Date: Monday, July 28th, 2025

Woodway CC, 540 Hoyt St., Darien CT 06820

Main: 203-322-1661; Golf: 203-322-2362. Website: woodway.org.

Mike Crawford, Head golf pro, mtcgolf@gmail.com

Paul Sullivan, MGWA/Woodway member contact, 917-957-9086, pauljsullivan@mac.com

8:00 – 9:30 am — Bag drop, locker room, continental breakfast

8:30 – 10:15 am — Practice time, range, putting green

10:30 – 11:30 am — Inside presentations: Hank Gola, MGWA president/author of Ryder Cup Rivals, Fiercest Battles for Golf’s Holy Grail . . . Woodway CC: Bryan Icenhower, greens & grounds chair; Anthony Garzia, property superintendent; Bruce Hepner, course restoration architect . . . Chuck Stogel, MGWA Rules of the Day.

11:30 – 12:30 pm — Luncheon

12:45 pm — Assemble at carts, final instructions from golf staff, proceed to starting holes

1:00 pm — Shotgun golf

6:00 – 7:00 pm — Refreshments, Awards

About the Club and Course:  Established in 1916 at its current location — designed and laid out by Willie Park Jr. — Woodway is a striking example of Golden Age architecture, blending bold green contours with dramatic natural topography. The course has recently undergone a meticulous restoration by Bruce Hepner, a former associate of Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. Hepner revived Park’s original vision by expanding greens, restoring strategic angles, taking out trees and removing modern intrusions. The result is Woodway now stands as one of the best-preserved examples of Park’s work in the country. For a complete history of the club through the years:  www.woodway.org/club-history.

Woodway has multiple sets of tee boxes ranging from 5,481 yards (68.0/129 for men, 72.1/132 for women) to 6,906 yards (74.0/140). Par is 71 for men, 74 for women. There are three par-3 holes, 13 par-4 holes and two par-5 holes for men; extra par-5s for women.

About Course Designer Willie Park Jr.: Born in Musselburgh, Scotland, William Park Jr. (4 February 1864 – 22 May 1925) was a professional golfer, equipment maker, golf writer and, beginning in his 30s, built a significant career as a prolific and well-respected worldwide course designer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. He learned to play golf from his father, Willie Park Sr., who won the first British Open in 1860. Willie Jr. won two Opens, in 1887 and 1889. As an architect Park Jr. is credited with 170 designs in the British Isles, Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Along with Woodway in the Met area, Park designed Maidstone, Glen Ridge, CC of New Canaan, Shorehaven and New Haven. He crafted the North Course at Olympia Fields outside Chicago and the Old Course at Sunningdale near London in the U.K.

About Restoration Specialist Bruce Hepner: Based in Traverse City, MI, Hepner has formed his own firm called Hepner Golf Design. He previously worked with Ron Forse and then Tom Doak. His work experience includes such courses as Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal, Battle Creek, Birmingham, Canterbury, Cape Arundel, Piping Rock, Hartford and Boothbay Harbor.

About the Ballo Family: No Met area reference to Woodway Country Club would be complete without a mention about the Ballo family, which was celebrated in 2021 as the Met Golf Writers Family of the Year. Patriarch Mike Ballo Sr., a mentor to many eventual club professionals, spent 55 years at Woodway, starting as a caddie at the age of 7 until he retired as head pro at age 62. He then spent 17 years on the golf staff at Silvermine GC in nearby Norwalk. Raised in Stamford, CT, Ballo passed away in 2022 at age 80. As a player, he won the Connecticut State High School championship in 1957, two State Opens, three Westchester Opens. He competed in four U.S. Opens and three PGA championships. He has been inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame. Ballo passed his club pro and golf playing genes along to his sons Mike Ballo Jr., now head pro at Tamarack CC in Greenwich, CT, and Peter Ballo, head pro at Connecticut GC in Easton. Both have won State Opens in New York and Connecticut.

About the Golf:  As always, everyone attending is invited to play golf, whether in our tournaments or not.

About the Competition:  Our Quill & Tee Golf Club is offering a Member-Guest event, running concurrently with the Q&TGC Club Championship individual competition. All Q&TGC attendees will be entered in the Club Championship, which will be scored at scratch. Additionally, Q&TGC members may invite a non-MGWA guest to join them and compete in a two-person Member-Guest event, with handicaps (the Q&T member-guest is limited to the first 35 members to sign up but will be increased if overall room allows. If needed, a waiting list will be started, and Q&T members notified of their status). All golfers in our competitions must maintain verifiable USGA-GHIN handicap indexes. The Club Championship will be contested in Flights to be determined.

Prizes will be awarded in both Member-Guest and Club Championship competitions, along with Nearest to the Pin contests for all attendees at Holes No. 9 and 13. As always, all MGWA members are encouraged to attend and play golf, but the Club Championship and Member-Guest are perks for our Quill & Tee members who pay a seasonal fee.

Caddies:  Forecaddies will accompany each group. Fee is $50 per person, which includes a tip. (Golfers may, if they wish, enhance the gratuity for good service.)

Dress Code/Cell Phone Policy:  Our MGWA dress code for meetings/outings stipulates no denim or jeans; collared shirts tucked in; Bermuda shorts OK (no cargoes). No wearing hats/visors in clubhouse (except locker rooms & golf shop). Please don’t forget to tip the Locker Room attendant. We ask that cell phones not be used for talking except in locker rooms and parking lot; texting and emailing is allowed.

Directions: www.woodway.org/map-directions

Entries:   MGWA entry is handled online via metgolfwriters.org. MGWA member fee for the day is $110; Quill & Tee guest fee is $135. Questions about online entry should be addressed to Robin Sauerhaft, MGWA Client Administrator (914-909-4842; rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org). Entry deadline is 2:00 pm, Wednesday, July 23rd. No refunds after that date.

Cancellation Policy:  Please read the “MGWA Meeting/Outing Cancellation Policy” found under “Meeting and Outing Announcements” on our website (metgolfwriters.org).