SEND IN YOUR NEWS AND NOTES: All members of the MGWA, with items for our Newsletter, are urged to e-mail them to Chuck Stogel (chstogel@aol.com).
PHOTO GALLERIES: Please note that photo galleries from many of our MGWA meetings and outings are posted on our website (metgolfwriters.org). There are foursome photos, action photos, meeting photos and more. To access, log on to our website and click on Meetings & Outings, then open the photo gallery you wish to see (photos are free to copy).
MGWA 2024 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FINALIZED
October Dates Confirmed for Awards Dinner, Bethpage Black
The full slate of events being conducted by the Met Golf Writers Association this season has now been finalized with the confirmation of dates for two activities taking place in October. Our MGWA 72nd National Awards Dinner is now scheduled for Monday, October 7th, at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, NY. One week earlier, we now have scheduled our annual visit to Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, NY, for Tuesday, October 1st. An official announcement about the date of the awards dinner, and other details, will be forthcoming soon. The full 2024 activity schedule is at the end of this newsletter.
In the meantime, registration is underway for our season-opening get-together at Hackensack GC in Oradell, NJ, a consensus selection as one of the top clubs and classic-style courses in all of the Garden State. Our visit is set for Tuesday, May 14th, with a full agenda including a morning meeting session, copious food & beverage, and shotgun golf in the afternoon. Our lineup of guest speakers for the morning meeting includes: Tim Lane, HGC president; Rebecca Corzo, MGA member and communications director at the New Jersey State Golf Association; and Steve Weisser, project architect at Rees Jones, Inc., who headed the team that provided recent renovations and restorations to Hackensack’s Seth Raynor/Charles Banks course. In addition to several Nearest to the Pin contests available to all, our tournament competition at Hackensack will feature the President’s Cup event for MGWA members who also belong to our Quill & Tee Golf Club. There will be special Q&T prizes up for grabs. As of this writing, 71 of our Met Golf Writers have also joined Quill & Tee for 2024. For more information or to register to attend, please log on to the MGWA website (metgolfwriters.org) and access the “Meetings & Outings” section.
Earlier this week, we sent out information for those members wishing to stay over on Monday, June 3rd, when the Met Golf Writers visit the new Monster Golf Club and course at Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, NY. Our main activities will take place on Tuesday, June 4th. Located on the site of the former Concord Hotel and its two courses, the new Monster was designed by Rees Jones and RJI project architect Bryce Swanson. The MGWA has reserved a block of rooms at a discounted rate for those wishing overnight lodging. Rooms will be held at the special rate until May 10th. Our full notice to sign up for Tuesday, June 4th at the Monster will be sent in two weeks. If there are any questions, please contact Chuck Stogel of the MGWA Activities Committee at chstogel@aol.com.
SIGNUP DEADLINE NEAR FOR HOWIE MUNCK GOLF OUTING
There are still openings available, for individuals or a full foursome, to attend the inaugural MGWA Celebration of Howie Munck, a fundraising benefit outing scheduled Monday, May 6th, at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point, in the Bronx next to the Whitestone Bridge. Activities include an afternoon shotgun start for golf, dinner, silent auction, prizes. Proceeds will benefit the caddie scholarship programs on Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester-Fairfield, and the MGA Foundation. Dinner-only is available for those who do not wish to play golf. The deadline to register for golf is next Wednesday, May 1st. For further details and to register, please click here: https://metgolfwriters.org/howie_munck_outing
ANNUAL GOLF SHOW RETURNS TO WESTCHESTER IN 2025
Now that the County Center in White Plains, NY, has reopened, the Westchester Golf Show has been scheduled to return to that historic building in 2025. Renamed the New York Area Golf Show, and sponsored by the Westchester Parks Foundation (www.thewpf.org), show dates set for next year are February 1-2.
During its previous 10-year run, the Golf Show gained a reputation as a small but successful showcase for industry vendors and interested fans. In addition to the many noted private clubs in the area, Westchester County operates six very busy public courses which annually host an average of 260,000 rounds of golf.
Anyone who wishes to receive show details as they become available, please e-mail MGWA member and Show Manager John Zanzarella at jazmc@aol.com.
MGA PLAY DAYS BEGIN IN MAY
Registration is now open for the first wave of Met Golf Association Play Days set for 2024. These playing opportunities offer a casual opportunity for MGA members to play and compete alongside fellow Met area golfers at both public and private facilities throughout the region. Scheduled events include stops at Mahopac Golf Club (May 20), The Links at Union Vale (June 3), Pound Ridge Golf Club (June 25), Lake Mohawk Golf Club (July 22) and Richmond County Country Club (September 9). For more information or to register, visit the MGA website (mgagolf.org).
PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.
Points In Time: Poetry & Sketches, the latest paperback from MGWA treasurer Dave Donelson, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and elsewhere, at $14.99. “Thanks again to everyone for your help in the cover design!” said Donelson . . . Rainmaker is a revealing and eye- opening behind-the-scenes tell-all co-authored by former MGWA member and Lincoln Werden Journalism Award winner George Peper and Hughes Norton. 
Produced by Simon & Schuster, the sub-title is Superagent Hughes Norton and the Money-Grab Explosion of Golf from Tiger to LIV and Beyond. Available online and at retail locations, it is priced at $14.99 in Kindle and $22.93 in hardcover . . . Former MGWA Executive Committee member and ex-MGA President Les Schupak was among 10 recipients presented with the U.S. Golf Association’s Ike Grainger Award in March at the USGA’s annual meeting held in Nashville, TN. The award is presented to individuals with 25-plus years of volunteerism with the USGA. In other Association news: Andrew Biggadike of Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, was newly elected to the U.S. Golf Association Executive Committee and Cathy Engelbert of Berkeley Heights, NJ, was elected to a second three-year term on the 15-person volunteer committee that provides strategic and financial oversight as the association’s policymaking and governance board. Tony Petitti of Irvington, NY, was among those retiring from the USGA committee . . . Shinnecock Hills GC in Southampton, NY, was chosen to host the 136th U.S. Open and 91st U.S. Women’s Open in consecutive weeks in June 2036 . . . 
MGWA member Tom Coyne has been named editor of The Golfer’s Journal. He is seeking pitches with strong narrative/storytelling elements tied to evergreen golf subjects. You can reach him at tom@golfersjournal.com . . . MGWA member Brien McMahon is home on Staten Island, continuing his recovery from a heart attack last Thanksgiving. Here is Brien’s recap: “Suffered heart attack on Thanksgiving night. Transported to [Staten Island University Hospital] and underwent angiogram on Friday but couldn’t proceed. Moved to cardio thoracic ICU pending Open Heart Surgery to correct three arteries each 99% blocked. That surgery performed on November 29th. Discharged December 4th.” Months-long recovery ongoing. Email: brien1953@gmail.com . . . The Women’s Met Golf Association is looking for hickory clubs for their “Old School” Stableford tournament on June 11th at Rutgers University GC. They are looking to borrow 2-4 drivers, one a lefty, and 4-6 putters, 2 lefties. Reach out to MGWA member Donna De Marco at vpmarketing@wmga.com if you or someone you know has hickory clubs to offer . . . Former national club pro winners Darrell Kestner (1996) of Deepdale GC and Matt Dobyns (2012, 2015) of the Meadow Brook Club are scheduled to tee it up in the field of 312 competing in the PGA Professional Championship this Sunday, April 28th, through May 1st over the Fields Ranch East and West courses in Frisco, TX, new home of the PGA of America. Top 20 finishers gain spots in the PGA Championship two weeks later . . . Memo from MGWA member Rich Leviss of Pure Golf Experience, a travel planning and scheduling outfit that focuses on Scotland and Ireland: “Now is the ideal time to plan a 2025 golf trip to Scotland & Ireland. Notable venues such as The Old Course, Muirfield, Royal Portrush and Royal County Down open their 2025 tee sheet in the next few months. Headquartered in St. Andrews, tour operator Links Golf St. Andrews is an industry leader who has been welcoming golfers for more than 35 years.” For more info, contact Leviss at richleviss@puregolfexperience.com . . . WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Billy Condon, head of Golf Advertising Business/Sales/Marketing, Sports Illustrated/The Arena Group, billy.condon@si.com . . . Zach Hartmann, Fox News, zacharyjhartmann@gmail.com . . . Lee Walker, Warner Brothers Discovery/Bleacher Report, leewalk498g@gmail.com . . . Tom Ralph, Westchester Magazine panel, tom@tjralph.com . . . Joel Lieberman, U.S. Kids Golf, joel62771@gmail.com . . . Joe Zappulla, retired CBS Sports/Golf Channel, joezapnj@gmail.com.
MGWA 2024 ACTIVITYSCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 14th – Hackensack GC, Oradell, NJ. One of the best golf courses in the state. Quill & Tee GC President’s Cup tournament.
Tuesday, June 4th – Monster Golf Club at Resorts World Catskills, Monticello, NY. New course. Architects Rees Jones, Bryce Swanson scheduled speakers. Option: Monday overnight lodgings, group dinner. MGWA Pinehurst tournament.
Tuesday, August 6th – Arcola CC, Paramus, NJ. Renovated course and clubhouse. Site of 2022 U.S. Amateur medal qualifying, 2023 Met Open. Quill & Tee GC Better Ball tournament and qualifying for the MGA Four Ball Net championship.
Thursday, August 29th – Tamarack CC, Greenwich, CT. Renovated Charles Banks course; architect Brian Schneider scheduled. Quill & Tee Club championship and Quill & Tee Member-Guest tournaments.
Wednesday, September 18th – Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY. Renovated course; speaker from McDonald Golf scheduled. MGWA Team Shootout.
Tuesday, October 1st – Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, NY. Special preview ahead of 2025 Ryder Cup matches.
Monday, October 7th – Brae Burn CC, Purchase, NY. 72nd MGWA National Awards Dinner.