MGWA April 2020 Newsletter

METROPOLITAN GOLF WRITERS ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2020

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).

MGWA NATIONAL AWARDS DINNER CANCELED

It is with regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 MGWA National Awards Dinner due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The Association’s 69th awards presentations were originally scheduled for Monday, June 22, at the Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, NY. The Dinner is being rescheduled for 2021 at the Marriott on a date to be announced. Our Dinner Committee is currently contacting the honorees who had been invited to attend this year with the news that the 2020 Dinner has been canceled, along with an invitation to attend and accept their respective awards next year.

Our National Awards Dinner is the longest-running and often the largest golf dinner held annually in the U.S. All of golf’s governing bodies --- the USGA, PGA of America, LPGA and PGA Tour --- actively support the Dinner, and up to 600 industry leaders, media, local golfers and golf groups attend. Formed in 1952, the MGWA continues to serve the game by honoring outstanding champions and contributors, promoting golf journalism, and raising money for the caddie scholarship programs of Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester/Fairfield, the MGA Foundation and the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship at Columbia University. To date, over $2 million has been raised for these charitable endeavors.

The list of past Gold Tee Award recipients --- the MGWA's highest honor --- reads like a Who's Who of golf luminaries: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Patty Berg, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam among others. Recent Gold Tee Award winners include Fred Couples, Nick Price, Davis Love III, Mark O’Meara and Padraig Harrington. In 2019, Jim Furyk received the Gold Tee Award.

MGWA MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES POSTPONED

As we all acknowledge, these are unprecedented times with the Covid-19 pandemic situation affecting just about all aspects of people’s lives. As countries, businesses, and many organizations and groups face this serious health issue, all sorts of events that were planned for 2020 are being postponed or canceled. Just a month ago, as the golf season was about to blossom here in the Metropolitan area, the MGWA Activities Committee was ready to finalize and announce its schedule of meetings and outings for this year. However, at the present time, we are holding off on any announcements of venues and dates. Officially, we have postponed our meetings and golf schedule, and will monitor the coronavirus situation, along with heeding the restrictions and advice of our governmental and medical authorities. Should things reopen for group meetings and activities later this year, we may be able to schedule and conduct a few MGWA gatherings in late summer or in the fall. Stay tuned for future determinations.

QUILL & TEE MEMBERSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE

Despite our meetings and outings now officially on hold for this season, signing up for membership in the Quill & Tee Golf Club for 2020 is still open. The Q&TGC is a golf club without real estate, available exclusively to MGWA members and sanctioned by the Metropolitan Golf Association. Q&TGC benefits include: Golf handicap services (GHIN) administered by the MGA and incorporating the new World Handicap System; eligibility to enter MGA and other area tournaments; a subscription to The Met Golfer magazine; exclusive Q&TGC competition and prizes at MGWA outings. Annual Quill & Tee dues are $55, with a portion of the fee helping to support our association’s charitable beneficiaries. To sign up for Q&TGC membership, log on with your User ID and Password to the MGWA website (www.metgolfwriters.org), then click on the icon at the top for “Meetings and Outings” and access the button for “2020 Quill & Tee Golf Club” (or log into the website and then click here).

MGWA MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL REMINDER

In view of the cancellation/postponement of many MGWA social activities, it may seem like an odd time to remind you to renew your association membership if you haven’t done so already, but now it’s more important than ever.  Your membership does afford you the opportunity to receive our member-only newsletters, participate in friendly competitions on some of the Met area’s finest public and private courses, enjoy discounted tickets to our National Awards Dinner, maintain your handicap through Quill & Tee, and network with an unparalleled group of writers, editors, photographers and other media professionals.  But the most important component of your membership is that it supports the MGWA’s charitable work.  All revenues raised through your dues, outing fees, Dinner tickets, etc., go directly to the caddie scholarship funds and other philanthropic causes supported by the MGWA.  In these difficult times, these entities need our help now more than ever.  So please, if you haven’t yet renewed your membership, log in to www.metgolfwriters.org and go to the Membership page to access the renewal form (or click here once you’re logged in) and help support these very worthy causes.

SLEEPY HOLLOW TAPPED FOR 2023 U.S. MID-AMATEUR

Sleepy Hollow CC, Scarborough, NY, has been selected to host the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 2023. Additionally, Fenway GC, White Plains, NY, will co-host two stroke-play rounds the week of September 9-14, 2023. Both courses, coincidentally, have been restored recently by noted architect Gil Hanse, with the late George Bahto lending a hand at Sleepy Hollow. Players must be at least 25-years old and carry a qualifying handicap index to be eligible for the U.S. Mid-Amateur. The field is limited to 264 players. Last year, there were 4,751 entries. The field is cut to 64 players after two days of stroke play, with match play ensuing to determine the winner. The 6,902-yard par-70 Sleepy Hollow Upper Course was designed by C. B. Macdonald, with construction handled by Seth Raynor, and opened in 1913. Subsequent work at the club in the late 1920s was handled by A.W. Tillinghast, but most of his influences were altered during the recent Macdonald restoration. Previous events hosted by Sleepy Hollow include the 2002 U.S. Women's Amateur, a PGA Champions Tour stop between 1986-93 and numerous MGA tournaments.

PEOPLE, PLACES, ETC.

“Talkin’ Golf with Ann Liguori,” presented by Travelers Insurance, returned to sports radio earlier this month and will run through June 28, being aired on WFAN (660-AM, 101.9-FM), on Sunday mornings from 7-8:00 a.m. A member of the MGWA Executive Committee, Liguori is a traveling correspondent for WFAN, reporting from golf’s biggest events plus the U.S. Open Tennis championships. Interview guests on “Talkin’ Golf” include well-known celebrities, top players and major golf administrators, among others. The show also is accessible via Radio.com on the Internet . . . NEW HEAD PROS: Numerous clubs in the Met realm hired new golf pros this past offseason, although shops are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Venues featuring new Head Professionals: Basking Ridge, Mark DeLaura; Bedford, Thomas Fletcher (Steven Dougan promoted to GM/Director of Operations); Bethpage, Justin Koff; Fenway, Tyler Jaramillo; Lake Mohawk, Ricky Mosel; Montauk Downs, Mark Fretto; Montclair, Tim Bolton; Mount Kisco, Ken Ausserlechner; National GL, Elliott Johnson (Jim Morris promoted to Director of Golf); North Jersey, Brian Krulfeifer; Osiris, Brian Crowell; Peddie, Kevin Syring; Powelton, Charlie Poole; Redding, Mike Argentine; Seawane, Alex Smith; Sebonack, Lou DeKerillis (Jason McCarty promoted to Director of Golf); Silo Ridge, Justin Marano; Swan Lake, Peter Cowan; Vineyards, Charlie Bolling . . . Don Mollitor, former General Manager at Seawane, is the new GM at Long Island’s Mill River Club, Upper Brookville, NY . . . CONDOLENCES: Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Michelle and Larry Fine, whose son Eric Fine recently passed away at the age of 23 after a 2-1/2 year struggle with cancer. Larry Fine is a retired MGWA member and longtime Reuters sportswriter now living in Clearwater, FL, after relocating from Suffern, NY. Eric Fine was a devotee of soccer and the martial arts, who lived and worked at times in Louisville, KY, and most recently in Seattle, WA. E-mail contact for Larry Fine: larryfinetooner@gmail.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDENDUM: The MGWA online is now more available than ever before. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Met Golf Writers Association, and on Twitter at @metgolfwriters.

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