Knollwood Country Club 5/20/19 Outing -- Info and Signup
Metropolitan Golf Writers Association
49 Knollwood Road Elmsford, NY 10523 (914) 347-4653
To: All Metropolitan Golf Writers Association Members
From: MGWA Activities Committee (D. Berger, D. Donelson, H. Munck,
J. Olson, C. Stogel)
Date: April 27, 2019
Re: Meeting of Monday, May 20, 2019, at Knollwood Country Club
200 Knollwood Rd. Ext., Elmsford, NY.
Phone: 914-592-7411; www.kccclub.org
Chris Thomas, GM, manager@knollwoodcc.com
Jason Tejada, Events Manager, jtejada@knollwoodcc.com
Bob Miller, PGA Pro, Shop Phone: 914-592-7413; kccgolfshop@aol.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
8:30-9:15 am Arrival, bag drop
9:15-10:15 am Practice time, range area, putting green
10:30-11:30 am Inside Presentations, Q&A. Knollwood CC 125th Anniversary, club
officials Chris Thomas, GM; Jason Tejada, Events Manager;
Bob Miller, PGA Head Pro; Roger Knick, Junior Golf Hub Founder/CEO;
Al Abrams, J. Hamilton PR, al@albramsgolfsolutions.com;
Chuck Stogel, MGWA, Rules of the Day, chstogel@aol.com
11:30 am-12:30 pm Buffet luncheon
12:45 pm Assemble at carts, instructions, proceed to starting holes
1:00 pm Shotgun golf
6:00-7:00 pm Refreshments, Awards
About the Club & Course: History and names associated with Knollwood drip from the walls, rafters and tee boxes at this venerable facility. Founded as a club in 1894 with an original 5,305-yard, par-69 course --- designed by member and architect Lawrence Van Etten --- that opened in 1895, Knollwood’s layout has been revised several times with architects along the way including A.W. Tillinghast, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. Member ranks have included Cliff Roberts, co-founder of Augusta National and The Masters, and Willie Turnesa, U.S. and British Amateur champion. Older brother Mike Turnesa, an early-era PGA Tour pro, was the Club Pro and Director of Golf at Knollwood for more than 50 years. Numerous pro and elite amateur events have been played at Knollwood, including for a few years the LPGA Tour’s MasterCard International. Two of the most distinctive features on the course appear back-to-back: Hole No. 18, considered one of the best and most challenging finishing holes in golf; and a superb 126-yard par-3 19th hole for fun and settling bets that requires a tee shot over water and a ravine to a severely sloping green. The current 18-hole course, with a par of 71 and multiple tee boxes (ranging 5,638 to 6,552 yards), has more recent renovations overseen by architects Ian Andrew, Stephen Kay and Mike Weir, the most recent completed in 2018. Membership has contracted with Troon Golf for general management. (*** Please see article from Westchester Magazine at end of this notice)
Roger Knick: A PGA Professional, guest speaker Roger Knick is founder of the Junior Golf Hub, a global resource for junior golfers and college coaches, and operator of the Golf Performance Center in nearby Ridgefield, CT. He was recently named winner of the Metropolitan PGA section’s 2019 Youth Development Award.
Competition: The Quill & Tee President’s Cup competition, a handicap event, will take place (Q&T membership and USGA handicap indexes required). Prizes for the day include individual net leaders, plus nearest-to-the-pins (holes No. 3 and 16).
Caddies: Carts will be provided. Each group will have a forecaddie, to be paid by our golfers. The fee: $40 per person, which includes gratuity. If warranted and you wish to tip above that, it is OK.
Dress Code: No denim or jeans. Collared shirts tucked in. Bermuda shorts OK (no cargoes). Hats off in main clubhouse, except locker rooms.
Entries: Enter online via www.metgolfwriters.org (you must be logged in to access this page. Your username is your email, and your password is your last name with the first letter capitalized.) Or you may return the form below with a check, payable to Met Golf Writers Association, for $85 to Robin Sauerhaft (rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org, 914-347-4653), MGWA Client Administrator, 49 Knollwood Road, Elmsford, NY, 10523, by 2:00 pm, Thursday, May 16th. No refunds after that date. If you are listing playing partners for preferences, please make sure the others listed are attending.
Cancellation Policy: Please read the “MGWA Meeting/Outing Cancellation Policy” found under “Meeting and Outing Announcements” on our website (www.metgolfwriters.org).
Directions: Please go to the Knollwood website (www.kccclub.org) for directions from multiple locations.
About the 2019 MGWA Schedule:
It’s been slow going confirming dates for our schedule this season, although the venues have been confirmed. Next up: Manhattan Woods Golf Club, date TBD in late June. The gathering will feature our Quill & Tee Club Championship along with the Q&T Member-Guest. Subsequently, we will visit the Tuxedo Club on July 31, the 2019 MGWA Club of the Year, which will host our annual Better Ball tournament and MGA Four Ball qualifier. Our annual excursion over the Bethpage Black course is set for August 12th. The MGWA meeting/outing season will conclude in the fall at Hempstead G&CC on Long Island, with a date TBD, for our annual MGWA Team Shootout.
Quill & Tee Golf Club: Signups are ongoing for our Quill & Tee Golf Club, the MGWA’s club without real estate, which offers exclusive tournaments at our gatherings, special prizes, GHIN handicapping, Met Golfer magazine, entry into MGA events, and more. For more details and to sign up, please visit the MGWA web site: www.metgolfwriters.org. You must be logged in to access this page.
Knollwood Lights 125 Birthday Candles
(Reprinted from Westchester Magazine, May 2019)
By Dave Donelson
Believed to be the oldest 18-hole private golf course at the same location in the country, Knollwood Country Club celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. The history of the Elmsford club is studded with notables from America’s golden age of golf and commerce like John Archbold, John D. Rockefeller’s chief lieutenant in Standard Oil, the first president of Knollwood Country Club when it was organized in 1894 on property developed by NY attorney Augustus Gillender.
One of the original members, Lawrence Van Etten, a prominent civil engineer, laid out the first course, an 18-hole par-69 test at 5,305 yards. A.W. Tillinghast recommended a longer course and the club acquired some additional land. Before the construction began, Seth Raynor was hired to replace Tillinghast and drew up a new plan. He died before the project was completed, however, and Charles “Steamshovel” Banks finished the new course, which opened in 1927.
Knollwood was a nationally-known tournament site in the early days of the game. The first American-born golf professional, Arthur Fenn, won two invitational tournaments there in 1897. Francis Ouimet, winner of the milestone 1913 U.S. Open, played at Knollwood as did the legendary Bobby Jones, who at one time held the course record with a round of 68. The most oft-repeated legend in Westchester golf history is that Jones met with Knollwood member Clifford Roberts in the grill room to hatch the creation of Augusta National and The Masters Tournament.
Willie and Mike Turnesa, two of seven brothers who made an indelible mark on Westchester golf, were affiliated with Knollwood as both amateurs and professionals. Willie was a multiple U.S. and British Amateur winner, captain of the U.S. Walker Cup team, and President of the Metropolitan Golf Association. Brother Mike came to Knollwood as head pro in 1943 after playing on Tour for eighteen years. He played in the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934 and finished second in the PGA Championship to Ben Hogan in 1948.
But Knollwood hasn’t rested on its history. A $1.5 million restoration of the golf course was completed last year. Most of the bunkers on the course were rebuilt to match Raynor’s original design, many superfluous trees were removed, some fairways re-routed, new tee boxes built, and several greens were recontoured. Today, the Knollwood amenities include tennis courts, bocce courts, a swimming pool, and several drink and dining venues.
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Met Golf Writers Association
ENTRY FORM
(USE THIS FORM IF PAYING BY CHECK)
Monday, May 20, 2019, at Knollwood Country Club, Elmsford, NY
Name _____________________________GHIN #______________Hdcp. Index _________
_____ I am a member of Quill & Tee GC _____ I am not a member of Quill & Tee GC
Preferred pairing with others (if possible):
_________________________________________________________________
Return this form with a check for $85, payable to Met Golf Writers Association, to Robin Sauerhaft (rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org, 914-347-4653), MGWA Client Administrator, 49 Knollwood Road, Elmsford, NY 10523, by 2:00 pm, Thursday, May 16th. No refunds after that date. If you are listing playing partners for preferences, please make sure the others listed are attending.
Important: Please read the “MGWA Meeting/Outing Cancellation Policy” found under “Meeting and Outing Announcements” on our website (www.metgolfwriters.org).
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METROPOLITAN GOLF WRITERS ASSOCIATION