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).
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS STILL OPEN
Signups for those who have yet to renew their MGWA membership for 2022 are continuing, with renewals handled online via our website (metgolfwriters.org). To access the renewal form, you must be logged on to our website, and then click on the “Membership” button on the right side of the top line. There are three primary categories of membership: Regular, Associate and Retired. The eligibility for the categories is listed in our MGWA Bylaws, which can be accessed at our website by clicking on “Member Home.” Dues for 2022: Regular, $85; Associate, $110; Retired, $40. The eligibility for the Retired category, as listed in the Bylaws: “Retired membership shall be granted upon application as approved by the Membership Committee and the Board of Directors to persons who have been members of the MGWA for at least five (5) years and are now retired from active golf journalism.”
The MGWA also is seeking New Members and encourages anyone in the association to recommend our group to prospective new members. Several new members already have been added for 2022 (see a list in the “People, Places, Etc.” section below). New Member application forms are available via the “Membership” button on our website. You do not need to be an MGWA member to access a New Member application. The “Membership” button is openly accessible to all website visitors.
ANNUAL DINNER, ACTIVITIES IN PLANNING STAGES
Both our annual MGWA National Awards Dinner committee and our MGWA Activities Committee are working on various respective events for the 2022 season.
The 70th MGWA Awards Dinner is scheduled for Tuesday evening, June 21, 2022, at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY. Capacity for attendance will increase from the somewhat intimate dinner held in 2021 on the patio at Winged Foot GC, but available seating still will be limited. The MGWA Board has been working through the winter months on finalizing our roster of award honorees, with several key announcements expected shortly. Meanwhile, ticket pricing for the dinner has been announced. Prices for general tickets to the dinner are set at $400 each. Specially priced member tickets, with a limit of two per member, are set at $175 each, the same as last year. Members may reserve their discounted tickets now by logging on to our website and then clicking on “Awards Dinner.” A link to the members reservation form will be available on the right side of the page. If you’re already logged into our website, you can click here to access the form (if you get an Access Denied message, you’re not properly logged in).
Meanwhile, our Activities Committee continues to work on finalizing the 2022 schedule of meetings and outings. Communication with potential venues is in the works but not all locations and dates have been set. The committee hopes to have a schedule for release within a few weeks, starting with our first gathering in early to mid-May. Additionally, registration for membership in this season’s Quill & Tee Golf Club, our MGWA club without real estate that features numerous exclusive events and other benefits, is expected to begin in about a month.
Both the MGWA National Awards Dinner and a portion of the fees for our monthly in-season golf gatherings provide funds to help our annual donations to Met-area caddie scholarship programs and other area charitable beneficiaries. The MGWA also has endowed the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship for a graduate student at Columbia University. Over the years, millions of dollars have been raised by the association for charitable donation.
MET GOLF ASSOCIATION JOBS, RULES QUIZ, SEMINARS
The MGA, based at Golf Central in Elmsford, NY, has a variety of full-time and internship positions available. The opportunities are posted on the association website (mgagolf.org). The direct link to the job page: mgagolf.org/careers.
Also, the Women’s Met Golf Association, which is headquartered at Golf Central, has an opening for a full-time Tournament Manager. The position is responsible for execution of WMGA golf tournaments across the tri-state area. Working within an office staff, volunteer Board of Directors and 2,400-women member organization to promote women’s and junior golf initiatives. Manage 1-2 interns in the deployment of the tournaments and other golf-related activities. According to WMGA President Lori Ann Cerullo: “Typically, we hire recent college graduates who are interested in a golf career handling back-office operations. The pay is around $45,000/year with health and other benefits. The candidate would have to reside in the tri-state area and have access to a car.” The complete job posting is available at the WMGA website, wmga.com.
The MGA’s annual Rules of Golf Quiz is back with its latest edition! The Quiz annually tests players’ Rules knowledge and sparks debate amongst Rules aficionados. Whether a beginner or Rules enthusiast, the MGA invites you to test your Rules IQ by taking the latest Quiz. Link to the Quiz: mgagolf.org/content/2022-mga-rules-quiz. Answers published on the MGA website later this month.
The MGA’s annual Handicap and Rules Workshops are back, and in-person, available for golf officials, media and the general public on three upcoming Saturdays. The dates and venues: March 19th, Montclair GC, West Orange, NJ; April 2nd, Pelham (NY) CC; April 9th, Cherry Valley Club, Garden City, NY. Registration for each workshop is at 8:30 am, followed by an informative and conversational session from 9:00-11:30 am. To register for any of the seminars, please visit the Met Golf Association website.
YOUNG, LABRITZ MAKING THEIR MARKS ON TOUR
Local pros Cameron Young of Scarborough, NY, on the PGA Tour and Rob Labritz of Pound Ridge, NY, on the PGA Tour Champions, both rookies on their respective circuits, have been cashing checks regularly during the current season.
Young, the 24-year-old son of Sleepy Hollow CC head pro David Young, has registered two second-place finishes among the 11 events he has played and currently is 12th on the official money list for the 2021-22 season with $2,250,875. His second-place finishes came last October in the Sanderson Farms event and a T2 in February, worth $1,068,000, at the Genesis Invitational. Young is 13th on the FedEx points list at 716, has a 69.983 scoring average and is No. 2 in driving distance on tour with a 320.0 yards average. His T13 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, FL, boosted Young from 51st to No. 44 on the Official World Golf Rankings, a spot within the Top 50 that earned him a berth in this week’s Players Championship. The Players is golf’s second-most lucrative event with a total purse of $20 million, including $3.6 million for the winner. The richest event in golf is the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, which paid out $46 million in 2021, including $15 million to champion Patrick Cantlay.
Over on the Senior tour, Labritz, who is the director of golf at GlenArbor GC in Bedford Hills, NY, has banked money winnings at all three events he has been eligible for and played this nascent season: T26 at the Chubb Classic, T33 at the Cologuard Classic and T21 at the Hoag Classic. Labritz is 13th on the Champions Tour with a 289.4 yards driving average, T29 in scoring average at 71.11 and No. 50 on the money list with $24,900. Next up is the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Biloxi, MS, April 1-3. Labritz, qualifying via the Met PGA section, also will tee it up in the 82nd Senior PGA Championship, a senior major scheduled May 26-29 in Benton Harbor, MI. Joining him from the Met section will be Jimmy Farrell of Hamlet G&CC on Long Island and Del Ponchock of Hudson National GC in Westchester. “I’m looking to play every event available on the Tour schedule,” said Labritz, who is all-exempt for regular Champions Tour contests. “I’ve got to take advantage of all the opportunities offered while I can.”
NY STATE PARKS GOLF GOES CASHLESS
Starting in 2022, New York State Parks-operated golf courses will go cashless for payments in an expansion of a policy started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. While cash payments were again allowed during the 2021 season, the cashless system is being made permanent in 2022 for reasons of efficiency, as many businesses have transitioned to debit/credit card payments only. This requirement applies to courses operated by Parks and is not in effect at courses run by concessionaires, including Saratoga Spa, Indian Hills, Springbrook Greens, Bonavista, Wellesley Island and St. Lawrence.
NICK SEITZ, FORMER MGWA PRESIDENT, PASSES AWAY
Former MGWA president (1978-79), longtime member and decorated journalist Nicholas Joseph “Nick” Seitz died February 24th in Kennebunk, ME, at age 83 after struggling with Parkinson’s Disease. Born in Topeka, KS, and a 1966 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, he worked in various positions at Golf Digest enterprises from 1967-1999, including serving as editorial director of Golf Digest and Golf World. An accomplished author, as well as a radio and TV commentator, Nick was predeceased by his beloved wife of over 60 years, Velma Jean (nee Pfannenstiel), last autumn. Sincere condolences go out to Nick’s children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. The Seitz family has requested, in honor of Nick’s memory, any donations should be made to the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS Research (bruceedwardsfoundation.org).
GOLF ALSO LOSES ‘GENTLEMAN’ TIM ROSAFORTE
James “Tim” Rosaforte III, the first journalist to be awarded honorary membership by the PGA of America, died January 11th after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 66. A native of Mount Kisco, NY, who graduated from Brewster (NY) HS and, in 1977, the University of Rhode Island, Rosaforte retired in December 2019 after a career that spanned more than 40 years in newspapers, magazines, books and television. In 2016, he was presented with the MGWA’s Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award. “Rosey” was one of the true gentlemen in journalism, a real friend to so many as he helped us enjoy the numerous people and stories of the sport. He had a knack for making everyone around him feel warm and welcome. In 2020, Rosaforte became just the 12th person to be named a PGA of America honorary member, joining a list that includes former Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, and nine-time major champion Gary Player. Rosaforte was honored with numerous awards over his career, including the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. The Honda Classic renamed its media center in his honor. He wrote for the Tampa Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Sports Illustrated and Golf Digest over his career, while also taking on golf broadcast roles with USA Network and the NBC-Golf Channel reporting team. Tim is survived by his wife Genevieve, daughters Genna (Nick) Bezek and Molly (Mason) Colling; grandchildren Graham, Finn and Saylor James; brothers Andy and wife Kim, and Michael and wife Kathi; sister Shirlyn (Scott) Malley; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family has designated that memorial donations be directed to the Nantz National Alzheimer Center-Houston (TX) Methodist, or the Tim Rosaforte Scholarship at the University of Rhode Island Foundation and Alumni Engagement in Kingston, RI.
PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.
WMGA President Lori Ann Cerullo and Patrick Donnelly, VP/General Counsel for Sirius XM Holdings and an MGA Executive Committee member, have been named to the Board of Directors of the MGWA. They will occupy the seats vacated by the retirements of longtime Board members Bill Fields and Jay Mottola. “Both Jay and Bill have made incredible contributions to golf,” said MGWA President Brian Crowell. “They have earned universal respect for their passion and dedication to the game and those who play it. The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association has been very fortunate to have their insight and guidance in the boardroom. 
We are all thankful for their years of service.” . . . MGWA member Jerry Tarde scored his eighth win overall when the Golf Writers Association of America announced the winners in its 2022 GWAA Writing Contest. Tarde took first place in the Non-Daily Columns category for his article, “What the Caddie Bow Says About Us.” The column paid homage to 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie Shota Hayafuji returning to the 18th hole some time after Matsuyama became the first player from Japan to win the Masters. Approaching the cup and lifting the flag, Hayafuji then took a deep, reverent bow clearly directed at the Augusta National course . . . 2006 MGWA Dave Marr Scholarship recipient Jenny Vrentas has left Sports Illustrated to join the New York Times as a general assignment reporter in the sports department . . . Colin Igoe has left his position as Director of Golf at The Summit at Armonk (NY), and the club currently is seeking a replacement. Igoe has signed on as the Trump Organization’s Corporate Director of Retail for the Metropolitan region . . . MGWA member Jon Olson is the new Golf Services Manager at Silver Spring CC in Ridgefield, CT . . . PGA Tour rookie Brandon Wu of Scarsdale, NY, playing in the Puerto Rico Open — an event conducted on the same dates as the limited-field Arnold Palmer Invitational — finished T3 at 13-under-par, seven shots behind the runaway winner, to earn $218,300 in prize money. For Wu, who has made the cut twice in 11 starts this season, it was his second career top 10 finish . . . Long-hitting Danny Syring of Tampa, FL, the 27-year-old grandson of former MGWA member Walt Syring and son of Kevin Syring, a 40-year PGA professional and current head pro at Deer Run G&TC in Lincoln Park, NJ, scored a pair of improbable double-eagles (3-under-par scores) February 27th on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in La Quinta, CA. Both double eagles were scores of 2 on par-5 holes. Playing in a foursome with his father and two friends, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun, Danny Syring first registered a 2 on the 11th hole, sinking a 6-iron from 200 yards. Then, on the demanding par-5 15th hole with a treacherous island green, Syring rammed home a 5-iron from 205 yards out. According to the website doubleeagleclub.org, Syring’s feat is only the third recorded instance since 1964 of two double-eagles in the same round, and both of the others were holes-in-one on short par-4s. Various quotes online peg the odds of Syring’s achievement between 1 million and 6 million to 1 . . . NEWBORN FELICITATIONS: Congratulations to Met Golf Association Communications Director Helen Farrelly and husband Brian on the January 5th birth of their son, Jack Brian Farrelly. Former MGA staffer Brian Farrelly is now Director of Outside Operations at Ridgewood CC, Paramus, NJ . . . NEW MGWA MEMBERS: Tom Coyne, The Golfer’s Journal, tom@golfersjournal.com; Casey Egan, golf course reviewer, casey@emmasalehouse.com; Andrew Fitzpatrick, Sirius XM, andrewfitzpatrick@siriusxm.com; Iain MacMillan, FanSided.com, iain@betsided.com; Liam McKeone, Minute Media/The Big Lead, liam@thebiglead.com; Frank Qasim, Fox News, frankqasim@gmail.com; Keith Stewart, Read The Line, kjstewartdof@gmail.com . . . AND WELCOME BACK: Former MGWA member George Willis, Zenger News (and longtime NY Post), who has rejoined the association, georgewillis007@gmail.com.