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). NOTE: Photos from our visit to Hackensack GC are not up yet but will be posted soon.
FINAL REMINDER: MONSTER GOLF DEADLINE IS THURSDAY
For those who have yet to register and wish to attend next week’s MGWA visit to Resorts World Catskills new Monster Golf Club and course, the deadline to sign up is tomorrow, Thursday, May 30th, at 1:00 pm. Our morning meeting and afternoon golf outing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 4th. There is an optional overnighter and group dinner available on Monday evening, June 3rd. The par-72 Monster course, with tees stretching from 5,050 to 7,327 yards, was designed by Rees Jones Inc. Project architect Bryce Swanson headed the design team and supervised construction, and will speak at our MGWA morning meeting, along with RWC Director of Golf Uri Jimenez. Our optional tournament on Tuesday is an MGWA two-person Pinehurst, but everyone is welcome to play golf even without entering the competition. For full details about our visit, and to register if you haven’t, please log on to our website (metgolfwriters.org), then access the section about “Meetings and Outings.”
MGWA AWARDS DINNER SET FOR OCTOBER 7th AT BRAE BURN
New Video to Help Promote the Dinner
The MGWA has a new, updated one-minute video promoting our National Awards Dinner. Here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/EVD6djAGtA4. Our 72nd MGWA dinner is scheduled for Monday, October 7, 2024 at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, NY. Our Executive Committee is in the process of determining honorees for the dinner. Our Dinner Committee is working on ways to boost attendance. One factor that would help is for all our 200+ members to support the MGWA’s No. 1 activity by coming to the well-known, well-respected and absolutely entertaining event. The annual dinner is our primary fundraising mechanism. Discounted tickets are available for MGWA members. More information about awards and the dinner will be forthcoming as the season progresses.
KESTNER MATCHES RECORD IN PGA CLUB PRO EVENT
Darrell Kestner of Glen Cove, N.Y., the Director of Golf at Deepdale GC on Long Island, equaled a record when he teed it up on April 28th for his 30th appearance in the PGA Professional Championship in Frisco, TX., tying Jim White of Nebraska for most starts in the event.
“It’s been a dream come true to play in this and to win this championship so long ago,” said Kestner. “Then to play for so long, see all my peers and then also see my assistants go on to win these events and play in them, it makes you proud. I’m honored to be a PGA Member and be a contestant in this for so long.”
Although he missed the cut after 36 holes this time around, Kestner has recorded 16 made cuts — including a victory in 1996 — since his debut in 1987. His final-round 67 and 72-hole score of 271 in 1996 at PGA West in La Quinta, CA, are both PGA Professional Championship records.
“It’s the premier golf championship that a PGA pro can play in,” said Kestner. “I know I only have a couple left. I wouldn’t really play if I didn’t think I could make the cut, or hopefully make it to a PGA Championship.”
Of the 10 Met area club pros who made the cut and played all 72 holes, two professionals — Andy Svoboda of Roslyn, NY, and Matt Dobyns of the Meadow Brook Club — qualified and competed in the PGA Championship in mid-May at Valhalla GC in Louisville, KY.
AUTHOR FERRARO DEBUTS NEW SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY BOOK
Dr. Tom Ferraro, an MGWA member and psychoanalysis specialist in private practice on Long Island, has a new book coming out this summer. Published by Routledge, the title is: Athletes and Their Mechanisms of Defense: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Sport Psychology.
“The book explores the way athletes from different nations naturally cope with stress,” writes Ferraro. “As an example, South Koreans have a remarkable ability to suppress emotions and pain in general. Tiger Woods also used suppression and he learned this trait from his mom and his Buddhist training. Americans use the defense of self-idealization (think American Exceptionalism) and Hispanics use humor (Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguez).”
A syndicated columnist whose previous book was titled, Unpacking Depth Sport Psychology: Case Studies in the Unconscious, Ferraro frequently works with amateur and professional athletes, and teams. At 192 pages, his new book will be available for pre-order after July 11th, with shipping after August 1st. It is priced at $44.95 in paperback, $170 in hardcover.
HACKENSACK SHOWCASES COURSE RENOVATIONS
Papa, Hartmann Tops in Q&T President’s Cup
Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, NJ, proved a truly wonderful and thoroughly accommodating host on May 14th for the Met Golf Writers initial meeting and golf outing in 2024. Club President Tim Lane, Grounds Committee Chair Michael McGovern, General Manager Norm Forsyth, Director of Golf Mike Dezic, Head Pro Greg Beringer, Course Superintendent Rich Lane and Outside Operations Manager Denis Sweeny all were perfect hosts, caring for our group with sumptuous food & beverage, and providing a spectacularly renovated golf course for our 60+ attendees.
“Every year, for several years now, we have kept our course open while renovating a few holes here and there on what is really a Charles “Steamshovel” Banks course, and not a Seth Raynor (as is sometimes attributed),” said President Lane. “Each year, the course has gotten better, and it is reflected in how impressed our members are. The course is really seamless in its routing now. And our club is committed to further investing in the course as we go forward.”
One of the significant changes, suggested and put in place by the Rees Jones Inc. design team in 2018, was to change the opening two holes from a par 5-4 opening to a 4-5 beginning for holes No. 1 and 2. “In truth, the par 5 was relatively easy. The opening is much stronger now,” said Lane.
“There are elements at Hackensack that are wholly unique to Charles Banks,” explained RJI project architect Steve Weisser, one of our three main speakers at the MGWA morning meeting session. “It’s fascinating to look at his holes individually, and as a continuous unit. Working from old photos, we could see that many of the original greens had changed and many of the bunkers had been overrun (since 1928), and the course was ‘lost’ over time. But it was great to work with Hackensack, which had a real commitment from the club to restore this historic tract.”
Plans are already underway to mark the 125th anniversary of the New Jersey State Golf Association in 2025, related Rebecca Corzo, NJSGA Communications Manager. Announcement of special activities for 2025 will be forthcoming. Presently, the New Jersey group is “looking to grow our public membership. We have a varied schedule of special events for public golfers this season, including discounted golf outings.”
Thirty-seven of our 60 golfers took part in the featured competition for the day, our annual Quill & Tee President’s Cup, a tournament played with full handicaps. Our field was separated into 18 golfers in the A Flight and 19 in the B Flight. C.J. Papa (pictured, left) won in the A Flight, posting 82-12—70; Jozef Thur was second on a match of cards with 80-10—70; and third went to Bob Dorgan with 79-8—71. The B Flight champ was MGWA newcomer Zach Hartmann (pictured, right) with 100-29—71; second was Frank Qasim with 92-19—73; and third on a match of cards went to newcomer Joe Zappulla with 102-28—74. Nearest to the pin winners on Hole No. 6 were Eric Berger, Joel Lieberman and Katy Lange. Nearest to the pin prizes on Hole No. 17 went to Chris Sulavik, Joe Zappulla and Jon Silverberg. It should be noted that Qasim’s runner-up status in the B Flight was aided by a hole-in-one on No. 12 (right). A downhill Redan, Qasim notched his first ace on the 172-yard hole with an 8-iron. This was the second ace in MGWA golf annals, preceded by 
Pat Hannigan’s hole-in-one several years ago on the 136-yard uphill, blind shot eighth hole at Alpine Country Club in Demarest, NJ. For his spectacular feat, Hackensack GC is sending Qasim a framed photograph of Hole No. 12.
PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.
Jason Caron, the head pro at the Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, NY, shot a 5-under final round 66 on May 26th at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, MI, to finish tied for fourth in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a Champions Tour event. His 72-hole total of 12-under-par was five shots behind winner Richard Bland, representing the best finish by a club pro in the event since Roy Vucinich’s T4 in 2002 and the second-best all-time to Tom Wargo’s 1993 victory. For his effort, Caron brought $154,000 in prize money back to Long Island . . . CLUB/COURSE NEWS: Hudson National GC in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, recently reopened after extensive renovations planned and overseen by the Fazio Design group. The course, situated on a rolling hilltop overlooking the Hudson River, was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1996. The club closed the course last summer for major changes to greens, bunkers, grassing and irrigation, with LaBar Golf Renovations handling the work. Some greens have been moved, some have added contouring, some have been resized and reshaped. More than 75 bunkers have been rebuilt, while some fairway bunkers have been moved or new ones added . . . The Golf Club of Purchase (NY), like Hudson National a golf-only facility that also debuted in 1996, will close its club and course this summer after August 1st for major course work. Crafted by Jack Nicklaus, Purchase features a tree-lined, championship course with a variety of tee carries, water hazards, varied routing and undulating greens. Purchase plans to reopen in early 2025 . . . NEW MGWA MEMBERS: John Brown, Freedom Broadcast Group, jb@freedombroadcast.tv . . . Russell Muccigrosso, Freedom Broadcast Group, ourgangproductions@aol.com . . . Mike Rosenstein, News 12 New Jersey, michael.rosenstein@news12.com . . . Robert Mincieli, CBS Sports, rmincielir@cbs.com . . . Matt Adams, NBC Sports, mattadamsfol@gmail.com. . . . Garrett Wasson, Wasson Golf Design, garrett.wasson@gmail.com . . . Dave Chmiel, DC Creative Services, davidgchmiel@gmail.com. . . . Brian Lynch, ESPN, brian.n.lynch@espn.com.