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 all our MGWA meetings and outings are posted on our website (metgolfwriters.org), including this summer’s gatherings at Westchester Hills and Mount Kisco, plus pictures from the Writer Cup at Forsgate CC. There are foursome photos, action photos, meeting photos and more. To access, log on to our website with your user ID and password and click on Meetings & Outings, then open the photo gallery you wish to see (photos are free to copy). Recaps of our summer meetings, and the Writer Cup, are included in this Newsletter.
PLEASE, DO NOT MISS DEMO SESSIONS AT FOREST HILL
For all those who are attending our get-together later this week at Forest Hill Field Club in Bloomfield, NJ, we ask that you arrive in time for and attend the Demo Sessions on the range which will be conducted from 9-10:30 am prior to our indoor meeting. It has been a while since we have scheduled on-range demo sessions, but we are looking forward to returning such segments to our regular agenda for our seasonal outings to enhance the educational and informational experience we may provide. It is your attendance and participation in these demo sessions which attracts our guest presenters to join us each season.
Both equipment company More Golf and golf fitness/lifestyle outfit GolfForever will have representatives on the range at Forest Hill. They will be happy to demo their products, answer any questions you may have, tell you more about themselves. Additionally, both companies will be providing valuable prizes for our attendees when we gather for refreshments after golf.
REDDY, BERGER LEAD Q&T QUALIFIER AT WESTCHESTER HILLS
A field of 46 golfers, plus several members who were attending just the meeting and luncheon, took part in our gathering on August 10th at Westchester Hills GC in White Plains, NY. Guest speakers included: club manager Josh Lowney (left), on behalf of Troon Management and WHGC; architect Bryce Swanson of Rees Jones Inc., who crafted and is overseeing course renovations; and Steve Mays, president of Founders Group International, the largest ownership consortium in the Myrtle Beach, SC, area.
Lowney outlined that Westchester Hills is part of a 400+ club management umbrella for Troon whereby membership provides “member for a day” access to other clubs in the realm. He then explained that the WHGC membership had approved a two-phase upgrade to club facilities. The first phase at the club, which was founded in 1913, consisted of numerous modernized improvements to the clubhouse. The second and most recent phase was to bring in the Rees Jones group to design and enact a major renovation to the venerable par-70 course. At the same time, other areas of the club such as the pool complex, tennis courts and short game practice area also received considerable attention. “The camaraderie among our members is very friendly,” said Lowney. “This is where people meet and become friends. New members are heartily welcomed. The golf course, naturally, is a major attraction. With the work that has been done, it will keep you interested, and challenged, throughout.”
Swanson explained how, over time, many of the area’s older courses have experienced some deterioration. For many clubs, dating back 80 to 100 years, irrigation has been a big problem. “Westchester Hills reached out to us, and I found the possibilities really interesting,” said Swanson, who credited grounds superintendent Andy Thompson for his input and assistance. “For one, I like the course ‘quirkiness.’ But among the problems was that the greens had shrunk. They had become really small. Essentially, the club asked us to provide a ‘new’ golf experience with the feel of the ‘old’ course.” Along with expansion and restoration of the greens and surrounds, bunkers were reshaped and some relocated. Closely mown runoffs were added, along with fescue backdrops. Fairways were expanded. “The course has a new look, a traditional feel and it should be ‘fun’ for all levels of play.”
With 21 facilities in its portfolio, Founders Group International represents 25% of the 60-mile-long Myrtle Beach golf market, which — after a course building boom — has seen a depletion of area courses over the past 15 years. Founded in 2014, nearly half of FGI’s courses have undergone recent renovations to upgrade both course and support facilities. Mays (pictured right) revealed that coming out of the pandemic, 2021 represented “a huge year” for Myrtle Beach, with 2.3 million golf rounds overall. “Myrtle Beach focuses on packaged visits, melding travel, hotels and golf. In the last 10 years there has been a transformation from smaller, individual beach hotels to a huge influx of large, branded lodging properties, all offering packaged plans. Going forward, we are optimistic Myrtle Beach will continue to compete in a competitive travel and golf industry.”
Lokesh Reddy and Eric Berger (pictured left) led all twosomes who took part in our annual Quill & Tee/MGWA Better Ball tournament. The duo posted a net 66, which also was tops in the Q&T qualifying for the 45th Met Golf Association Four Ball Championship (formerly known as the Met Net). Runners-up with a net 67 were Jon Olson and Dan Berger, while Michael Cohen and Jim Krajicek placed third at 68. In the MGWA division, Chris Lane and Mike Adamucci placed first with a net 67. Nearest to the Pin winners on Hole No. 3 were Eric Berger, Brian Giuffra and Bill Fullard. Nearest to the Pin on Hole No. 16 were Tony Salva, Jon Silverberg and Chris Lane. Winners in the drawing for two Myrtle Beach foursome golf packages provided by FGI were C.J. Papa and Joe Ruggiero.
For their victory, Reddy and Berger advanced to one of the MGA’s sectional qualifiers at Soldier Hill GC in Emerson, NJ, where they finished tied for 12th in the net category with a 2-under-par 69. Their gross better ball 79 was tied for 10th. The MGA Four Ball Championship will be contested October 19th at The Summit Club at Armonk (NY). As a related historical note, back in the third MGA Met Net in 1979, current Quill & Tee members Yale Stogel and Chuck Stogel, representing Willow Ridge CC in Harrison, NY, were the sectional qualifying medalists at Salem (NY) GC, then placed third in the championship finals at Westchester Country Club’s West course. For some perspective, at the outset of the event with the local club qualifying, more than 2,000 golfers comprising 1,000+ twosomes compete annually in the MGA tournament.
MOUNT KISCO PREVIEWS RENOVATIONS AT MGWA GATHERING
Mount Kisco (NY) CC was the venue on August 30th for our most recent meeting and outing, which attracted 72 golfers for the day. The hospitality, service, and food and beverage provided to the MGWA were nonpareil. Club management and staff had every visitor feeling as if they were club members. MKCC president Vinny Nagler and vice president Paul McCarthy spent the entire day with us, joined us for golf and even for a lavish session of food and drinks after golf. We must also give credit for the knockout arrangements to club manager Todd Zorn, events manager Christina Simon and certainly to head golf professional Kevin Ausserlochner (right).
At the indoor meeting prior to a buffet luncheon, our featured speaker was architect Stephen Kay (left), who has crafted a renovation plan for parts of the course. A few renovations had begun before our visit, with the bulk of the task beginning the week after. “They did some renovations years ago, but they reduced the flash for the bunkers. We want to bring the flash back and make it playable for all skills and all ages.” Kay & Co. also will be adding some fairway bunkers — “the course really doesn’t have many fairway bunkers” — or adjusting some that do exist, along with expanding some tees and widening some fairways.
As we usually do each season, our Quill & Tee club championship event in flights and a Q&T Member-Guest tournament, were conducted concurrently. A field of 38, divided into four flights, competed in the club championship, which measures gross scoring. Yale Stogel shot a 3-over-par 74 to lead the Championship Flight, with Michael Ceriello second at 78 on a match of cards with third place Tony Salva. Best in the A Flight was Dan Berger at 80, followed by Lokesh Reddy at 81 and Eric Berger at 85. Peter Rosenberger won in the C Flight at 101. In the new Senior Gold Flight, Jon Silverberg was first at 84, Mike Beckerich second at 86 and Jim Krajicek third at 88. Flight winners Berger, Stogel, Silverberg and Rosenberger are pictured below.
A field of 24 twosomes competed in the Quill & Tee Member-Guest, using a net better ball format. Walter Bagley and guest Jan Dorenbosch placed first with a 10-under 61; Dan Berger and guest Michael Caminiti were second at 62; and, on a match of cards at 64, Yale Stogel and guest Teddy Chasanoff placed third. Nearest to the Pin on Hole No. 4 were Jon Lange, Michael Caminiti and Pat Hannigan; Nearest to the Pin on Hole No. 10 were Yale Stogel, Kevin Mendik and Doug Goodman. Pat Hannigan was the winner in a drawing for a set of new Staff wedges provided by Wilson Golf.
NJ/PA TOPS NY/CT, AGAIN, IN FORSGATE’S WRITER CUP
Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, NJ, has hosted 14 Writer Cup tournaments, including this year’s outing on July 28th, and the composite team representing New Jersey and Pennsylvania outshone a counterpart group from New York and Connecticut now for the 11th time in this historic series. A field of 60 golfers — including many MGWA members — took part in a day of festivities that included a Skills Competition and Golf Professional Clinic in the morning, afternoon shotgun golf, barbecue lunch on the course and a lavish dinner après golf. Chris Schiavone, head of the Metropolitan Golf Group ownership team, and 
Carolyn McKenzie Andrews, Director of Golf, proved consummate hosts as the media traversed the par-71 layout designed by Charles Banks — one of two courses at Forsgate — that opened in 1931. The team scoring factored in the 12 lowest net scores and five lowest gross scores to reach the team totals, with NJ/PA prevailing 1,279 to 1,303. Individual winners on the day: L.A. Parker, Skills; Jamie Gacos (left), Nearest to the Pin; Erik Matuszewski (right), low net (69); Chris Faytok, low gross (77). The 2022 Writer Cup was organized and managed by On Course Strategies, Westport, CT, whose principals are MGWA members Jane Dally and Pat Norton.
PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.
MGWA member Eric Berger and his son Drew Berger carded a 3-under-par net 68 to finish tied for first on August 17th in the Westchester Golf Association division of the annual MGA Parent-Child tournament at Greenbrook CC in North Caldwell, NJ. Conducted with a Pinehurst format, the Bergers finished T3 in the overall MGA division . . . There is an interesting and very readable profile of former Leewood GC (Eastchester, NY) golf professional, touring pro, historian and memorabilia collector George Lewis, 85 and now retired, in the Summer 2022 issue of Golfing Magazine-Long Island/NY Metro. Written by Mary Fran Gleason, the article features Lewis’ amateur and professional background, with a special focus on his experiences growing up on and his views of Shelter Island CC on Long Island (golfingmagli.com) . . . Met club pros who qualified for the national PGA Senior Professional Championship October 13th-16th in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM, include 2022 Met PGA Senior champion Del Ponchock of Hudson National GC, runner-up Phil Cardwell of Rockville Links, plus Dave Fusco of Patriot Hills GC, John Schmoll of Burning Tree CC, John Bushka of Aspetuck Valley CC and Carl Alexander of GC of Purchase . . . Met-area assistant pros Alex Beach of Westchester Country Club, Harrison, NY, and Frank Bensel of Century CC, Purchase, NY, were members of the PGA of America’s club pro team that defeated a counterpart team from Great Britain & Ireland in the 30th PGA Cup matches held earlier this month in Surrey, England . . . Aliea Clark, a graduate student at New York University in Manhattan, reached the final of the 35th USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Fort Myers, FL, last week before losing to Krissy Carman of Oregon . . . Tickets are on sale and volunteers are being sought for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship June 22-25, 2023, at Baltusrol GC in Springfield, NJ. For more information: 2023wpga@pgahq.com . . . The World Golf Hall of Fame will relocate in 2024 from St. Augustine, FL, to Pinehurst (NC) Resort as part of the new U.S. Golf Association complex built there. The Hall of Fame originally was established in 1974 at Pinehurst before moving to Florida in 1998. The current facility will close in late 2023 and reopen in North Carolina in early 2024. Hall of Fame inductions will be held at Pinehurst in 2024 and 2029 when U.S. Opens are scheduled to be played there . . . OBITS: James Jond, former head pro at Willow Ridge CC in Harrison, NY, for 20 years, who also had been an assistant in the Met area at North Shore and Metropolis, passed away this summer at age 68. A native of Queens, NY, and a collegiate golfer at the University of Florida, Jond lived in Rye Brook, NY, for the past 24 years. He is survived by his children Jennifer and Michael Jond . . . After a valiant battle with leukemia, Paul Ramee, 53, a former member of the Seton Hall University men’s golf team and father of recent golfer/graduate Hunter Ramee, passed away in June in Warren, CT. Ramee was the Lead Coach for the Golf Channel Academy at Bull’s Bridge GC South Kent, CT. He has been recognized as one of Golf Digest’s “Best Teachers” in the state of Connecticut and, in 2016 was named the Connecticut PGA Section Teacher of the Year. Ramee had also served as an assistant at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, N.J., and at Oakmont (PA) CC and had been the head pro at The Park CC in Williamsville, NY. He is survived by his wife Tracey, and sons Hunter, Owen and Oliver.