga.com Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) (914) 34 7-4653 • www.mgagolf.org New Jersey Seniors Golf Assocition (NJSrsGA) (732) 345-0222 • www.njseniorsga@comcast.net New Jersey State Golf Association (NJSGA) (908) 241-4653 • www.njsga.org New Jersey State Women’s Golf Committee (NJWGC) (732)747-2261 • www.njswgc.com New York State Golf Association (NYSGA) (315) 471-6979 • www.nysga.org PGA of America/ Metropolitan Section (MetPGA) (914) 347-2325 • www.met.pga.com PGA of America/ New Jersey Section (NJPGA) (732) 465-1212 • www.newjersey.pga.com PGA of America/ Philadelphia Section (PhilPGA) (215) 886-7742 • www.philadelphia.pga.com Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) (561) 624-8400 • www.pga.com United States Golf Association (USGA) (908) 234-2300 • www.usga.org Westchester Golf Association (WGA) (914) 347-2340 • www.westchestergolf.org Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (WGAP) (61)687-2340 • www.wgapgolf.org Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association (WMGA) (914) 592-7888 • www.wmga.com Women’s New Jersey Golf Association (WNJGA) (732) 449-2249 • www.wnjga.com Each of these organizations has a full schedule of events.

We encourage you to visit their websites and to participate in the many tournaments in our area. There is something for everyone!

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FALL/WINTER 2015

Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, Another Labor Day is behind us, and while the weather has remained summer-like, we all know that inevitably, the 2015 season is winding down in our area. But don’t put the clubs away quite yet. Let’s hope that it stays on the milder side this fall/ winter, because there is no better place to play than OUR northeast golf courses.

2015 was an interesting year in golf. We had another terrific ShopRite LPGA Classic, presented by Acer, which just keeps growing every year and also a first (and perhaps last, for the area) KPMG Women’s PGA Championship debut in Westchester, NY. The Barclays came to Plainfield Country Club, and luckily, unlike four years ago, there was perfect weather and a new champion, Jason Day. The USGA Senior Amateur at Hidden Creek Club in Egg Harbor Township at the end of September was exciting, but everyone is already thinking ahead to the PGA Championship, which will be contested at Baltusrol in July, 2016.

Golf saw the next generation of “stars” on the PGA TOUR really shine this season with winners like Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler.

The excitement they bring to the game, along with other favorites-both men and women, is sure to translate into many new young faces taking up the sport over the next few years.

Luckily our local youth programs, like the The First Tee chapters, NJ Golf

Foundation, and other terrific junior programs, keep growing with new faces from all of our communities.

Congratulations to all our local tournament and award winners – both the professionals and the amateursfor all the tireless effort and your great achievements.

On a bit of a sad note, we bid farewell to The Fraser family at Mays Landing Country Club. The Frasers have been part of NJ golf for nearly 125 years, and we will miss their presence in NJ golf. All the best, and thank you for your support of Golfer’s Tee Times for the past 25 years!

As we move into the Fall, I wanted to thank everyone associated with Golfer’s Tee Times, and those who inspire me to keep writing and printing (yes, print media continues, even though we have a wonderful presence online at www.njgolfnews. com!) our newspaper. Whether we do two, three or four issues a year, know that we’ll be back sometime, somewhere at a golf course near you next year (hopefully right around The Masters in April, 2016). We look forward to bringing you many issues next year – our 26th Anniversary!

As always, I encourage our readers to contact me with any ideas or thoughts on how we can make our publication even better next year.

Golfingly Yours, Marian Castner, editor@njgolfnews.com Office: (732) 577-1995

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Marucci’s first amateur event was the U.S. Amateur in 1973 while in college in Maryland, where he majored in accounting. He was a real estate developer before going into the car business.

Marucci is a veteran of over 60 USGA championships and widely regarded as one of the greatest career amateur golfers of the modern era. He won the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur, but he is perhaps best known for his runner-up finish in the 1995 U.S. Amateur, where he battled Tiger Woods to the final hole in match play. Marucci also participated in four Walker Cups, two as a player and two as a non-playing captain. He is a four-time Pennsylvania State Amateur champion, winning in 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991.

“It’s not easy. There are probably more opportunities now but it’s still difficult, if you want to go to 10 or 12 amateur tournaments now throughout the year. There are probably more people now who are willing to help because the game has gotten so much bigger. There are people out there who will help with putting you up and provide you with meals. There’s more visibility with these young kids, but it’s still expensive and parents of younger players really have to dedicate resources to it.”

Edison-based, Ron Vannelli spent many years as club champion at Metuchen Golf Club before switching to Forsgate Country Club, where he has since won the club championship three times. Vannelli attended South Plainfield High School and went to the University of Kentucky. Interestingly, he didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 24. He majored in English at Kentucky, graduated in 1971 and played in various softball leagues in his youth until an injury sidelined him. He worked as a bartender after college and that led to his post as a nightclub manager for a number of years after college before going into the commercial real estate business with a friend, specializing in brokering deals for nightclubs, restaurants, delicatessens and liquor stores.

“My specialty is bars, restaurants or any food or liquor establishments,” Vannelli said, but pointed out his learning curve in golf wasn’t that quick, even though he was an English major.

“I always had good eye and hand coordination because I was a baseball player. I was catching and throwing in these baseball leagues and kept getting hurt. Finally one of my friends got me to go and play golf and I was immediately hooked,” he said, noting a year later he joined Beaver Brook Country Club and a year after that he joined Warren Brook Country Club when it was private, before it was sold to Somerset County Parks’ Commission. He came to Metuchen County Club in 1980.

“I never really had a good swing and never understood the fundamentals properly,” he admitted, “but in those years I always had a good short game because of my hand-eye coordination. I didn’t have a lot of distance and always hit a big cut off the tee.”

After seeing a Jimmy Ballard infomercial in 1990 and grabbing a few lessons from one of Ballard’s devotees at nearby Bound Brook Driving Range on Route 22, Vannelli went from a 6 handicap down to a 2 and then a 1 and began to play more competitively. By 1990, he’d won the club championship at Metuchen four or five times, but back then, at 42, he admitted, “I wasn’t as good a player as I am now, and I’m 67.”

Vannelli qualified for the U.S. Senior Open in 1999 and made the cut. “After that, I took a lesson from Mike Killian who was at Hollywood. He gave me a couple tips about my setup and address position and since then, I’ve played pretty good.”

Vannelli has qualified for 13 USGA championships, won the Met Amateur when he was 57 in 2005, and won the Met Senior Amateur in 2008 and 2012. In 2005, the year he won the Met Amateur, he was both New Jersey Player of the Year and Met Golf Association Player of the Year.

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“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who’s ever done that. Even now, I still play pretty well, for an old guy,” he said, chuckling.

By the time he was in his 30’s and actively entering into tournaments as an amateur, Vannelli decided golf was a priority in his life.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, I never got married, so I had lesser obligations and I could devote more of my income to my passion. Because of that,golf was my No. 1 expense, and I’ve never figured out how much money I spend playing golf. If I did, I might quit.”

“Golf has been wonderful to me. It’s kept me young. I’m convinced of that. I wouldn’t say I’m very competitive against younger guys anymore, but certainly on the senior level I’m competitive and I still love to play and probably do play 120 times a year. I usually quit around November and restart again in mid-April. I work more during those months so that I can fund this habit I have,” he explained.

Vannelli formed his own commercial real estate brokerage in 2000 and is able to set his own hours during the off season in connecting buyers and sellers of restaurants and nightclubs. He concentrates his efforts on work from November to mid-April so he can take it easier in the spring and summer and focus on playing good competitive golf. It seems to work, as Vannelli has played in five USGA Mid-Amateurs, five Senior Amateurs, three U.S. Senior Opens and played on one USGA State Team. He “guesstimates” he spends about $30,000 a year on his amateur golf “habit.”

Vannelli has gotten to see much of America through his golf playing. The USGA events have taken him to California, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, plus all over New Jersey. The Mid-Amateur events have been in Delaware, Ohio, Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee, and then his own golf vacations have taken him to Florida and Pebble Beach, California. “Every USGA event I’ve played in has been in a different state,” he said.

“One of the things I’m a little disappointed about is I’ve never won the New Jersey Amateur. I’ve been second in the Amateur, second in the Mid-Amateur and second in the Senior Amateur. I’m a little disappointed I’ve never won the state Senior Amateur. Allan Small always seems to get me by a shot,” he said, “but, I’m still trying.”

Allan Small was raised in Livingston, Essex County, across the street from Cedar Hill Golf Club, the son of a policeman / electrician father who did electrical work on the side. He learned the electrician business in his youth and was wiring houses on his own by the time he was 15.

“The best thing my Dad did was move us to the West side of town where Cedar Hill was, and as soon as I was old enough to cross the street, I’d go find golf balls and sell them back to members,” Small recalled. “Then at night I’d sneak over there and play the 7th and 8th holes all afternoon and night, until they came and chased me away. That’s how I learned the game,” he said, noting he had just a Spalding 7-iron the first five years of his golf career.

When he was 12, he’d saved up enough money to purchase his first set of clubs. Small attended Livingston High School and played No. 1 slot on the golf team there his senior year and then went to Gilford College in Greensboro, NC. There were no golf scholarships back at that time, he said. He majored in Economics at Gilford College and attended from 1969 to 1973. He came back home and started S & R Electric Service with his father in 1973.

After competing unsuccessfully in a few events in North Carolina after graduating, Small realized he loved golf so much that the best thing he could do to fund his habit would be to come back to New Jersey and continue to help build the electric business. He married his high school sweetheart between junior and senior year of college. Small’s wife Patti plays golf, he pointed out. “She had no choice in the matter if she was going to marry me.” continued on page 8

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FALL/WINTER 2015

Jason Day Walks Off with a Victory at THE BARCLAYS By Richard J. Skelly

You got a sense watching Jason Day on the practice putting green Sunday early afternoon, just as we did the day before watching Bubba Watson, that either man could jump ahead in the final two rounds of the Barclays tournament.

Both seemed confident and exuded serenity as they drained four, five and six foot putts. Both golfers were on the practice putting greens without their caddies just minutes before being called to the 1st tee at Plainfield Country Club. And in the end, Plainfield Country Club was set up so difficult, it could be a win for either golfer. It would be foolish to put money on who was going to win. It was anyone’s win, as galleries around the greens collectively gasped as PGA TOUR professionals routinely missed three and four footers.

As it turned out, Jason Day swept the field with a six strokes by the time he made his last putt on the 18th green, and Watson finished in 3rd place, not terribly far off the lead given Day’s extraordinary charge in 90 degree temperatures on Sunday afternoon. The 27 year-old Australian golfer celebrated his second consecutive victory, his third win in his last four tournaments and his fifth top 10 finish since June. Day shot an eight under par 62 for a 72-hole total of 19 under par, or 261.

The runner-up was Henrik Stenson, from Sweden, who posted a final round 66. The 2013 FedEx Cup Playoffs winner, who seems to thrive and play some of his best golf during the annual Playoffs, had a similar fate the following week, when Rickie Fowler bested him on the final holes of the Deutsche Bank Championship outside of Boston.

Almost eclipsing Day’s commanding victory at Plainfield was an appearance by Republican Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, who was stopped by dozens of people and posed for cell phone camera “selfie” shots while making his way around the course, escorted by his own security detail as well as several Edison police officers.

Mr. Trump was there at the final round to support his former employee, a club pro at Trump Bedminster, Jim Herman.

To his credit, Mr. Trump advised Herman to get out of the business of being a club professional and go back to Florida to qualify for the PGA TOUR. Herman took his advice and has certainly done better than average on the Tour so far, as he’s earned at least $2.2 million since joining the Tour in 2014. Herman finished in a tie for 13th place at The Barclays.

Also of significance during Sunday’s final round at the Barclays were Brian Harman’s spectacular two holes-in-one, on Plainfield’s 183-yard 3rd hole, with a 7-iron, and again on the backside on the 218-yard 14th hole, using a 4-iron. Harman sent a “bucket of cheer” over to the press tent filled with ice, cold beer and wine and a bottle of Crown Royal. The two acesin-one-round feat has happened twice before in a PGA TOUR event, in 1955 at the Insurance City Open when amateur Bill Whedon accomplished the miracle feat, and again in 2006 at the Barracuda Championship when Yusaku Miyazato brought in a score card with two “1’s” on it.

After the round, Harman told the press, “Yeah, it’s

pretty cool. Obviously I’m trying to make a lot of holein-ones. Hopefully I’ll have a lot more, but definitely I’ll remember this day for sure. Like I said, I’m still in a little shock about it. It’s pretty crazy to play a hundred-someodd tournaments and never have one, but to have two in the same tournament on the same day is pretty awesome.”

Harman, who played with future PGA TOUR players Rickie Fowler, Morgan Hoffmann and Cameron Tringale on the 2009 Walker Cup team, finished tied for 30th place, with a total two under par, 278.

Following the championship, Day was humble and forthcoming about his sweeping victory, hot on the heels of his win at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

“I’m still grinding it out and trying to do the best job I possibly can, but right now I’ve been working very very hard on my whole game, recently more so with my putting,” Day revealed. Day admitted a sense of being in “the zone, and a certain serenity enveloped him that Sunday afternoon at Plainfield.”

“It’s just the way I felt calm, no matter what happened out there, you’re just going to keep pushing, and mentally, I just felt like it was my time. I’m not going to say in the future I’m going to feel like this all the time, but I hate the mentality of being satisfied with the number I shot out there, like not being okay with okay. When you get to that number, you just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and

the last two days, I made a lot of greens and gave myself a lot ofopportunities,” he said.

Day made a stunning series of long putts on his final round at the naturally hilly Donald Ross-designed course, including three birdie putts longer than 25 feet of the eight birdies he carded during the final round.

“My mentality going into those longer putts is when you’re shooting to make it, you tend to make more of those putts.”

Day summed up his runaway victory, which came with a winner’s check for $1.485 million, by saying he’s been up and down these past few seasons on the TOUR, but clearly, the 2015 season has been a good one for him.

“We only dream of finishing golf tournaments this way, and I’ve been able to finish this way three times this year.

It feels good, like all your hard work is paying off.” He added: “I’m definitely playing some of the best golf of my life, and I feel like I gave myself a lot of opportunities this week and all that time I’ve been putting in on the practice putting green is paying off with some of those longer putts I’ve been making this week. I’ve always wanted to be one of the best Australian golfers and I’m not done yet.”

Indeed, Day -- like Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson, known to be a nice guy and accommodating to those on the other side of the ropes -- may soon turn out to be the best player in the world.

The Barclays to be Played at both NJ and NY Courses through 2022 While we love having The Barclays, the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs, at New Jersey courses, we are also lucky enough to have the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol next July and The Presidents Cup at Liberty National in September 2017, so this opens an opportunity to have the tournament courses hosted at some of the finest courses in neighboring New York.

Given the upcoming schedule, The Barclays announced that the Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, NY will host the event for the first time in 2017, adding a fifth course to the rotation that includes, Liberty National, Ridgewood Country Club, Plainfield Country Club and the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, in Farmingdale (LI), NY. “The Glen Oaks Club is a fantastic addition to a rotation of some of the best courses in the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “The Barclays has a proud tradition of visiting the best golf courses in the area, and Glen Oaks fits perfectly with the other tremendous sites in the rotation.”

In addition to naming Glen Oaks to the rotation, The Barclays also announced the course rotation through 2022, which will be as follows:

2016 Black Course at Bethpage State Park (NY) 2017 Glen Oaks Club - Old Westbury, NY

2018 Ridgewood Country Club- Paramus, NJ 2019 Liberty National Golf Club - Jersey City, NJ

2020 Plainfield Country Club, Edison, NJ 2021 Black Course at Bethpage State Park (NY)

2022 Liberty National Golf Club - Jersey City, NJ

FALL/WINTER 2015 FALL 2014/WINTER2015

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5 11

Ladies: Finding Your on the Golf Course?”

By Steve Gordon Pound Ridge Golf Club Soars in Best GOLFYardage GARDEN STATE WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOC.

While growing the game is a high priority to the PGA of America, since women The USGA and PGA of America initiated the program of TEE IT FORWARD Magazine’s ‘Best Near “close to 40%CHAMPIONSHIP of the new golfers in the United States,” some might several years ago to get people to playCourses golf courses from a set ofYou’ tees most suitable golfers make up2-DAY

for the ability and Golf driving ability. idea thatDye it makes theinround of golf more argue that golf courses are still set up too long and too difficult for women players, Pound Ridge Club – theThe daily feeisPete design Westchester August,to2014 Morris County Country Club, total@ enjoyment of the game for them. enjoyable and it can significantly speed up play. Additionally, more people will which doesn’t translate County – climbs three spots to No. 3 in New York in GOLF Magazine’s 2014 Morristown, NJ “There is a presumption that all women play the same game,” says Jan Bel Jan, gravitate to play golf, at a time when the game has seen a decline in participation. edition of the “Best2015 Courses You. ” In the Summer issueNear of the Philadelphia Golf Association magazine, there a female golf course architect, who began her design career working for Tom Fazio. of its biennial “Top 100 To Courses YouFrom Can Play” in the United States, Bel JanStroke continued was Part an article, “Don’t Be Afraid Compete Different Tees – Section 3-5 has Format: Play to make the point that while a male player can move up from the “Best Courses Near You” highlights the top tracks in all 50 states as deteryou covered.” After reading it, I emailed Executive Director Mark Peterson and asked blue to white or white to gold tees, etc., the woman players do not have that option. mined the magazine’s editorial and players panel ofmove well-traveled golf indusTheGROSS: USGA says the Ballard, average Raritan woman Valley bogey golfer will hit her drive 140 yards a simplebyquestion.

“What tees to thestaff woman forward to?”

1st LOW Maura 79-72-151 try while the bogey male golfer would hit his drive 200 yards. insiders.

The specific issue is that the average woman player, 2nd LOW GROSS: Tara Fleming, NJ National 78-76-154 Ridge is the No. 2forward New York course, While the 140-yard assumption might be on the short side, whoPound will play from the most setCity-area of tees has no trailing only Beth3rd LOW GROSS: Allison Kucinski , Tuxedo 79-76-155 let’s still consider for a moment that the women a 60 yard option.

Which might beg for the question, ladies playand fromfuture site of the 2019 page Black, host venue the 2009 ifU.S. Open 4th LOW GROSS: Sue Sardi, Cherry Valley 81-80-161 disadvantage off the tee.

So for our hypothetical example, the shortest tees on the golf course anyway, why is that a PGA Championship and 2024 Ryder Cup. GOLF Magazine also named the 5th LOW GROSS: Alicia Kapheim, Hopewell Valley 78-83-161 let’s make up a short par 4 hole of 360 yards from the problem?

2008 Dye design as its “No. 1 U.S. Open Worthy Course” in 2012.

-------white tees and 300 yards from the forward tees.

Here is Magazine the problem of a quote takenof the course since it “GOLF hascomes been out a strong supporter 1st LOW NET: Donna McHugh, Upper hits Montclair The woman her 140 yard drive down73-73-146 the fairway directly from the story: “Doesn’t grabbing a 7 iron for an opened, and its panelists have an appreciation and understanding of modern 2nd LOW NET: Sue Chung, National 78-78-156 andNJ is left with 160 yards to the green. The male golfer hits approach shot feel more gratifying and less intimidating golf course architecture,” says Ken Wang, Pound Ridge owner. “We believe his 200 yard drive and he has 160 yards left to the green. than a hybrid?” Anyone have a response? the course is maturing brilliantly and will continue to evolve as a testament But here is the issue. WeGOLF are at an ASSOC. impasse again because I recently played in an outing hosted by the USGA GARDEN STATE WOMEN’S to Dye’s ” the woman player would likely be hitting her 3 wood and with an genius. avid woman player and while this very highly strategic challenging and intriguing risk/reward BETTER-BALL can’t reach CHAMPIONSHIP the green while the male player has a more ratedAcourse didblend make of adjustments bydriving makingholes the longer approach shots has earned Pound Ridge a spot alongside TPC Sawgrass, The @ The Bedens Brook Club, reasonable chance to do so with say a 5 or 6 iron. par-4 holes into par 5’s for the women, it was just as the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Whistling Straits and Harbour Town Golf Skillman, NJ This is assuming there is no hazard to cross to get quote stated. Here were three low teen handicap senior Links Dye’s say pantheon legendary courses. another2014 issue. So5,562 let’s yards put a waterPar hazard playersinhitting 7 ironsof and the woman player was hitting a hybrid. On some holes on the green. That’sAugust, 73 in from of the green. she The didn’tfront evennine haveopens a chance her drive up to ours.

She was withtoa hit decidedly playable 451-yard par 4playing with aon an Potentially the male player could still reach the green with a good second shot but the woman has a goodFLIGHT chance of hitting into the hazard with her best shot. unevencomplex playing set field. green against a rock-lined water feature. Starting with the par-4 CHAMPIONSHIP In addition Bel Jan, I spoke with two other golf It’s a–problem because courseslanding are not set up on properly second an uphill brute generally with the golf narrowest area the course – Sue DeKalb (Bella Vista)& FrantoGacos (Copper Hill) defeated Liz accomplished Hickey course designers, Rees Jones and Ron Garl.

All three pretty much for the average woman player.

The fact is that, for many women, tees Pound Ridge quickly morphs into a strategic blend of challenging driving (Spring Lake) & Kathleen Melli (Hackensack ) - 3 & 1 echoed each other on the hazard issue saying you can’t put those kind set at 5,000 plus yards risk/reward are too long. approach Here is what wasThe written in nine a recent holes and intriguing shots. back takes golfof hazards in play for the average woman golfer. Most average woman report (Setting up Golf Courses for Success) from the PGA of America: ers deep into a serene setting for “core” golf – totally devoid of housing and FIRST FLIGHT golfers do not have the swing speed to hit the ball high for the carry “At the majority of golf courses where the forward tees are distractions.

Lori Bindler (Battleground) & Bernice Slezak (Knickerbocker) defeated and consequently very little chance of the ball stopping on theDonna green if positioned at 4,900-5,200 yards or more, women with shorter drives Featuring a newly-expanded clubhouse, Pound Ridge houses a practice McHugh (Upper Montclair) & Jesse Clancy (Essex County) 2 & 1 she does. and slower swing speeds cannot reach greens in regulation. At 5,200 range, short-game area putting green.that Allisguests receivetoaacomplimenta Unfortunately, in golf there remains a lot of old school thinking. yards, we are asking herand to play a course equivalent 7,500 ry yardage foraverage fine-tuning shot placement and approaches, bottled SECOND FLIGHT The traditional three sets of tees of blue (pros), white (men’s) and red yard coursebook for the maletee golfer.”

water and complimentary balls.the Carts (included) Patti Katz (Baltusrol) & Lynn (Baltusrol) Cynthia Mangiafico (women’s) wasKing supposed to go defeated away years ago, but the colors remain Actually, too many menrange play from wrong set of teesare andequipped don’t with GPS to dead-aim-accurate from any position.

Fallbut andthat Winter and&so doesWalsh the mindset even as many- (newer) care much for the philosophyyardages behind Tee It Forward concept, is Spe(Rockaway River) Ellen (Rockaway River) 20 holescourses have added tee boxes to accommodate all players. by choice not design. cials Available at: www.poundridgegolf.com, 914.764.5771. continued on page 6

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continued from page 5

Here’s an interesting issue that is on the web page of the Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, PA just outside of Philadelphia: “As a golf architect, William Flynn was an innovator. He routinely installed three separate sets of tees as early as the 1920’s. He insisted the shortest be called the “forward tees”, rather than “ladies

women’s tee boxes at courses built years ago, but you really need to cater to the middle of the spectrum,” she said.

She also doesn’t agree with the correlation of 5,200-yard tee boxes for women being equivalent to a 7,500 yard course for men. She does however think that for some higher handicap women (over 25) anything over 4,800-5,000 yards is a

tees” so men would not be discouraged from using them.”

“At my home course, Eaglebrooke, we don’t have colored tees,” Garl told me. He said they went away from the traditional colored tees to numbered tees to break stereotypes in order to get players to play the course best suited for them. “It has been a huge success,” Garl said. It gives players 6 options of tees ranging from 7,030 to 4,783 yards.

I asked Garl if a 300 yard hole was fair for the casual woman who drives the ball maybe 150 yards. He said the goal should be to make the holes play different and suggested that the forward tees should reflect par-4 holes varying from 250 to 350 yards. Bel Jan wasn’t in complete agreement saying the 350 yards was still too long for a player who hits a 150-yard drive.

I supposed it depends on the lay of the course because at my home course there is a 250-yard drivable par 4 from the white tees with the forward tees set at 190 yards.

The distance of the hole exceeds what the USGA says the bogey golfer hits his or her drive, but with the lay of the hole both men and women players hit the green from the tee with good shots.

Last year I played in an event with Le Ann Finger, a former college golfer and currently Director of Player Development with the Eastern Women’s Golf Association.

At Eaglebrooke for instance, she could step back to play a set of tees suitable for her game without some of the old timers grumbling that she should be playing from the (former) red tees while the average woman player has a more playable set of tees.

The popular phrase is that all players should be hitting the same club into the greens, but is that realistic? Finger said it isn’t so much that, as it is for the women “to have a chance to reach the green in regulation, with shots that are a higher trajectory and will hopefully be held by the greens.”

Sue Delaney, co-head professional at the Basking Ridge Golf Club does not agree entirely with the premise that woman golfers are at a disadvantage. “Probably not enough thought was given to some of the

little too much golf course. And that brings us back to square one.

Delaney, who teaches “a nice sample of skill levels” at her club that boasts a sizeable amount of women players says, “You still want to keep it fun for everyone.

I might need to start my beginner golfers at the 200-yard blue stakes on some holes, but we have some more competitive ladies who want to play from the longer length courses.

Remember, most of your competitions require a certain longer course setup.”

The real issue comes down to how to achieve that “fun” goal for all golfers? We know it isn’t as simple as just moving up tee boxes. For anyone who has played golf for any period of time, you know that there are a “lot of variables,” according to Rees Jones, the golf course architect perhaps best known as being the “Open Doctor”for his renovations US Open courses to make them competitive for major USGA tournaments so he knows a thing or two about the subject.

“The concept actually isn’t unlike his overall design philosophy of using angles. It’s easy to do on a new design but on an existing course it becomes more of a challenge where you have to find a compromise of tee placement and the features of the golf course. You have to put forward tees in with the proper angles, away from the cart paths if necessary.” Jones added it might make the women walk a little farther to the tee, but you have to do it.

A female golfer friend offered this assessment to me. “Courses that are designed in the past 10-20 years were more geared to getting women out to play, so the tee placement is much better.” But… there is always a but…she added that older courses “are very difficult for most women and tee placements are generally not that great and the courses are still too long.”

Everyone agrees that there is no black and white answer to address this issue.

As long as the golf industry is working in a positive direction, with the goal to make golf more enjoyable and to attract new players, we can hope for continued improvements down the road. Remember, “fun” is the name of the game.

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Hidden Creek Golf Club Hosts the US Senior Amateur By Bob Oliver

There is more to mere beauty at Hidden Creek Golf Club. More, as in sharp teeth. More, as in difficulty, opportunity and challenge.

The Coore-Crenshaw Design annually earns a berth in Golfweek Magazine’s Top-100 Modern Courses for a good reason - it is that good of a golf course and a special experience.

This is not a course tricked up for difficulty. It’s a course that is designed to give a player multiple options and tournament officials with the same to protect par. Qualifiers to the United States Golf Association’s 61st annual Senior Amateur will be bedazzled by the course.

The event, for amateurs ages 55 and above with handicaps of 7.4 or less, was captured in 2008 by the Delaware Valley’s own and FOX Sports George “Buddy” Marucci, who is exempt from qualifying and will participate in the championship which opens with two rounds of stroke play qualifying on September 26th with the low 64 plays competing in match play until the October 1 final match.

“I truly look forward to playing this event, and Hidden Creek is a very special venue,” said Marucci, a two-time Walker Cup captain. “It will bring together a field of true amateurs who love the game and will enjoy the competition. Oh, everyone wants to win, of course, or they would not be playing. But it’s a little less keyed up than, say, a U.S. Amateur.”

There were a total of 2,381 entries accepted by the USGA for this event, eclipsing the number of 2014 entries by 129.

Being just minutes from Atlantic City and all that comes with that destination, from restaurants to casinos and the beach, will give players and their families the opportunity to stay and play. Spectators get up close and personal with the competitors.

“We are proud to be hosting a National Championship,” explained owner Roger Hansen and tournament Co-Chair, who, when owner of nearby Blue Heron Pines, oversaw Blue Her-

ons Pines and the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. “We believe Hidden Creek is a special venue.

We look forward to sharing our golf course with the nation.”

On hand will be one player who has been on a streak, Vienna, Va. 61-year-old Pat Tallent. The Virginian won the 60th playing of the Senior Amateur last fall, followed by a trip over the pond to win the Senior British Amateur this year.

“My win last year (in the Senior Amateur) was oh so very special,” said Tallent, who defeated Bryan Norton from Kansas in the final match, 2 and 1 to become the first senior to hoist back-to-back US and British Senior Amateur titles. “I had been in the mix many times before in a USGA event, but never able to seal the deal.

To win last year’s Senior Amateur was a very special accomplishment.

Frankly, I never thought I’d win one.

I’m overjoyed and there’s nothing like winning.’

For Tallent, a USGA event provides a unique challenge. “There’s a lot of pressure in golf, there’s pressure each time you are competing. But one is much more nervous in a USGA event as there is no much on the line.

These are national championships.”

Tallent is slated to defend his crown, and the Delaware Valley’s Chip Lutz, a two-time British Amateur champion, will join Marucci as area competitors. There are 24 players that are exempt from qualifying due to past USGA championships or being among the top 500 in the World Amateur Rankings as of mid-August.

The Delaware Valley has seen Marucci as well as J. Willard Platt, William Hyndman III and O. Gordon Brewer claim a Senior Amateur.

Those that qualified for the championship at the Golf Association of Philadelphia qualifier at White Manor Country Club were Roc Irey of Forlong, PA, Glenn Smeraglio of Newton, PA, Don Donatoni of Malvern, PA, Mark Ellinger of Chester Springs, Kenneth Phillips of Lancester PA, Raymond Thompson of Drexel Hill

PA, and John O’Malley of Mantoloking, NJ. Thomas Hyland of Marlton NJ and Brian Rothaus of Huntington Valley PA also qualified at Garden City Country Club in early September. There were a total of 51 qualifiers held between the end of August and mid-September.

inches thick, but wayward shots will find higher rough and confounding fescue grass to confound players with errant shots.

It’s not a tricked up course, it is golf at its natural best. The US Senior Ama-

Tournament Co-Chair Edwina Hansen is excited about the tournament, not only from a player perspective but from the fans.

“First of all, there is no admission charge for the event. Second, we encourage spectators to come out and walk behind the competitors if they like. Spectators will be up close and personal with all of the action,” explained Edwina Hansen. “There will be no ropes other than the first and 10th tees and the 9th and 18th greens, and folks will be seeing excellent golf.”

The golf course itself boasts numerous set up options, from risk-reward driveable par-4s to dastardly pin placements that will can bedazzle the competitor and test every bit of creativity imaginable. It is possible, for instance, that the 329-yard 8th hole could be shortened in at least one round to less than 300 yards allowing for a player with length and skill to hit the green in one and putt for eagle.

Playing to the “proper” side of the greens is imperative, as the flat stick will be challenged when playing from the wrong angle. “There are,” admitted Hansen, “places you don’t want to be at times because of the location of the flagstick. Our greens are quick (for the tournament, approximately 11.5 on the Stimpmeter) and there are various degrees of undulation. They are challenging!”

Designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw loved the property the first time they saw it.

“We were able to allow the golf holes to sit on the ground as we found it without moving lots of dirt,” said Crenshaw.

USGA officials believe the primary rough will be about 3

teur competitors will be treated to a test that is difficult yet fair.

CHIP SHOTS: Hidden Creek and the Senior Am will use a unique set of volunteers. Each group of scorers and marshals will be in a “pod” with each group. In other words, the Pod will move with the group from hole to hole rather than have marshals and other volunteers stationary on each hole. That will add to the inside the ropes feeling for the volunteers….

Admission is free to the event…Hidden Creek has served as a qualifying site for the US Women’s Open, the US Senior Open and the US Open…Tallent lost in the 2010 final Senior Am match…While Tallent won the U.S. and British Ams in successive years, American Kemp Richardson (2001) and Paul Simson (2010) went one better they captured the British and United States senior championship in the same year. Richardson also won the 2003 United States and 2004 British Am as Tallent did, while William Shean Jr. won the 1998 and 2000 U.S. Senior Amateurs sandwiched around the 1999 Senior British Amateur.

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continued from page 3

After getting his Economics degree, Small said he would have liked to have turned pro but there were no mini tours like there are today.

“When we came back to New Jersey, I knew we just had to make this business a fulltime business and for nine years we worked and worked and took no vacations. Our three kids were born and I was probably playing five to ten times a year in those years, but we built our house in Florham Park,” Small said. “My wife knew I loved to play golf, so we had to make the decision: are we going to be golf people? We agreed on the decision to join Fairmount Country Club.”

Small’s first USGA event was in 1993 in Houston. By that time, his only son was old enough to caddy for him. He and his wife Patti also have two daughters.

“Since then, I’ve played in twenty-two USGA events, I’ve played in the Amateur, the Mid-Am, the Senior Am and the Senior Open,” said Small, who turned 64 in September. A past president of the Met Golf Association in 2009-2010, Small’s amateur golf endeavors have taken him to many states and countries including France, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, Scotland, England and Peru. Small said he and his wife Patti looked at golf as a priority in their lives and would use time away at USGA events as vacation time and do some sight-seeing on non-golfing days.

“In 1986 I figured out what my golf costs me per year, and I never sat down and figured it out again I think it was $25,000 that year. I said, I don’t want to figure this out anymore.”

The First Tee of Raritan Valley Participants Learn to “Live Green” The First Tee of Raritan Valley participated in an environmental education and course improvement program called “Live Green!,” developed by The First Tee in partnership with The Toro Company and Audubon International. On Saturday, September 12th, 100 young people had the opportunity to learn about sustainable golf practices while making environmental enhancements to Galloping Hill Golf Course, Union County, NJ. “We’re ecstatic to be able to provide The First Tee of Raritan Valley participants new educational opportunities that focus on environmental sustainability and golf course management,” said Mark McCabe, Program Director of The First Tee of Raritan Valley. “We are thankful to Toro and Audubon International for providing this exceptional program as we strive to teach kids not only how to play the game of golf, but also care for their community and the environment.”

In addition to funding the program, Toro will teach the young people participating about the science of caring for a golf course to both protect the environment and create healthy turf conditions. “We are thrilled to have Storr Tractor participate as the local Toro distributor,” said McCabe, “Storr Tractor is a wonderful partner of The First Tee of Raritan Valley and has supported our chapter for many years.” Audubon International will work closely with The First Tee of Raritan Valley to identify and recommend improvements at the course. They will also provide environmental education activities for the participants involved.

“Live Green!” brings attention to the importance of caring for the environment. Through The First Tee Nine Healthy Habits, health and wellness topics are shared with participants to consider both in the game of golf as well as in their personal lives. The First Tee of Raritan Valley encourages young people to explore the health of their community and discover how they can give back and care for the environment.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh commented, “The Live Green initiative is an outstanding opportunity for children in The First Tee of Raritan Valley program to learn about sustainable environmental practices and relate it to the science of golf course management. The Union County Freeholder Board strongly promotes sustainable environmental practices, and we are excited to partner with The First Tee of Raritan Valley, Toro, and Audubon International in this endeavor.”

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College Golf: Making It Right For You?

By Marian Castner

As high school junior golfers begin their sophomore and junior years, they face big decisions about their futures.

They must make the tough decision perhaps one of the biggest in their lives – do they want to play golf in college, and second, are they good enough to play on the college level.

That answer comes in many shapes and sizes, but the most important decision comes down to having the dedication to commit to 40+ hours/ per week to a college golf team. This means having the ability to juggle your academics, golf and social life on a college level.

Most Division I programs have more pressure, but truth be told, the higher ranked Division II and III teams still travel extensively, and study time is definitely curtailed. “ B a l a n c e and great time management is the key. If you don’t think that you can handle the full-time commitment to both your academics and golf, it’s not for you,” said Keegan Bradley, who now plays on the PGA TOUR and played his college golf at St. John’s University in New York.

Most coaches at a midlevel Division I college are looking for a scoring average of 75 or better.

The Top 20 schools are looking for scoring averages around 72 and below.

For the higher tier Division I, as well as better Division II schools, coaches are looking for a tournament scoring averages in the mid to upper 70s. Many Division III schools will be interested in players with scoring averages from 75 to 85, depending on the program. Some higher finishes in AJGA events are also very helpful for all the programs.

The story is slightly different for girls. If a female golfer in high school has a scoring average in the mid-80s, she will still draw interest from Division I programs. It’s just a matter of where she wants to play.

Gone are the days when high school grades and SAT/ACT grades didn’t matter. With the plethora of competition for fairly few spots, and even fewer scholarships, coaches are looking to fill their rosters will players who will not have academic problems on the college level. It saves them lots of grief, and with a large player selection pool (including international players), they are able to find players with both strong golf scores and grades.

Another misnomer is that college coaches want players whose have only played golf. Increasing this idea is going away, and coaches actually prefer players who also play other sports. Some coaches find that these players tend to be more athletic, and require less preseason conditioning. Jordan Spieth talks

often about playing baseball before he switched to golf as a young teenager.

Sometimes golfers will even play a “winter sport,” like hockey to stay in shape during the golf off-season.

None of the true college golf “powerhouses” are in the Northeast, but that does not mean that they are all in Florida or California either. We still have some excellent schools, with good teams across the country.

Several top ranked players in New Jersey and New York were accepted into top academic/golf programs. Some are interested in the golf industry, but not necessarily playing on a college level. For them, the various PGM (Professional Golf Management) programs might be a strong consideration.

A n o t h e r option, is looking at a well-ranked NAIA program.

For those who are not familiar with Sean Elliott, he played much of his high school golf in New Jersey when he lived in Westfield, NJ. Unfortunately his first few years of college turned out to be more challenging than expected, as he tried to fit into various programs in Missouri and Florida. Then, things turned around a year around, when he was approached about a fairly new golf program at a college, Dalton State, located about sixty miles from Atlanta.

And then it all clicked. Elliott was recruited by Dalton’s State Head Golf Coach, Ben Rickett, and suddenly everything came together. Within his first year, 2014-15, Elliott was the SSAC Tournament Individual Champion and as well at the NAIA Individual National Champion breaking a 60 year old scoring record. After these accomplishments, Elliott was recognized as the NAIA Jack Nicklaus Award recipient as the best player in the country. He was also named 1st Team All American.

For those interested in playing golf on a college level, start early! Don’t wait until the Spring – when the weather turns nice in the Spring, and high school players need to be focusing on their oncourse game. Winter is the best time to prepare. Now it the time to email high school results to coaches, consistently update their golf resumes, review each college’s golf website and definitely consult the PING American College Golf Guide (www.collegegolf.com) for further information.

Dreams can become a reality, but it definitely involves lots of hard work.

Most important, get the right person to guide you to the right program. It’ll make all the difference in the world.

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Teaching Golf to Our Juniors by Integrating Other Sports & Games By Sean Fawcett There is a growing youth movement in the game of golf. After-school classes and summer golf camps are an almost ideal way to keep that momentum going, and growing. But it’s important to remember that children learn a little differently than most adults do at least, most of the time.

“The big difference is their attention span,” said Mays Landing Golf and Country Club golf professional Ben Thomas. “You teach the same things you do with adults. The basics, like grip, stance and posture, you do them the same, but you try to keep it simpler, and you have to keep it short and you have to keep it fun.

“They have incredible memories, though,” Thomas, who teaches alongside head PGA professional Bill Papa at Mays Landing, adds, “They’ll remember everything, even things you don’t think they’ll remember, so you have to teach them right.”

“You have to positive. Lots of positive reinforcement,” said Thomas. “That helps a lot. They like that. They need it. Everybody does, but the little ones, especially.”

Hamilton Trails Golf Course LPGA professional Cheri Cottelli, and Director of the LPGA Girls Golf Club, agrees, saying that keeping things safe and fun are the two main goals. Cottelli, who is, also, a fifth grade teacher, emphasized that teaching golf can be a lot like teaching reading and writing because both can be difficult and take a long time, and lots of practice to learn, and learn well.

“Fun makes learning easier,” said Cottelli. “Play some games. You want to get, and keep, them interested and then wanting to come back and practice because practice is the only way to get good, just like with writing or reading, or anything else.”

One of the ways Cottelli helped to make things fun, and interesting, and exciting this summer was to use “The Tumble Bus”, a specially, and specifically, redesigned school bus with gymnastics mats, swings and a rock wall inside allowing her younger kids thirty minutes to just be kids and do things like tumbling, swinging and, what a lot of them really looked forward to, rock climbing.

“We did about a half hour in the bus and a half hour on the putting green, chipping and putting, with the under nine year olds, with a lunch, and it worked really well,” explained Cottelli.

“The older kids did a half hour on the range. They mostly want to hit the ball, and they can because they’re developmentally bigger, and stronger, and therefore

more able to swing the club better. But chipping and putting are great practice for the full swing for everybody because the full swing and chipping and putting are the same from inches before the ball and inches after the ball. Improving your chipping and putting helps you to get good at hitting the full swing. They help build a good foundation for the long shots. Plus, it develops feel and the feel shots are like 50%, and maybe the most important part, of the game.”

Playing games and making golf fun, isn’t as hard as it might sound to some.

One of the best things to do is doing things that kids know from other sports

they already play. It helps them make the connection, and make things exciting.

Making games out of training makes practice not seem as much as a practice, or work.

One thing you can do is practice putting in groups, or with an opponent, and play versions of the classic basketball shooting games “Around-The-World” and “H-O-R-S-E”. You can make things tricky like in H-O-R-S-E where you call bank shots and shoot with you opposite hand, or eyes closed or behind the backboard, or “granny” style, but instead hit putts standing on one leg, looking only at the hole, through your legs, one handed, cross handed, left handed, eyes closed, or whatever you want, or would like to try. It’s goofy, but it works, and you’re developing feel and putting is all about feel.

You can, also, put down targets around a hole or use one of those pop-up target chipping nets that look like a dart board and practice chipping like you’re playing darts or skeeball, a summer and boardwalk arcade classic kids love to play.

On the driving range you can put out targets to shoot at because everyone likes to try and hit a target. Some of the skills games, and competitions, you see on TV shows like The Golf Channel’s Big Break are other good examples of things kids, and adults, can do make learning golf both fun and competitive while developing their skills.

Soccer and golf have lots in common. For many children around the world, soccer is, probably, the very first sport they start out playing, so kids have a pretty easy time relating the two sports. In fact, Foot Golf, or Soccer Golf, has become grown in popularity in the past couple of years, and for very good reason. Soccer is a sport that helps develop footwork skills, strong legs and strong cores, which are essential to playing better golf.

Several courses in New Jersey offer FootGolf now, including BelAire Golf Course, Crystal Springs, Gamblers Ridge, High Bridge Hills and Brigantine Golf Links.

The sport is governed by the Federation for International FootGolf and has grown primarily internationally.“We’re excited to bring this new sport to our golf course,” explained Nathan Robbins, General Manager at Brigantine Links Golf Course.

“It’s a perfect fit for our facility. Our 18-hole FootGolf course is incorporated into our front nine and FootGolfers play in regular rotation with our current traditional golfers.”As a former soccer player with 20+ years of experience in the golf industry, I am fascinated by the combination of the two sports. I am able to be outdoors playing an enjoyable game while getting a good deal of exercise. I think this sport is a winner,” Robbins added.

Another fun game to play is Baseball Golf. “We played golf baseball with the kids,” said Thomas. “We used a baseball sized foam ball, and the kids hit the ball and ran the bases. They loved that.

“It’s a good thing to get kids started playing when they’re young,” added Thomas. “It’s important for the game that kids get to learn, and love, golf. They’re the future. That’s what it’s all about.”

FALL/WINTER 2015

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Paul Kaster Brings His Love of Golf and Technology to his Students

For a golf professional who uses a lot of sophisticated, high-tech equipment to conduct his golf lessons, it’s refreshing to learn that Forsgate Country Club’s Director of Instruction, Paul Kaster, believes in keeping it simple in delivering his lessons. His high-tech devices measure all kinds of variables in the golf swing, like weight shift and clubhead angle and speed at impact, giving him a sea of data about any given golfer’s swing habits. But Kaster doesn’t believe in sharing too much of this information with students – after all, he knows how to interpret the data that shows up on his IPAD –while giving a lesson. And that’s why Kaster is one of the most innovative teaching professionals in the state and a valued addition to the team run by Forsgate’s Director of Golf, Carolyn McKenzie Andrews.

Kaster, a Chicago native, has an impressive resume’ including playing on mini tours in Florida and Georgia and working as a lawyer for five years before getting back into the golf business at Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough. The son of a Classics professor father, Robert, who teaches at Princeton, and a mother, Laura, who is semi-retired from one of the big three law firms in Chicago, Kaster will be first to tell you he counts his blessings to have grown up in a privileged upper middleclass background. He grew up in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side, where the University of Chicago is based and where his father taught for many years. Kaster’s own education began at Colgate University, where winters were too long for him, so he left for the University of Miami before finally finishing up with his BA in Political Science at Rutgers College in New Brunswick in 2004. He then attended law school back in Miami and took the bar exam and passed for both New York and New Jersey. Kaster and his wife Emily, a high school choral director in Middletown, live in Red Bank.

Kaster, just 38, was practicing law in New Jersey for about five years, he recalled at Forsgate’s driving range, “when finally one day my wife said, this probably isn’t going to be you for the rest of your life.” He knew and she knew she was right. So he took a leap of faith and a big drop in pay and took a job as a shop assistant at Royce Brook. After a few seasons as the Director of Instruction, he came to Forsgate at the beginning of 2015.

Kaster got into golf through his childhood interest in baseball. One day he found a golf club in the baseball field in the park across from his Hyde Park house, and, after procuring some golf balls, he began practicing in earnest.

“Baseball was my game and my Dad was my baseball coach. I grew up in an interesting neighborhood. Some friends ended up in jail and other friends ended up as assistants to President Obama. I found a golf club one day right before my 13th birthday on the baseball field and started hitting balls in the field.”

“One day this guy walking by said, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good with that stuff, you should take golf lessons.’ So I went to Johnson Park and met Emanuel Worley, and spent the next four years working for him. I was very good at it and my folks sent me to a qualifier two years after I started playing,” he recalled, noting his primary teacher, Manny Worley, was one of the best African-American golfers in the country.

“To be working as the apprentice to one of the best black players in the country was a great experience,” he said of his high school years. “He would run big junior programs and I helped him and learned to teach golf initially from him.”

After finishing up with his B.A. in Political Science at Rutgers, where he worked at the prestigious Eagleton Institute of Politics on the Douglass campus, and after finishing law school in Miami, he worked for the New Jersey Attorney General’s office, prosecuting DYFS cases.

“I was still part of the New Jersey golf community even though I was a lawyer. My friend Jay gave me a job and I was I was basically his shop assistant at Royce Brook. Then I became director of golf and did that for two seasons,” he said of his decision – made with his wife Emily’s blessings – to return to the world of teaching golf.

“It was a gamble, it was a roll of the dice, I’m not going to lie,” Kaster said of his decision to leave the much higher paying business of being a lawyer to an assistant golf pro job.

“When I went to law school, I was really

interested in politics. Gradually I grew up a little bit and realized that wasn’t really the way I wanted to spend my time,” Kaster said, adding, “I think public interest service was my intent the whole time, but I realized this is what was in my heart.”

Kaster has many junior students on his lesson tee at Forsgate’s driving range, but he also has a good number of seasoned golfers, who just want to take their game to the next level. His FlightScope X2 machine and BodiTrak mat that golfers stand on while swinging provide him with instantaneous feedback on what the pupil is doing and how he or she is shifting weight and swinging. The equipment is not inexpensive, and Kaster carries two IPADs to display data, one for his own personal use and another to keep records and store videos of students.

The FlightScope X2, he said, “provides every possible piece of information you could want about the golf ball or club at impact: it tracks the ball out to 150 yards and projects ball flight, measures spin and launch and measures golf club angle of attack and dynamic loft, all kinds of variables.” In conjunction with the mat that golfers stand on while hitting balls, “you get the BodiTrak data and ball flight data and club data all in one place on this display and the player can be hitting balls and I get to see how they’re moving their weight and how that affects how they’re swinging the club and what the results are with the golf ball.”

As opposed to old school golf professionals who rely on the naked eye and what they’ve been taught about the golf swing from others, “there’s no way you could have this much information in just five or 10 minutes’ time. It’s like an MRI for a golf professional. There are ways a player can be hitting down a lot without being able to see that with your naked eye. That can cause somebody to hit hooks if they’re a better player. Without the FlightScope, you wouldn’t be able to see that all that quickly and what this equipment allows you to do is narrow down and find the solution a lot faster, without necessarily going down the wrong path.”

He discovered the BodiTrak mat, a portable system for capturing body balance during the golf swing, and FlightScope X2 at the annual PGA Merchandise show in Orlando, and has been using the equipment for the last half dozen years, noting, “this equipment has been around long enough that I felt it was stable in terms of the technology behind it.”

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By Richard J. Skelly

“The most important thing for me to mention is I don’t share a lot of this data with the student. If the student is coming in for a simple solution, I don’t need to open a Pandora’s box and overload them with too much information.”

Indeed, magazines like Golf Digest, Golf and Golf Illustrated stay in business with pages of instruction that sell the magazines right off the newsstand.

Kaster points out: “This sea of information that is out there doesn’t necessarily have any information for them. The first ten or fifteen minutes of every lesson is understanding the thoughts going through the student’s head and debunking a bunch of things about what they thought, to help them have a little clarity before they start.”

Aside from an extensive set of training courses on how to use the FlightScope and BodiTrak equipment, Kaster, who’s taken lessons from Bob Toski, Chuck Evans and other prominent teachers of the game, began experimenting with the FlightScope on his friends.

“I got certified to use Flight Scope, because if you’re going to spend that much money on a piece of technology, you should spend another $500 on training and knowing how to use it,” Kaster argued.

“I experimented a lot on myself and my friends before I started using it on paying clients. Ultimately, students are paying for results. If somebody comes to a golf lesson they may be there because they like you, but mainly, they want to play better golf.”

Over the past twelve years teaching in Florida, Georgia and now New Jersey, Kaster’s command of the English language, laid-back personality and his working knowledge of his FlightScope and BodiTrak equipment has ultimately allowed him to become one of the more innovative teachers around.

Kaster points out: “The keys to getting better at golf are practice and feedback. That’s really what it boils down to. And to have effective practice, you have to have effective feedback. For me, the training aids provide me the feedback and part of my job is to identify training aids that are helpful to my students.”

Isn’t a big reason students keep coming back to golf professionals because people eventually go back to their old, bad habits?

“There is a feeling that to hit a ball far, you have to swing the club fast. You therefore have to swing hard and that’s the natural chain of thought that goes through the typical golfer’s head. But, you don’t have to swing hard to make the club go fast. If you swing in the proper sequence and smoothly and allow your body to work the way it wants to work, you’ll hit the ball more accurately if you turn off that kill-the-ball impulse. And, it’s hard, it’s not that easy.”

In spite of his long, varied, impressive background in law, politics and trying to make this world a better place, Kaster said he’s committed to helping golfers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds improve their skills. And he’s sure this is what he wants to be doing 20 or 30 years from now.

“I’m sure there will be some very interesting technology to learn about and teach people with twenty and thirty years from now,” he said, and there is so much more to be learned about the mental side of the game.

“I know myself, as soon as I begin to get tired while playing golf, my attention goes. So just being able to go in and out of concentration, the mental game is huge,so a lot of what I do with players revolves around keeping a good frame of mind.”

He added: “It’s not easy to focus on what’s happening right in front of you, it’s really about how you handle yourself and the ups and downs involved in a round of golf. There’s no way to have iron-clad focus for four and five hours, it’s just not possible; you have to be able to enjoy yourself and call up your focus and attention when you need it.”

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FALL/WINTER 2015

Heard Around the States

PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL BILL CASTNER & NEW JERSEY PGA THREE PGA PROFESSIONALS TO BE INDUCTED INTO HONORED BY PGA OF AMERICA...RECIPIENTS OF NATIONAL AWARDS NEW JERSEY PGA SECTION HALL OF FAME Bill Castner, PGA Professional at Plainfield West 9 Receives National Youth Player Development Award NJPGA Section Receives Prestigious Herb Graffis Award for 2nd Time in 4 Years Bill Castner, a Master PGA Professional and the PGA Head Professional at the Plainfield West 9 Golf Club, in Edison, New Jersey, has been named the recipient of the 2015 PGA Youth Player Development Award, an honor that recognizes a Professional who has displayed extraordinary and exemplary contribution and achievement in the area of youth player development in golf. In addition, the New Jersey PGA Section (NJPGA), comprised of 496 members and apprentices, was named the recipient of the Herb Graffis Award, presented annually to a PGA Section that shows extraordinary and exemplary contributions in player development and growth of the game programming.

Bill Castner Highlights Castner, a PGA member for over 30 years, also serves as Program Director of The First Tee of Plainfield, one of the most diverse and successful First Tee programs in the State.

Since the chapter’s inception in 2009 - when Plainfield Country Club became the first private club to establish a First Tee program - the program has grown to over 650 participants.

Additionally, Castner has led several First Tee and PGA of America initiatives, including the Path to College Scholarships, which provides college scholarships to graduating high school students, PGA Junior Golf League Teams, Get Golf Ready programs, Girls Golf and FORE!, Special Olympic coaching and more.

Several CastnerGolf students have won national recognition, including the Jack Nicklaus Award, Arnold Palmer Award, and won many prestigious collegiate and local tournaments.

Many have played, and received scholarships to various Division 1 college golf teams and/or attend PGM programs.

Castner served as the Junior Golf chairperson for six years on the NJPGA Board of Directors and also has been involved extensively with New Jersey Golf Foundation programming. He earned his PGA Master Professional certification in 2003 and has won five NJPGA Section Youth Player Development Awards (formerly Junior Golf Leader Award).

He started his golf career in the Metropolitan Section (NY), working at several golf courses including Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course, LaTourette Golf Course, The Towers Golf Club, and Lido Beach Golf Club. He won the Junior Golf Leader award twice in the Metropolitan Section and was instrumental in many NYC junior golf initiatives .

Led by NJPGA President, Scott Paris, Director of Golf at Plainfield CountryClub, this marks the 2nd time (2012 winner) in four years the NJPGA has received the prestigious National Award. The Section was recognized for its expansive player development programming, all under the guidance of PGA Professionals, and supported

by The New Jersey Golf Foundation (NJGF), the Section’s charitable arm, with a mission to positively impact lives and communities through the game of golf. With a focus on three pillars - youth, military and special needs - the NJGF offers golf programming where individuals from all backgrounds have an opportunity to experience the game in a welcoming environment.

NJPGA Section Highlights Led by PGA Professionals throughout the state, PGA Junior League Golf expanded to more than 500 boys and girls in 2015, spread out over 60 teams. The league, which started with 12 teams in 2012, provides an outlet for beginners in the game to play in a “team” scramble format, as opposed to the traditional “individual” stroke-play competition.

The NJPGA/NJGF operates one of the nation’s most prolific Golf In Schools programs, impacting more than 110,000 boys and girls (K-8th grade) at over 200 schools. This program --which incorporates golf into the physical education curriculum at elementary and middle schools -- is fully funded by the NJGF and offered at no cost to school districts.

Additional NJPGA/NJGF programs that have seen overwhelming growth in 2015 include PGA HOPE, the flagship military program that introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities; Els For Autism golf programming for children with autism spectrum disorder; Special Olympics NJ; Goddard School Program; Father English Community Center; and High School JV Programming, among others.

“Becoming a national award recipient truly defines the character and commitment of these honorees, for they exhibit an unmatched dedication to advancing the game of golf,” PGA President Derek Sprague said. “The PGA is proud to honor these PGA Professionals and their impact on the sport on both a national level, as well as in their local communities.”

The PGA of America’s 2015 national awards class will be recognized in a ceremony on Nov. 11, in conjunction with the 99th PGA Annual Meeting in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Baker Maddera, of Rock Spring Club; Mark Schaare, of Knob Hill Golf Club/Glenwood Golf Club/Battleground Country Club and Doug Steffen, of Baltusrol Golf Club Make Up 2015 Class The New Jersey PGA Section Hall of Fame will welcome three new members in 2015 with the induction of Baker Maddera, Mark Schaare and Doug Steffen. The NJPGA Hall of Fame, which was established to recognize the most accomplished players and leaders from the New Jersey Section, now has a total of 34 inductees.

Maddera, Head Professional of Rock Spring Club in West Orange for the past 26 years, has been a PGA member since 1987 and has embodied excellence both in his play and through his service in golf. On the links, Maddera was the winner of the 1987 NJPGA Assistant’s Championship, 1988 Assistant’s Match Play Championship, 1996 NJPGA Match Play Championship and 2002 NJSGA Open Championship. He also competed at the national level in seven PGA Professional National Championships, five Senior PGA Professional National Championships and three U.S. Opens.

In addition to his tremendous tournament resume, Maddera has been recognized with three NJPGA Section annual awards. In 1997, he was given the highest possible honor at a Section level as the recipient of the NJPGA Golf Professional of the Year Award. Maddera also won the NJPGA Horton Smith Award in 1994 and 1995, which recognized his strong desire for the lifelong education of PGA Professionals. Maddera served on the NJPGA Board of Directors from 1991-2002 and was President of the John Caliendo Shore Winter Golf League from 2001-2008.

Schaare is currently instructing in Port St. Lucie, Florida, but has a rich history in New Jersey, serving in the past as a Head Professional at Knob Hill Golf Club in Manalapan, Glenwood Golf Club in Old Bridge and Battleground Country Club in Manalapan. The three-time NJPGA Player of the Year was the winner of the 2000 Ricoh Charity Clambake, 2005 Charity Classic, 2008 Charity Clambake and 2008 Match Play Championship.

Steffen, the third member of the 2015 Hall of Fame class, is the Head Golf Professional at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ. From a service standpoint, he is a six-time NJPGA Section annual award winner – including the 2008 NJPGA Golf Professional of the Year – and was the recipient of the 2007 PGA of America National Merchandiser of the Year Award.

Among his achievements on the links, Steffen has participated in three Major Championships in the 1975 U.S. Open, the 1984 PGA Championship and the 2007 U.S. Senior Open. By next year, his club will also have hosted two PGA Championships during his tenure, as Baltusrol will be the home of the 98th PGA Championship in July 2016.

PGA Professionals are admitted based on criteria that includes playing accomplishments and service achievements. This includes Major Championship victories, Senior Major Championship victories, Section and National level positions served and any NJPGA or National annual awards received. All applicants were nominated and were subsequently considered by an 11-person Hall of Fame Committee and the Board of Directors.

Maddera, Schaare and Steffen will be officially inducted into the NJPGA Hall of Fame later this year, and the NJPGA Hall of Fame will be located at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, recently announced as the home site of the Section’s new corporate headquarters.

FALL/WINTER 2015

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Heard Around the States Jordan Spieth Makes Special Appearance at The First Tee Classic at Liberty National Golf Club Top-ranked golfer Jordan Spieth was the special guest to help launch The First Tee Classic at Liberty National Golf Club, a benefit for the non-profit chapters of The First Tee in New Jersey.

One of the most popular young champions in the game, Spieth was in New Jersey fresh off a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship, where the 22-year-old from Dallas, Texas, was looking to add a third major title to his impressive 2015 resume. Spieth, who won both The Masters and U.S. Open Championship and was fourth at the British Open. He was in town to compete in The Barclays PGA TOUR event at Plainfield Country Club in Edison.

Spieth joined the event hosts and participants at The First Tee Classic at Liberty National for an interactive golf clinic and group discussion.

“More than half the children enrolled are able to participate thanks to financial scholarships provided by our donors,” said Michael Blackwell of The First Tee alliance. “We are so appreciative of our numerous supporters and partners, particularly Paul Fireman and Dan Fireman of Liberty National Golf Club, who made our inaugural event today a resounding success. And I want to extend a very special thanks to Jordan, for making it even more memorable.”

Almost one year ago to the day, and in conjunction with announcing an unprecedented 25-year partnership with the PGA TOUR, the Fireman family,

founders of Liberty National Golf Club, committed to donating $5 million to The First Tee over the next five years. Half of this total donation is earmarked specifically for the four local chapters benefitting from the outing at Liberty National.

The non-profit chapters of The First Tee in New Jersey — Essex and Plainfield, Monmouth and Ocean, Raritan Valley and Greater Trenton, were the official hosts of the golf outing and fundraiser. Their mission is to positively impact the lives of local young people by providing structured educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.

The four chapters reached nearly 64,000 young people in 2014 through programs that seamlessly incorporate The First Tee Nine Core Values and character-building life skills lessons with golf. The chapters have a goal to reach 125,000 young people by 2020, with the support of local individuals and businesses committed to The First Tee’s mission.

The First Tee Class of 2015 Scholars The First Tee announced the 2015 Class of Scholars and The First Tee of Metropolitan New York, which included eight participants from its various chapters in NY and NJ. The First Tee Scholars Program is a distinction awarded to teen participants who excel in academics, leadership, character development, and chapter and community involvement. The First Tee of Metropolitan NY continues to be a catalyst offering educational and leadership development programs to teenage participants to further prepare them for college opportunities.

Congratulations to this year’s scholars from the First Tee of Plainfield Thomas Duda and Brittany Morgan

EAST ORANGE GOLF COURSE IS OPEN FOR PLAY…AND IT’S BETTER THAN EVER!

Experience the new…

EAST ORANGE GOLF COURSE. Under the supervision of noted golf course architect Stephen Kay, East Orange is undergoing a comprehensive restoration, including new bent grass greens, newly rebuilt bunkers and tee boxes and, coming soon, a new practice range and clubhouse.

With Season Passes beginning at just $500 and daily play Discount Cards available for $30*, there’s no better value than East Orange Golf Course. Come see why everything old at East Orange is new again!

East Orange Golf Course

Call (973) 379-7190 for tee times and information about 2016 Season Passes and Discount Cards*

440 Parsonage Hill Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078

*East Orange residents and employees receive a 25% discount on Season Passes, or a flat daily fee rate of $18 for weekdays and $20 for weekends.

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New Era for East Orange Golf Course

“Thankful”- Joanna Coe teaches our Military By Sean Fawcett

Thanksgiving may be a little while away, but you might say Thanksgiving came early for New Jersey’s Joanna Coe who recently had the opportunity provide golf instruction to our nation’s military at several military bases around the world.

Taking a short break from the Symetra Tour, the LPGA Tour hopeful and Oakcrest High School (Mays Landing) and Rollins College(Florida) star toured the world this summer giving three-day clinics and lessons to United States Air Force personnel at bases in Grand Forks and Minot, North Dakota, as well as Spangdalhem Air Base in Germany, Lakenheath Air Base in England and Aviano Air Base in Italy.

Coe traveledto the European bases in Germany, England and Italy with friend and fellow Symetra Tour player Molly Aronson.

Last year,while recovering from knee surgery, Coe taught at the New Jersey Academy of Golf at her home course, Blue Heron Pines Golf Club,in Galloway Township with her instructor Bruce Chelucci.

“It was a great trip,” said Coe. “It was an amazing opportunity to travel and teach. I love teaching,” added Coe. “And it was really great to give back to our airmen and airwomen and their children.”

“It was sort of life changing, and a great learning experience for me. ,” she says. “I knew almost nothing about military life. The sacrifices

the people in our armed forces live with, and their kids, too, is really amazing, inspiring and humbling. They risk their lives. They’re away from their homes and families they love back home.

They live modestly. They give so much. Everyone treated us so well. It was great to be able to give back to them. Because of them, I get to do what I love to do, which is play golf for a living.”

And Coe’s love of the game transferred to her military pupils as well. Running two days of clinics a n d one-on-one instruction to dozens, and occasionally hundreds, of US airmen, airwomen and children at a time, Coe and Aronson wrapped up each of their three days at every stop with a tournament.

“We did two days of clinics and then a third day playing, usually in a scramble, but mostly just jumping around and playing and having a whole lot of fun,” said Coe. “North Dakota was great and; it was also my first time in England where Ihad a chance to see Cambridge. Germany was fantastic, plus the Alps in Aviano were beautiful. It was an incredible trip, and I am very grateful to have gotten to do it with such a good friend as Molly. We had so much fun.

A trip like this reminds you how good we have it. I hope we can do it again someday.”

FALL/WINTER 2015

The restoration of East Orange Golf Course is scheduled for completion in late 2015. The course has been open for play during the summer and fall while the project is being completed. Located in Short Hills in the Township of Millburn, the course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow, an architect renowned for making golf accessible and affordable for the public.

The restoration is being done by acclaimed architect Stephen Kay and an expert team consisting of golf course superintendent Juan Casiano, Turco Golf, Maser Engineering and Marziani and Associates Architects. Thanks to the support and commitment from the City of East Orange and Mayor Lester Taylor III.

· · · · · · · ·

The restoration includes: Building two new golf holes New practice/driving range New putting green New irrigation system Resodding of all greens with improved bentgrass variety Rebuilding of all tee boxes Redesign and rebuilding of all sand bunkers New 6,000 square foot clubhouse and restaurant (opening Spring, 2016)

“After years of neglect, the golf course and the overall facility will now be a tremendous source of pride, as well as an asset to both the City of East Orange and the area surrounding the golf course,” said Mayor Taylor. “We are very pleased with the feedback we’ve received so far and look forward to golfers being able to experience the finished product.”

2016 Season Passes are now available for East Orange Golf Course. They range from $500 for Juniors to $1,500 for Individual Unlimited. Senior Unlimited Season Passes are $1,000 and Individual Weekday Season Passes are $1,200.

East Orange residents and employees receive a 25 percent discount on Season Passes.

New Things at Lakewood Country Club By Sean Fawcett

You wouldn’t expect a whole lot of new things at a golf course that’s nearly 120 years old, but Lakewood Country Club, which began in 1896, one of the oldest and more legendary courses in the whole tri-state area, is making some exciting new changes lately. Last winter, the Lakewood Country Club added a brand new Player Development Center offering area golfers great opportunities to learn and improve their games. Included in the Center is an improved driving range, featuring new grass 40, 60 and 100 yard chipping and pitching sections, and, an all new sixhole par-3 short course designed by Superintendent Fran Oswik.

While the par-3 course in only open on Wednesdays (since it shares space with the driving range at all other times), there are no tee times required, and with rates of $9 for kids and just $12 for adults, the Par 3 short course is a fun, and challenging track with holes giving golfers of all ages and abilities a perfect opportunity to warm up and practice their skills. Head PGA Golf Professional Art Robidoux offers a “Get Golf Ready” Program which features Beginner, Junior and Ladies clinics and leagues. 30 and 60-minute private lessons are provided in the Player Development Center’s specially designed learning complex. Students will find artificial mats and grass tees, as well as a practice bunker and 50 and 100yard target greens that enable top quality, experienced and pressure free instruction in every aspect of the game.

“The short course has holes measuring about 60 yards to 110 yards,” explained Robidoux. “ It’s a good place for folks, especially beginners, and fathers and sons, and the girls and ladies and seniors, too, to practice playing golf before going out and playing the big course.”

Lakewood’s Player Development Center also features in-depth Swing Analysis with the computerized P3PRO© system, along with custom club

fitting at the new Delorenzo Fitting Center, offering club gripping and club mending on property.

“Our goal is to create a full service learning facility. Things are going really well, so far,” said Robidoux. “People seem to like what we’ve done and are doing, and that’s a very good feeling. We’re looking forward to growing as we help people grow in their golf and grow the game.”

**Passport to Golf Buyers: Try the 18-hole Championship Course at Lakewood Country Club and “Play More, Fore Less.” Special Passport Prices in both the current 2015 and upcoming 2016 book**

FALL/WINTER 2015

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Heard Around the States Union League Golf Club at Torresdale Re-Opens The Union League Golf Club (ULGC) at Torresdale celebrated the re-opening of the golf course in May, following an extensive restoration, which began began last year. The initial re-opening was for full golf members, with the course re-opening to the entire membership this June.

In addition, Sean Palmer was named Director of Golf this summer. Palmer comes to ULGC from the famed Merion Golf Club, where he was the First Assistant Professional.

Prior to his eight years at Merion, Palmer held positions at Saucon Valley Country Club and at Pinehurst Resort in 2005 during the U.S. Open Championship. Palmer was named 2014 Assistant Professional of the Year for the Philadelphia Section PGA. “The feedback from the members who took part in the re-opening and played over the subsequent days has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Palmer. “The course looks fantastic, and the layout, at 6,700 yards from the back tees, is both challenging and visually stunning. Thanks to the commitment of the Union League, Torresdale is ready to stake its claim as one of the premier private clubs in the Greater Philadelphia region, a region renowned for the quality of its private golf clubs.”

“We are very proud of having restored the grandeur to this Donald Ross-designed gem and excited about the opportunity to have our members experience it,” said Jeff McFadden, General Manager of the Union League of Philadelphia. “We are grateful to everyone who has played a role in this process and look forward to the completion of the clubhouse renovation in late summer. This truly marks a new era in the history and evolution of this venerable golf club.”

The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, formerly known as Torresdale-Frankford Country Club, was designed by the legendary Donald Ross in 1921. The private club was purchased in 2014 by The Union League of Philadelphia. Renowned golf course architect Stephen Kay, of Stephen Kay & Doug Smith Golf Course Design, was commissioned to restore the golf course. Noted golf course architectural critic Brad Klein served as a consultant on the project. Klein is a highly respected authority on Donald Ross and the author of “Discovering Donald Ross.”

While the golf course restoration was finished, it is being accompanied by an extensive clubhouse renovation, which is in the process of being completed.

Skyway Golf Course at Lincoln Park West in Jersey City Opens

The nine-hole, 3257-yard, par 36, Skyway Golf Course in downtown Jersey City is open for business. While one might not expect a golf course in this location, it’s certainly worth a visit. The immediate area might be “quite urban,” but the course boasts beautiful views of the Manhattan Skyline, including the new Freedom Tower, as well as the Hackensack River and Pulaski Skyway. The course features “colorful fescue, magnificent dunes, rolling fairways that offers fun” for all levels of golfers. Starting with a par 4, 346-yard par 4 with its panoramic views of NYC, and ending with a 175yard where you see the Pulaski Skyway in front of you, everyone will definitely have a good experience at this new facility. There are discount rates available for Hudson County residents with Hudson County Resident Cards, including seniors and juniors.

The course is operated by Kemper Sports.

Dot Paluck Named Captain of the 2016 US Women’s World Amateur Team Championship The USGA recently announced that Dot Paluck will be the Captain of the 2016 US Women’s Amateur Team Championship, which will be played at the El Camaleon Golf Club and Grand Coral Riviera Maya Resort in Cancun next September.

The championship will consist of 72 holes of stroke play. After each round, the lowest two scores of the three team players makes up the team score for that round. The champions have the lowest team score from all four days.

“I am truly excited for this opportunity to serve as captain,” said Paluck. “This is one of the best amateur championships

in the world and will be a rewarding experience for everyone involved.”

Paluck has been involved with the USGA for over twenty-five years, dating back to the 1980 US Open at Baltusrol, where she oversaw the junior volunteers.

She later served as chair of the USGA Women’s State Team Championship from 2005-2009 and chaired the USGA Women’s Committee from 2013-2014. She is also the former president of the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association.

Paluck and her husband Tom, live in Bernardsville, NJ and are long-time members of Baltusrol Golf Club, site of the 2016 PGA Championship.

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FALL/WINTER 2015

Congratulations CONGRATULATIONS JIM McGOVERN Winner of the NJ PGA Head Pro Championship BEN POLLARD (Deepdale, NY)...

Winner of the 100th Met Open BILL BRITTON (Trump Colts Neck)…

Winner of the NJ PGA Senior Pro Championship CHRISTINA PARSELLS… Winner of the Junior Girls North & South Amateur PETER KIM…Winner of the MET Amateur BILL CASTNER…Winner of the PGA of America Youth Player Development Award ANNA NORDQVIST…Winner of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, presented by Acer JASON DAY…Winner of The Barclays TYLER HALL (Upper Montclair)…Winner of the NJSGA State Open Championship MIKE HYLAND (Little Mill)...Winner of the NJSGA Mid-Amateur Championship JAKE MAYER (Plainfield)...Winner of the NJSGA Junior Championship JIMMY APOSTOLICO (Newton)…Winner of the NJSGA Boys Championship AMI GIANCHANDANI (Rock Spring)...Winner of the NJSGA Junior Girls’ Championship BILLY CHARPEK (Navesink)...Winner of the NJSGA Senior Championship JIM BYER (Springdale)...Winner of the NJSGA Super Senior Championship PETER KOZUBAL (Fox Hollow)...Winner of the NJSGA Men’s Public Links Championship KEN and DRAKE FERRITER…Winner of the NJSGA Father and Son Championship TAYLOR TOTLAND (Hollywood)…Winner of the NJSGA Women’s Amateur TARA FLEMING (NJ National)…Winner of the NJSGA Women’s Mid-Am BRETT GOTTSEGEN & ZACH STARK…Winners of the NJSGA Men’s Four Ball Championship ALICE CHEN (Neshanic Valley)…Winner of the NJSGA Public Links Championship GEORGE CRETELLA & BRITTANY WEDDELL (Due Process)…Winners of the NJSGA Mixed Pinehurst ALICE CHEN (Neshanic Valley) & ALLISON HERRING (TPC at Jasna Polana)…Winners of the NJSGA Four-Ball Championship BAKER MADDERA, MARK SCHAARE & DOUG STEFFEN… 2015 NJ PGA Hall of Fame Inductees

Ron Jaworski and NFL Alumni Raise $200,000 for Charity Programs Next Year’s Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge Scheduled For June 12-13, 2016 Former Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Ron Jaworski visited NFL Alumni Association headquarters in Mount Laurel, NJ today to present NFLA President Joe Pisarcik with a check for $100,000 to support its “Caring for Kids” and “Caring for Our Own” programs.

The donation is a result of a partnership between Jaworski’s Jaws Youth Playbook and NFL Alumni Association in which the two organizations worked together to put on the 31st Annual Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge.

“I’m thrilled to be able to unite this great cause with the NFL Alumni Association.

Working together has made a bigger impact across the board,” said Ron Jaworski, who serves as Chairman of the Board for the NFL Alumni Foundation.

McNabb and many more from the sports and entertainment worlds.

“I couldn’t be prouder to have NFL Alumni associated with such a first-class event,” said Joe Pisarcik. “These funds will help our organization support the retired football player community as well as child-focused charities around the country.”

Jaws Youth Playbook and NFL Alumni also announced today that the 32nd Annual Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge will be held June 12-13, 2016 Harrah’s Resort and Blue Heron Pines Golf Club.

To date, the Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge has raised more than $4.5 million dollars for charitable organizations.

The 2015 edition of Jaworski’s annual golf event was held at Atlantic City’s Harrah’s Resort and Blue Heron Pines Golf Club June 14-15. The two-day celebration included a Pairings Party featuring food, cocktails, silent and live auctions, and a pair of golf tournaments the following day. The starstudded affair featured over 60 celebrity guests including Michael Vick, Jeremiah Trotter, John Runyan, Warren Sapp, Donovan

PATRIOT GOLF DAY PRO AM PRESENTED BY THE LINCOLN MOTOR COMPANY, CLUB CAR, LAWLEY INSURANCE & GOLF MAX

Canoe Brook Country Club (North)

L-R: Rich Mulvey, Ken Pridgen, PGA & Doug Pridgen The New Jersey PGA held their annual Patriot Golf Day Pro Am, in conjunction with the weekly pro-am series, to help support the Folds of Honor Foundation which provides annual educational scholarships to the military families of those who have been killed or disabled in active duty. Since its founding in 2007 the organization has been able to give out over 7,500 scholarships nationwide, including over 2,000 in 2014. Thanks to the generous donations of the 50 Clubs who came out to play the North Course at Canoe Brook CC, the NJPGA was able to raise over $7,000 to support the Folds of Honor. *Winning Team: Ken Pridgen (Suneagles GC), Rich Mulvey & Doug Pridgen, 20-under par, 124 *Winning Professional: Ken Pridgen (Suneagles GC), 5-under par, 67 *Club Car Closest to the Pin: Pro – Mike Knight (Oak Hill CC) Amateur -Jay Young (Edgewood CC) *Patriot Golf Day Raffle Prize Winners – Paul Genova (Folds of Honor Ryder Cup Bag), Graham Rhys (Titleist Limited Edition Folds of Honor Bag), Dave Hollenberg (US Marines Bag), Bob Miele (US Navy Bag), Rich Mulvey (US Army Bag) & Jim Sweeney (US Air Force Bag)

FALL/WINTER 2015

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Congratulations BRITTON CLAIMS SENIOR PGA FOR 4TH TIME IN HIS CAREER Senior PGA Professional Bill Britton (Trump National GC, Colts Neck) won his fourth Senior PGA Professional Championship Trophy this summer. Britton was the only player in the field to keep both rounds under par going 68-70 for a two day total of 138, 4-under par. Both Britton and Brent Studer (Metedeconk National GC) headed into the final round tied for the lead but Bill proved too much for fellow competitor Studer and in the end and defeated him by 3-strokes.

This event that was contested at North Jersey Country Club, Wayne, NJ was also a qualifier for the 27th Senior PGA Professional National Championship, presented by Mercedes-Benz, which will be held at Bayonet Blackhorse in Seaside, California this October. Bill along with the seven other Senior PGA Professionals (see below) with represent the New Jersey PGA at this National Championship hoping to gain a spot in the Senior PGA Championship.

Qualifiers: Bill Britton (Trump, Colts Neck), Brent Studer (Metedeconk National GC), Greg Baker (Rockaway River CC), Jim Beadle (Essex Golf Range), Mark Yannotta (Anchor GC), Ed Whitman (Knickerbocker CC), Mark McCormick (Suburban GC) & Baker Maddera (Rock Spring Club).

Golfer’s Tee Times Hole-In-One’s

Michael Nuzzo Course: BLACK OAK GOLF CLUB, Long Valley, NJ Date: June 7, 2015 Hole Number: 4 Par: 3 Yardage: 170 Club Used: 5 Metal Witnesses: Michael Orfe, KC Orfe Ian Alena Joyce Petino Course: PLAINFIELD WEST 9 GOLF COURSE, Edison, NJ Date: August 8, 2015 Hole Number 7 Yardage: 173 Yards Witness: Peter J Petino

New Owners take over Mays Landing Golf & Country Club

After building and owning Mays Landing Golf & Country Club for more than 50 years, the Fraser family recently sold the 135-acre golf course and property to Green Valley Destinations and Resorts.

Citing the overall economy in Atlantic City and a lack of family interest in running the property in the future, the Frasers sold to a group lead

by Bill Green, of Voorhees, whose company has a real estate office in nearby Galloway Township, and his partners.

Green suggested that they were planning to “absolutely keep it as a golf course,” looking mainly to “improve it.” At this junction, the staff at the golf course is remaining the same. There was some prior speculation that the course might be turned into a 9 or 12-hole course with surrounding housing, but citing the economy for new housing in the area, it is unlikely that will happen.

The amount of the transaction was not dis-

closed.

The Fraser legacy in golf in south Jersey dates back to 1900, when James Fraser, came over from Scotland and became the golf professional at the Seaview Country Club. In the early 40s, the Frasers purchased Atlantic City Country Club, which the family owned for over 50 years before selling to Caesars Entertainment in the 1997. They were responsible for building Mays Landing Golf & CC, which opened in 1962.

We wish the best of luck to the Fraser brothers, Jim and Doug, and their sister Bonnie and her husband Don Siok for all their years of tireless dedication and wish the new owners well in their new endevour at Mays Landing.

We will keep our readers posted in Spring, 2016 what’s happening at the golf course and how the transition is progressing.

Peter Kim wins Met Amateur One of New Jersey’s former premier junior golfers, Peter Kim, now a 20-year-old cadet at West Point, won the 113th Met Amateur defeating Ryan Snouffer of Essex County 1 up in the 36 hole final match on Baltusrol Golf Club’s Upper Course in Springfield, N.J (August, 2015). Kim plays on the West Point golf team. (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Golf Association)

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FALL/WINTER 2015

“My Inwood” – Atlantis Golf Course in Little Egg Harbor By Sean Fawcett

In author Bob Mitchell’s novel Match Made in Heaven, main character Elliott Goodman makes a deal on the operating table with God to play a golf match for his life. During the course of the contest, Elliot plays versus God hole by hole against some of history’s most famous, and more important, personages ranging from painter Pablo Picasso to President Abraham Lincoln to singer John Lennon to composer Ludwig van Beethoven and W.C. Fields to Babe Ruth to Moses and Marilyn Monroe, and about a dozen others.

The story takes place at Goodman’s, and Mitchell’s, home course, Long Island, New York’s legendary Inwood Country Club. Elliott chooses Inwood, the course where the great Bobby Jones hit “the shot heard around the world” to win the 1923 U.S. Open, to play the match to save his life because it’s his favorite course, and the course where he learned to play and knows the best.

Everyone has their own Inwood, the course where they grew up, and learned the game, and love to play, and would choose to play if their life depended on it. “My Inwood” is Little Egg Harbor’s Atlantis Golf Course, and the Ocean County Parks course is going strong coming in to its 55th year.

Built by world famous architect George Fazio, and opened in 1961, with the Ocean County Technical and Vocational School’s Cuisine on the Green culinary school and restaurant right on site and open to golfers and the public, this formerly privately owned parkland and tree-lined gem continues to challenge many of the

Nearly 7,000 yards from the back tees, and a strong 6,432 yards from the whites, with forward tees measuring about 5,600 yards, and even newer junior tees totaling only about 4,900 yards, the sometimes hilly, and doglegged Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis features classic Fazio family design with big, multi-leveled, but receptive putting greens with lots of strategically placed bunkers and lots of water.

“She still holds up. She’s one of the best designed golf courses in New Jersey if not the whole Northeast,” believe Devon Peterson, the Head Professional at the golf course back in the mid-1980s.

“It is a great old course,” said Course Superintendent Scott Binkley. “It’s a Fazio.

That’s like one of the ten biggest names in golf course design. You don’t expect a county course, or even a public course, to have that kind of quality, but Atlantis does.

It isn’t your typical county owned course.

It’s kind of a classic.”

It is a classic, and one of Atlantis’ more classic holes, and maybe its most famous, is the sixth. The signature hole, No.6 is a tough, and sometimes intimidating, par three played over a sizeable, and difficult to carry, pond and can play about 150 yards, downhill, from the middle, and usual, tees, to almost 200 yards from the back tees way above the green. The two tiered green, which slopes severely from back to front, follows the pond, running away and to the right from the right handed player plays for a fade but makes a slight slice sink to a watery grave.

The seventh hole, a par 5 of 490

area’s better amateur, and professional, players while providing a fun-filled escape for all other players of all ages and playing abilities.

yards(517 from the blues) follows right after and challenges the men and the pros with a tricky, and blind, tee shot up and over a hill down to a tight fairway going

down and curving right and then running straight along Radio Road. A tee ball of about 250 yards sets up a good player with a good chance to get home in two, but getting on to the long, wide, but narrow and sloping green in three strokes is still a victory.

Atlantis’ ninth hole is maybe one of the toughest par 4s you’ll ever, or not, want to play. Measuring almost, and all of, 440

green on the right there to ensnare any short second shots or too long layups. The short par 4 15th heads back toward the 14th tee and has a small oval bulk headed, water lilied pond in front. A tee ball longer than 250 yards can get you in trouble with the water so it’s best to hit a 200 yard shot to hit an 8, 9 or PW into the oval and sloped green. Around 7:00 on a cool summer, or Autumn, evening the 14th and 15th holes are

yards, the outward nine’s finale tests good, and even great, and better players with a long second shot which can measure more than 170 yards, and sometimes 200 yards, to a plateaued putting surface guarded in front by two huge bunkers, right and left, with a small, maybe five yard, runway right up the middle. Played into the wind coming in off the bay, like the first which goes in the same direction, east, and this long par 4 can play like a small par 5.

among the more peaceful places that you’ll ever get to play.

Then, and after a long par 3, No.16, and a long par 5 over water, the 17th, a three swing par 5, your loop around at Atlantis comes back home with maybe one of the more famous, and certainly more unforgettable, finishing holes you’ve played recently. A stitch short of 400 yards, but sometimes playing more like 450, 18 is a dogleg to the left, and then a straight uphill climb, with a green adjacent to the 10th tee which is 50 feet, but feels sometimes more like 500 feet, high above your head with an upper level putting surface to the left protected by maybe the biggest, and deepest, sand traps on the course.

Make sure you play this course with the right expectations. It’s a good value and highly affordable with only a $9 walking rate after 3:00 p.m. for Ocean County cardholders. Their friendly staff and full practice facility, at the Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis makes for an enjoyable round of golf that any golfer can play and have a nice time playing. If you can, try my “Inwood” this Fall/Winter.

Readers – Email your “Inwood” course to editor@njgolfnews.com and maybe we will review it for our readers in our 2016 issues.

Then, if you somehow manage to make par on No.9, the tenth then forces you to play two good, but different, kinds of shots starting with a fading tee ball straight down a hill dropping about 50 feet. It’s a fun tee shot. The second shot, if you get around the bend far enough, which maybe isn’t as much fun, then calls for a 150-160 yard draw to a green fronted almost completely in front by sand with lots of trouble behind, and private property out-of-bounds to the left. Four is a very good score on Number Ten, and birdie can sometimes, and almost, feel like an eagle.

Fourteen and Fifteen are two of my favorite holes and they run side by side. 14 is a straight-away, and bombs away, par 5. A sometimes reachable hole measuring 470 yards, the fourteenth has one of the largest greens on the property at the farthest edge of the property with a fairway bunker about 20 yards before the

Local Teen Selected to Play in Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach The First Tee of Raritan Valley is sending Sayaka Carpenter to compete in the 2015 Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour event that will be held September 25-27 and televised internationally on Golf Channel.

Carpenter will join 80 other participants from The First Tee chapters for the event, which is in its 12th year.

“At Nature Valley we have great admiration for the mission of The First Tee. The program has such a meaningful impact in the lives of young people by strengthening important values like responsibility, judgement and perseverance. The opportunity for these teenagers to be selected as a part of The First Tee has the power to transform lives,” said Carla Vernón at General Mills. “The teenagers selected to play in the Nature Valley First Tee Open, including Sayaka, have worked hard to prepare for this opportunity, and we are immensely proud to welcome them to this year’s tournament.”

Sayaka was selected by a national panel of judges who evaluated playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee. Carpenter, 17, is a junior at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, NJ. Active at her chapter for 6 years, she is an ACE level student and regularly volunteers to help coach the younger kids. She plays cello in her school orchestra and writes for her school newspaper. She is also a volunteer for Care Club which helps middle schools students with homework or anything they are struggling with in life.

FALL/WINTER 2015

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NEW PRODUCTS…

Titleist Introduces New DT TruSoft Golf Ball Titleist has introduced the new DT TruSoft golf ball, precisely designed and manufactured to provide soft feel on every shot with the “exceptionally consistent performance” along with the expected Titleist quality.

For golfers who prefer a truly soft feel, the DT TruSoft features a new core and cover formulation engineered by Titleist R&D to deliver incredibly soft compression feel with impressive distance and short game playability.

“DT TruSoft is the latest generation of Titleist’s soft compression core and cover technology. In each of our past three introductions of DT models, we have continued to provide golfers with softer and softer feel,” said Michael Mahoney, Director, Titleist Golf Ball Product Management. “Through our extensive testing with golfers, we know there is a growing interest for extremely soft feel, yet these golfers still want performance into and around the green. DT TruSoft represents the best combination of very soft feel and the all-around performance of distance and playability you expect from a Titleist golf ball.”

“DT TruSoft is significantly softer than DT SoLo, which was already the softest compression golf ball in our line,” Mahoney said, “and exceeds the performance of other products in this category as many of our competitors sacrifice either short game spin or distance.”

The new DT TruSoft will be available in golf shops beginning Oct. 1. They are expected to retail around $30/dozen. Titleist also expects to replace several of their other popular ball lines in early 2016. The Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls, which changed in 2015, will remain the same next year.

Taylor Made Introduces new PSI and PSO TOUR irons TaylorMade Golf has taken a new approach to the better player iron category with the introduction of the PSi™ and PSi Tour irons.

Players have long been subjected to choosing an iron with either premium sound and feel or distance.

With PSi, TaylorMade has found the perfect blend of form and function; an iron that delivers a rare balance of elegant design and superior feel combined with increased ball speed and distance.

I n doing so, TaylorMade has brought innovation to the better player iron category in a way that benefits those discerning players who seek the most out of their irons.

Available at retail on November 6, PSi ($1099 steel; $1299 graphite) will be offered in 3-iron through PW with AW and SW also available.

Golfers will have a choice of KBS Tour C-Taper 105 steel shafts (R, S & X) or MRC Kuro Kage Iron graphite shafts (80/R, 90/S or 100/X) in addition to numerous additional custom shaft options.

PSi Tour ($1299) will be available at retail on December 20, and will be offered in 3-PW with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts in addition to a variety of custom shaft options.

Tour Edge Introduces Exotics EX-9 Fairway Woods The new Exotics EX9 fairway woods ($229.99) from Tour Edge are aimed at players looking for maximum clubhead speed and distance. A sloped crown creates improved aerodynamic performance that reduces air friction while a unique sole design with front-to-back waves reduces resistance through the turf.

The combination adds speed both during the downswing and through impact.

Additional distance-enhancing design features include a notched cavity behind the clubface for increases face flexibility and ball speed, a Carpenter 475 cup face, and a hyper-steel body. An interchangeable heel weight allows players to custom tune the amount of draw they desire -- a 9g weight screw comes standard and is held by an 8g heel pad for a total of 17g in the heel area.

The EX9 fairway woods will be available at retail on November 11, 2015.

ClubGlider® Technology (by Sun Mountain) Expands to Luggage ClubGlider (made by SunMountain) revolutionized the golf travel bag with the introduction of extendable legs that support all of the weight. That same technology has now been applied to a line of wheeled-luggage that includes a suitcase and a carry-on. ClubGlider Suitcase offers the same ease of use as the golf travel bag thanks to the extendable leg that supports 100% of the weight and then simply retracts away for travel. The suitcase is constructed with the same highly durable, ballistic-style nylon as the ClubGlider Meridian golf travel bag. The ClubGlider CarryOn coordinates with the suitcase and is sized to fit in airplane overhead bins. Both pieces are available now at $349.99 for the suitcase and $239.99 for the carry-on. The ease of using a ClubGlider golf travel bag has changed how people travel with their clubs. Now that same ease of use can be enjoyed across the gamut of luggage. ClubGlider Suitcase is H 30” X W 13” X D 13” and weighs 17 lbs. with multiple internal pockets and a main compartment that expands 2.5” for added capacity. The wheeled-suitcase features multiple handles for ease of use and comes with a TSA-approved lock.

experience your playground

[ U L S T E R C O U N T Y, N . Y. ] Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club, Saugerties, N.Y.

Just a 90 minute drive from Manhattan are more than a dozen beautifully manicured golf courses awaiting your challenge. Come experience breathtaking views of the Hudson Valley at historic golf settings and courses designed by acclaimed architects including Robert Trent Jones. No waiting, reasonable rates and convenient tee times – it’s the perfect golfing getaway.

For a complete list of golf courses and more information, visit www.UlsterCountyAlive.com or call Ulster County Tourism at 1-800-342-5826.

Hudson Valley/Catskill Regions

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Three World Class Clubs.

One Membership.

Atlantic City Country Club, Northfield, NJ 609-236-4400 • accountryclub.com

Scotland Run Golf Club, Williamstown, NJ 856-863-3737 • scotlandrun.com

Ballamor Golf Club, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 609-601-6220 • ballamor.com

For Membership Information, please call Mike Tucci, Membership Director at 609-601-6220 or email him at tucci@ottingergolf.com

ottingergolf.com

FALL/WINTER 2015