MGWA October 2019 Newsletter

METROPOLITAN GOLF WRITERS ASSOCIATION

OCTOBER 2019 NEWSLETTER

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).

MANHATTAN WOODS HOSTS SEASON-ENDING GATHERING

Team Shootout, Quill &Tee Championship Highlight Competition

Our final MGWA gathering of the 2019 season is scheduled for Tuesday, October 15^th, at Manhattan Woods Golf Club in West Nyack, NY. MWGC, which opened in 1999, features a par-71 parkland course designed by Gary Player that is considered challenging but fair with five sets of tees ranging from 5,090 to 7,110 yards. Manhattan Woods is easily accessible via the Palisades Parkway; it is just around the corner from Exit 7.

Two competitions will be contested concurrently at Manhattan Woods: Our annual autumn MGWA Team Shootout and our Quill & Tee Club Championship in flights. Because of the Q&T event, which was postponed when our July trip to The Tuxedo Club was curtailed by inclement weather, the format for the Shootout will be a conventional best two balls of foursome rather than a two best balls Texas scramble. As is traditional for the Team Shootout, our team names generally represent light, even comical, callings.

Featured guest presenter for the day will be Tyler Stanulonis, Marketing Support Manager for Casio America, who will display the company’s Pro Trek Smart WSD-F30 Smart Watch (www.casio.com/products). Several of the watches will be offered as prizes.

The deadline to sign up for the Manhattan Woods gathering is this Thursday, October 10^th, by 2:00 pm. If possible, please sign up at least a day or two earlier. Single golfers are, of course, welcome to attend and play golf. If you are a single or more than one but without a full team, please indicate such on the signup form and we will look to pair others to make a full team of four.

PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC

Jon Silverberg and Jeff Neuman, representing the MGWA’s Quill & Tee GC, combined for a 2-under-par net better ball of 70 on September 23^rd at Salem (NY) GC in a sectional qualifier for the Met Golf Association’s 43rd annual MGA/Met Life Four-Ball Championship finals. The Q&T duo, who tied for 14^th in the net segment, just missed qualifying for the finals on October 28^th at Huntington (NY) CC by two strokes . . . Kira Provenzano has joined the MGA’s Member Services staff at Golf Central in Elmsford, NY, as Manager of Membership Development, a new position. She was most recently Director of Member Services and Communication at Old Marsh GC in Palm Beach Gardens, FL . . . The MGA Foundation has announced the creation of the Jay Mottola Scholarship to commemorate the longtime former MGA Executive Director along with his contributions and support of golf on all levels. As explained by the MGA, the “JMS is a significant scholarship, available for four years of undergraduate study, awarded to a deserving candidate … [who is] an outstanding caddie or young person who works in service to golf in the Met area.” High school students must qualify for financial need and be in good academic standing, with strong recommendations. Children of members at private clubs are not eligible. The first JMS, for the 2020-21 academic year, will be announced sometime prior to March 1, 2020. For further info, including the application process, visit the MGA website (www.mgagolf.org) . . .  The U.S. team comprised of club pros, including three from the Met area, rallied on September 29^th at Omni Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas, to win 8 of 10 singles matches against counterpart pros from Great Britain & Ireland, and thus captured the biennial PGA Cup matches with an overall score of 14-12. The U.S. team included Alex Beach of Westchester CC, Jason Caron of Mill River and Danny Balin of Fresh Meadow . . . Frank Bensel Jr., veteran Assistant Pro at Century CC, Purchase, NY, finished tied for second on October 5^th in the PGA of America’s Senior Professional Championship for club pros. Also contested at Omni Barton Creek, Bensel, the 54-hole leader, totaled a 12-under 274 for 72 holes, four shots back of winner Scott Hebert of Traverse City, MI . . . OBIT: Former MGWA president and noted broadcaster Jack Whitaker passed away August  18^th at home in Devon, PA, of natural causes. He was 95. A decorated World War II veteran who was wounded in the Normandy campaign, Whitaker – who was MGWA president 1981-83 –  covered both news and sports around the world, and was well-regarded for his thoughtful commentaries. A multiple Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, he worked for CBS and ABC networks, among other entities, covering numerous top events, with a particular passion for golf. He was banned from broadcasting the Masters on CBS for six seasons (1967-72) after his comment calling the Augusta National fans descending on a three-way playoff in 1966 a “mob” offended tournament chairman Clifford Roberts. A memorial service is scheduled Friday, October 11^th, in Ardmore, PA.

WEATHER IMPACTS TUXEDO, WAS GREAT AT BETHPAGE

The MGWA held two gatherings over the summer: The Tuxedo Club in July, Bethpage State Park in August. Inclement weather with the threat of thunder and lightning first interrupted play at Tuxedo and, after play resumed, struck again and wiped out the rest of the day. A full field of 18 foursomes turned out at Tuxedo with both the Quill & Tee Member-Guest and the Q&T Club Championship scheduled as competition. With the Member-Guest unable to conclude on course, the gift certificates obtained as prizes were distributed via a drawing of names. Meanwhile, the Q&T Club Championship was postponed until October 15^th at Manhattan Woods.

Guest speakers at Tuxedo included Jim LaFratte, co-Founder of Core Golf Performance in Bergen County, NJ, and Tuxedo Head Golf Professional Chris Muldoon. Both speakers provided informative talks to the group, and the Q&A sessions were lively. The Tuxedo Club, with its fairly new golf-house at the course, proved a marvelous host with sumptuous food and beverage.

Meanwhile, our Bethpage gathering drew 64 intrepid golfers to the Black course plus a foursome playing on the Red course, all enjoying a sunny, warm summer day. Guest speaker at Bethpage was John Handley, the PGA of America’s Director of Sales & Marketing for the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. He related that the PGA Championship in May on the Black course drew an average of 40,000 spectators per day. For the Ryder Cup at Bethpage in 2024, where demand is expected to exceed available tickets, the PGA will conduct a drawing for public tickets. “The popularity of the Ryder Cup continues to grow,” said Handley. “Both for regular tickets and corporate participation. In fact, we expect an unprecedented demand for corporate hospitality in 2024 when the event comes to the Metropolitan area.”

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