Hey Everyone,

September has always felt more like the New Year than January. A chance to reset as the world returns to a routine following summer. In New England, the weather still allows for a bit of optimism and time outside. Thanks to the New England Patriots, we’ll probably have more Sunday afternoons to enjoy the weather. I love this Joe Pera bit about the Buffalo Bills being so bad that the family can take a drive to the lake again or support the local pumpkin patch.

Maybe golf courses will be busier on Sundays this fall, too.

This week, I interviewed Coach Kevin Duffy of Rotational Strength Sports on the podcast. You can listen here on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch on YouTube.

I made a video about Cyprian Keyes in Boylston, Mass… one of the best values in the state. Check it out this fall.

News and Notes:

Presidents Cup for Keegan Bradley: After being overlooked for the Ryder Cup last fall, Bradley has now locked up the job as Ryder Cup Captain and a spot on the Presidents Cup team. He was already going to be a Assistant Captain at Royal Montreal for the PC, but now he’ll tee it up instead. Incredible stuff.  

New England PGA Championship: Seul-Ki Hawley, a pro at Winchester CC, won her second straight Women’s NEPGA Championship with rounds of 74-72 at Tedesco CC. On the men’s side, Ed Kirby (The Aquidneck Club) shot a 74-71-68 (+1) to edge out Liam Friedman (Wollaston GC) and Boomer Erick (Boston Golf Club) by a shot. Shoutout to Wollaston GC for placing two pros inside the top six. Jeff Martin, who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open this summer, shot six-over.

The top 13 in the field have earned a spot in the PGA Pro National Championship in April. Here’s the final leaderboard.

Mass Mid-Amateur: Jake Ratti (Wollaston GC) fired an incredible 64 in the third round of the Mass. Mid-Am at Cranberry Valley to rocket to the top of the leaderboard and finished at 8-under par. After making a bogey on the first hole of the final round, Ratti ripped off seven birdies and an eagle. The exclamation point was holing out for that eagle on the 18th hole. He played holes 14-18 in 5-under par. It’s Ratti’s first MassGolf championship.

Defending champion and 2023 MassGolf Player of the Year, Ricky Stimets finished three shots back. His second runner-finish of the season. He lost int he Mass Amateur Final to Matthew Naumec. Matt Parziale and Joe Harney were co-leaders heading into the final round. They both shot 75 and finished T3. Here’s the recap from MassGolf.

It seems that Parziale might have locked up MassGolf Player of the Year. However, the numbers need to be crunched, and there is still some golf to be played this fall. Here are the standings. It would be Parziale’s ninth Player of the Year Award.

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Brae Burn CC in Newton is hosting the event Sept. 7-12. Want to walk a private course and see some good golf? Then go check this tournament out.

Five Massachusetts players are competing: Megan Buck, Tara Joy-Connelly, Mary Mulcahy, Claire Richardson, and Shannon Johnson. Johnson was runner-up in 2016 and won this tournament in 2018.

Overall, 13 players from New England are playing. Here are the tee times.

Schedule of Play:

Saturday, Sept. 7 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Sunday, Sept. 8 (Stroke Play, Round 2, 18 holes)
Monday, Sept. 9 (Round of 64, match play)
Tuesday, Sept. 10 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play)
Wednesday, Sept. 11 (Quarterfinals/Semifinals, match play)
Thursday, Sept. 12 (Championship Match, 18 holes)

If you have any results or stories that you think would be great for the newsletter. Send them to [email protected]. I’d love to highlight some high school and college golf this fall season. So if you’re connected to a program, send along results or highlights.

A plea from an aging Mid-Amateur

I’m about to turn 41 this month. The mid-amateur scene is supposed to be my safe haven. The place I belong.

The amateur scene, bloated with high school and college studs who hit it 300+ yards and have their wedges dialed in at five-yard intervals, is a place I stumble into for my Mass Amateur qualifier and then leave bleary-eyed, wondering what happened.

But Mid-Am? That’s where guys take work calls on the putting green and can’t afford a late tee time because they might have to pick up their kids from school.

As I stood around during a lightning delay at my Garnder Muni Mid-Am qualifier, I realized how young a Mid-Amateur can be.

They can be 25.

I feel like I was just 25.

I wasn’t just 25.

I was 25 in freaking 2008.

My mid-am status started when the first iPhone was released.

I’m an elder Millenial and an elder Mid-Amateur. During the evening, I’m sitting on my living room floor watching TV, trying to maintain whatever lack of flexibility I never had. Meanwhile, those 25-year-olds are texting their buddies about what bar they’re going to after work and then waking up to play 36 the next day (at least this is how I believe things to be).

You can read the previous paragraph as pure envy.

So where is all this coming from? I blame New Jersey.

Let me explain:

This week, I was perusing amateur events for the schedule portion of my weekly amateur golf podcast (you should listen and subscribe) and found a tournament that gave me hope for the future:

The New Jersey Pre-Senior Championship.

Hell yes.

I am not quite old enough to participate in such an event; it is limited to people aged 45-54. However, it gave me hope that there could be more such events created in the future.

Maybe a Mid-Amateur Masters Division? Or a “You Can’t Be a Former Pro” Amateur Division (that’s an entirely different post..).

It just feels to me - in my creaky, aging bones - that most competitive golfers in the 35-50 age range are kind of floating around trying to compete. Yes, there are some who have the game to still compete. Two Mid-Amateurs - Matthew Naumec and Ricky Stimets - played in the Mass Amateur final this year (both former pros…).

With golf’s boom, many mid-amateurs on the men’s and women’s sides will be looking to compete. The women’s game already struggles to keep newly graduated college golfers engaged, so some events lowered the mid-amateur to age 23 (note: the men do not need this.)

In the Mass Public Links, I got to compete alongside a college senior and an actual senior. It was one example of what makes golf a great game. However, there could also be different events for different ages. After all, golf is about hope. I’m asking for a little bit of competitive hope.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m going to set my alarm for Mass Amateur Qualifying and sign up. But I’d love some events that cater to my aging process, too.

There’s no doubt that this is more complicated than I’m making it seem. Events are tough to put on a schedule. Venues are hard to come by because tee sheets are full, and giving up the course for 1-3 days is a non-starter at both private and public clubs.

In four years’ time, you can catch me in New Jersey teeing it up as a young buck in the Pre-Senior Championship. It’ll just be a question of how many times I’ll have to stop to pee and stretch out my lower back.

Double Click(s)

1. I’m not sure I could care less about The Match between Rory McIlroy/ Scottie Scheffler and Bryson Dechambeau/Brooks Koepka. This might be a it’s not for you, Sean situation. I’m old. But is this supposed to drum up more PGA Tour v. LIV animosity or look like an olive branch? Is McIlroy sticking is finger in Jay Monahan’s eye? Brooks refuses to speak about LIV or wear the logos while competing in majors, so he’s already disinterested in the feud. The guy that would have been interesting, given the recent reporting about his regret, would have been Jon Rahm. 

   I’m just not interested in more exhibition golf with weak banter and awkward interviews.

   On Sunday, McIlroy said he was feeling burned out. He has five more European events before his season is over. Adding The Match isn’t going to overtax him; it’s one round in Las Vegas. However, it furthers my theory that golfers want to play golf and this is why the PGA Tour season ended on September 2 and begins in Napa on September 12.

   If the PGA Tour didn’t have golf 48 weeks a year, pros would find other places to play. Even when they do have that many events, players still create their own events.

2. Ted Scott’s salary this year… sheesh

3. Thought this was very funny from Claire Rogers.

4. Colgate hosted the Patriot League Championship in my sophomore year. They have a golf course on campus, and it was Spring Weekend. I wrote about finishing dead last.

   This clip reminded me a little of my experience as guys with bullhorns hung out on one of the holes in their backyard and heckled everyone.

5. I thoroughly enjoyed this No Laying Up video about visiting the Titleist Performance Institute.

If you would like to support my work, you can upgrade your subscription. I am including a 2025 desk calendar with my golf photography for every person who upgrade before Oct. 1.

When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

• In the NY Times, David Brooks writes about “The Junkification of American Life.”

• I have no clue how this story about Australian Break Dancer Rachel Gunn slipped through the cracks… In her first interview since the Olympics she called the criticism for her dancing “Alarming.” The Atlantic.

I’m listening to…

• Chappell Roan will lift your mood as the reality of summer ending settles into your bones.

• Dawes has some fall vibes. Start with North Hills and then try All Your Favorite Bands

• On the podcast side, The Daily did an episode about Cell Phones in Schools that I thought was very good. It’s a tricky subject these days, but most of the people who don’t think they should be in lockers or put away during the school day sound like addicts trying to make excuses for their addiction.

I’m eating…

• One recipe this week: Hot Honey Pasta Salad

I’m watching…

• I stumbled upon a bunch of food videos on YouTube this week and ended up in a rabbit hole.

  • Fallow has some cool busy kitchen videos. Some are filmed in a way that could give you motion sickness. But they’re still good!

  • Bon Apetite has an “On the Line” series where they follow folks working in various restaurants. I liked this pizza one and this one about pancakes.

New here? Reached the bottom?

Hell Yeah.

You should subscribe.

Bay State Archives

• A list of golf courses open in the winter.

• Bay State Picks: Best courses you can walk for less than $60.

• Bay State Picks: Nine-hole courses to play before or after work

• Bay State Picks: 18 public golf that is worth your time

• Bay State Picks: Easy 18-hole public walks

• Bay State Deep Dive: Myopia Hunt Club

   

• "On Course" New England Journal Podcast

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• Amateur Golf Podcast

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