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).
NOTE: The MGWA office is working on adding a section to our website which will contain videos and photo galleries, and other newsy material, from our group visits to Met area clubs. We will notify everyone when this special section is activated.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR AWARDS DINNER
MGWA Members Receive Special Discount
If you attend any Met Golf Writers function as part of your membership, the Number One activity you should go to is our annual MGWA National Awards Dinner. We cannot say this enthusiastically or strenuously enough. This dinner is fast-paced, entertaining, loaded with attendees from numerous golf-affiliated realms and provides plenty of time for networking and camaraderie, in addition to raising key funds for our Association’s charitable beneficiaries.
Our 73rd annual gala is scheduled for Tuesday evening, October 6, 2026, at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ. Tickets are available now and are discounted for MGWA members. Each member may purchase up to two tickets at the reduced price of $195 each, which represents a significant discount off the regular ticket price of $425. To purchase these discounted tickets online, click here (you must be logged in as a member to access).
The list of honorees for 2026 represents some of golf’s most influential and deserving recipients: Judy Rankin, Gold Tee Award; Mike Whan, Paul Dillon Distinguished Service Award; Damon Hack, Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award; Joe LaCava and Family, Family of the Year; Ted Heins, Mary Bea Porter Award; Siwanoy Country Club, Club of the Year. Others are still to be announced.
The Dinner begins with drinks and hors d’oeuvres at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner and awards at 7:00 pm. This year’s silent auction and raffle are jam-packed with tremendous prizes. All proceeds help support the MGWA’s charitable entities, including the three Met area caddie scholarship programs, the MGA Foundation, the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship at Columbia University, plus the WMGA, Met PGA and New Jersey PGA.
We would like to see everyone at Mountain Ridge Country Club on October 6th.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
“Thanks to the MGWA podcast, I had a chance to see Gordon Andrew interview Joe LaCava prior to the Family of the Year Award at the National Awards dinner in October. Joe LaCava came across as charming, humble and self-effacing, and I could see why both Fred Couples and Tiger Woods chose him to carry their bag. He is a man with many great stories which were riveting to listen to, and I do hope he writes a book about his insider’s view of two of the great golf/sports celebrities of our time.
I also want to say how wonderful the MGWA podcasts are. Gordon Andrew and Anthony Scorcia are naturals at their jobs and show a sincere interest in their guests, which I think they all sense. So, bravo to Joe LaCava, to Gordon Andrew, to Anthony Scorcia and to Hank Gola for putting renewed energy into the MGWA. With hard work and talent, they have managed to make a great organization even better.”
— Dr. Thomas Ferraro, MGWA member
MGWA MEMBERS FACEBOOK PAGE
Here is a note from MGWA President Hank Gola: “We have started an interactive MGWA Members Facebook page, allowing any member of our Association to post, pending administrative approval. If you have a Facebook account, you have been invited. This will allow members (and only members) to post items of interest from outings, etc., to ask general questions and to communicate with one another. It is separate from the MGWA Facebook page where we post news, etc. for followers, including non-MGWA members. If you have not yet accepted the invitation, please do so.”
MET PGA: CAMERON YOUNG SCHOLARSHIP
The Metropolitan PGA Foundation has announced the creation of the Cameron Young Scholarship, established in 2026, to support the educational aspirations of the children and grandchildren of PGA Members within the Met Section. Made possible through the generosity of PGA Tour professional Cameron Young and the Young Family, the scholarship reflects the strong connection between the Youngs and the Metropolitan PGA community. Cameron’s championship journey began in the Met Section, where he grew up playing junior golf through the Metropolitan PGA Junior Tour while his father David Young served as head professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.
Beginning with the 2026 application cycle, the program will award deserving high school and college students who are children or grandchildren of PGA Members in the Met Section. Recipients will be selected based on academic achievement, financial need, leadership, extracurricular involvement and personal aspirations.
ECHO LAKE CROWNS PRESIDENT’S CUP WINNERS
Our 2026 spring meeting and outing took place on May 19th at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, NJ, drawing nearly 80 MGWA members for a mid-morning indoor meeting and afternoon shotgun golf which included our 22nd annual Quill & Tee GC President’s Cup tournament. The day featured both a range demo session and indoor presentation by Josh Greenly of PXG Golf, and a presentation from Christian Brunone of Dunning Golf. Both PXG and Dunning provided a multitude of product as giveaways and as tournament prizes. Echo Lake GM Greg Colombo and head golf pro Ray Ferrari were superb hosts, while course renovations architect Steve Weisser of Rees Jones Inc. delivered a power point presentation about the course history and the recent ELCC course work.
Quill and Tee winners in the President’s Cup, contested with full handicaps, were Bob Dorgan (pictured at right, with Chuck Stogel) in the A Flight, Liam McKeone in the B Flight and Zach Hartmann in the C Flight. Winners in the Nearest to the Pin contests — Hole No. 17, 144 yards: Lokesh Reddy, Jon Lange, Rich Poggi, Tony Salva, Joe Ruggiero; Hole No. 3, 120 yards: Bill Pennington, Craig Burrows, Tom Guidice.
Here is a link to the Podcast interview by MGWA President Hank Gola with ELCC pro Ray Ferrari and architect Steve Weisser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXMlAeV5w7s&t=4s
STOGEL, DeMARCO TOP Q&T CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
The MGWA group visit to Montammy Golf Club in Alpine, NJ, on July 13th drew nearly 90 attendees with the agenda boasting our usual mid-morning indoor meeting and the afternoon offering a shotgun golf event highlighted by the 24th Quill & Tee Golf Club championships alongside our annual Q&T Member-Guest. The club proved an eye-opener to many of our members – including some of our long-time Met Writers — with its impressively expansive clubhouse and its championship “hidden gem” of a course, both of which underwent recent improvements. Our agenda featured a demo session on the range and an indoor presentation by Pat Reilly of Cobra Golf, who also supplied various product as prizes for our golfers. Also providing informative indoor presentations, with lively Q&A follow-ups, were Montammy GM Greg Devino and Director of Golf Jason Fiore, plus course renovations architect Bryce Swanson of Rees Jones Inc.
Prevailing in the Q&T men’s Championship Flight for the fourth time was Yale Stogel (pictured, center) while Donna DeMarco (pictured) captured the women’s honor for the third time. Lee Walker (pictured, at left) was tops in the A Flight while Andy Lavine (pictured, at right) led in the B Flight . . . Our winners in the Member-Guest better-ball competition, which drew 26 twosomes and was contested with full handicaps: Yale Stogel/Marty Pitiger, first place; Lokesh Reddy/Blake Kerrick, second place; Eric Berger/Ron Freydberg, third place . . . Nearest to the Pin winners — Hole No. 5, 121 yards: Andy Hasaj, Mike Ruggiero, Anthony Scorcia, Michael Kimmel; Hole No. 13, 165 yards: Woody Lashen, Robert Ebert, Peter Rosenberger, Greg Louw.
Here is a link to the podcast interview by MGWA President Hank Gola with MGC GM Greg Devino and Director of Golf Jason Fiore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY9BPv0rvNU
PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.
Recently, PIX 11 TV News interviewed sports psychologist and MGWA member Dr. Tom Ferraro about the New York Mets and their woeful losing ways in this 2026 MLB season. Ferraro provided psychological insight into the Mets maladies in a video interview that lasts just under five minutes. Here is a link (skip the advertising opener) to access that PIX 11 interview: www.youtube.com/@tomferraro400 . . . New Board member Billy Condon has been added to the MGWA Social Media Committee . . . MGWA member Matt Ward has been added to our Dinner Committee . . . The PGA of America has named Scott Kmiec as Executive Director of the PGA of America REACH Foundation, the Association’s charitable organization. He will be based at the home of the PGA in Frisco, TX. Kmiec spent 16 years as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Section PGA and New Jersey Golf Foundation . . . NEW MEMBER: Colin Burns, former GM at Winged Foot GC and now a club 
consultant, email colinburnsconsulting.com . . . RETIREMENT: Mike Diffley, (pictured) head golf pro at Pelham Country Club since 1988, plans to retire at the end of the year. Raised in Queens, NY, and a graduate of Christ the King HS and St. John’s University, Diffley played various mini-tours before joining the club pro ranks. A former Big East Conference golf champion who has competed in both the USGA Junior and Senior Open events, Diffley’s playing victories include the MGA Ike, Met Open and Westchester PGA. He was named Met PGA Teacher of the Year in 2013 and was honored with the Met PGA Education Award in 2016. Although he will no longer oversee the golf shop at Pelham, he will continue to be affiliated with the club. Here is a link to a variety of Met PGA tributes to Diffley: https://youtu.be/8dtbJ6bULsE . . . OBIT: The MGWA mourns the loss of longtime Baltusrol Director of Golf Doug Steffen, who passed away in April at the age of 76 after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia. An accomplished player and multi-awarded club professional, and a good friend of the Met Writers, Steffen – who also served as golf pro at Middle Bay and Fresh Meadow on Long Island – was Director of Golf at Baltusrol for 20 years . . . If you are interested in the year-by-year winners of our annual MGWA and Quill & Tee GC major tournaments, you can find them online at our Met Writers website. Additionally, our office in Elmsford, NY, has a wall plaque with the men and women winners of our annual Quill & Tee Red Hoffman club championship. Arthur “Red” Hoffman, a sportswriter for more than 60 years — first with the Newark Evening News and then the Star Ledger — was one of the Met area’s most knowledgeable and prolific golf journalists who died in 2005 at the age of 86. President of the MGWA in 1970-71, Hoffman for more than 11 years handled publicity for noted course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Upcoming MGWA Schedule:
Tuesday, August 4th – Siwanoy Country Club, Eastchester/Bronxville, NY. Founded in 1901, Siwanoy in 2026 is celebrating its 125th year as a club. The current course, designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1913, succeeded two early nine-holers and sits within the Town of Eastchester and adjacent to the Village of Bronxville. Robert Trent Jones provided an upgrade to the course in 1952. Over the past few years, a renovation Master Plan has been ongoing by Mike DeVries, with further work slated for this fall. A 38,000 square-foot clubhouse upgrade took place in 2020. The par-71 course, with numerous elevated tees and compact greens guarded by severe bunkers, has five sets of tees ranging from 4,742 to 6,736 yards. Guest speakers: Siwanoy club officials; architect Mike DeVries (video); author Dave Donelson; Golf Heritage Society: George Petro, President. Tournament: Quill & Tee Better Ball Championship (with handicaps).
Thursday, August 27th — Preakness Hills Country Club, Wayne, NJ. Founded in 1926, Preakness Hills is proudly celebrating its Centennial this season. The original golf course was designed by Willie Tucker and opened in 1929. It has undergone several renovations over the years, including craftings by Brian Silva in the 1980s and Ron Forse in the early 2000s, and most recently a modernization by Nagle Design Works that produced new and expanded tee boxes, and tree removal. The terrain is moderately hilly, with mostly large greens and water in play on seven holes. There are six sets of tees with par varied at 70 or 72, and the course stretching 5,405 to 6,836 yards. Guest speakers: Club officials, Nagle Design architect (tentative). Tournament: MGWA Team Shootout (with handicaps).
Tuesday, October 6th — Mountain Ridge Country Club, West Caldwell, NJ. 73rd MGWA National Awards Dinner. Honorees to be announced.
Tuesday, October 13th — Bethpage State Park, Black Course, Farmingdale, NY. Golf holes will feature final day pin locations from Singles matches in the 2025 Ryder Cup.