Hey Everyone,

I checked off course No. 132 this past Monday when I played Walpole CC. I wrote my review with some additional thoughts and pictures in my mid-week newsletter. Readers who have signed up as Supporters and Founders will receive early access to my reviews before they are posted on IG. If you’d like to support my work and help me extend my coverage of golf in the Bay State, you can upgrade your subscription.

There’s a treasure trove of golf this weekend. The Solheim Cup starts today. The PGA Tour is in Napa, so that’s some primetime golf. The Irish Open might be one of the events of the year; it’s at Royal County Down, possibly the best course in the world. Andy Johnson at The Fried Egg made an awesome video about the course with some stunning video. 

Oh, and LIV is playing some sort of season-ending event… winner gets rings with QR codes…

News and Notes:

If you have any results, stories, or topics 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.

Massachusetts courses set for closure: This week, Easton CC owner Mark Lombardi wrote a letter to the membership that was posted on Facebook announcing that the club has accepted an offer from Toll Brothers. In the next 2-3 years, Toll Brothers will likely build an adult retirement community. Lombardi is a third-generation owner of the club.

Maplegate (Bellingham, Mass.) and Pembroke are also on the same path. I have heard that Pembroke might be turned into a nine-hole course. Stow Acres turned is turning their North Course into a nine-hole course. Since starting my quest in 2020, there are six courses that I’ve played that will close or shrink to nine holes. Bungay Brook and Elmcrest have both closed since I played them.

U.S. Four-Ball Qualifying: Ricky Stimets, Kevin Gately, and Hunter Stone each teamed up with out-of-state players to qualify for the U.S. Four-Ball, which will be held next spring at Plainfield CC in New Jersey. Stimets shot 62 at Connecticut National with his college teammate from North Alabama, Joel Alexander, to earn medalist honors.

A Czech Champ in Newton: Hana Ryskova won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Incredibly, she met Lindsay Gahm in the final. Gahm and Ryskova live ten minutes from each other in Louisville and met for the first time this week when Gahm saw Ryskova’s Louisville golf bag.

Thorbjornsen out in Napa on PGA Tour: Thorbjornsen shot a 71 in the Procore Championship. The fall season should be a great chance for Thor to get his footing as a professional. He has his PGA Tour Card. After finishing T2 at the John Deere in July, he has three missed cuts and a T61.

Korn Ferry Final Sprint: Richy Werenski (-2), Davis Chatfield (E), John VanDerLaan (E), Evan Harmeling, and Robbie Oppenheim (+7) are all playing this week in Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. The top 75 in the Korn Ferry Standings will move on to next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

Here’s how the five Bay Staters rank: Chatfield (45), Werenski (54), VanDerLaan (63), Oppenheim (65), Harmeling (126).

Crump Cup: Incredibly, the three guys from Massachusetts playing in the Crump Cup at Pine Valley all shot 76. Nick Maccario, Matt Parziale, and Matt Naumec are all right on the edge of making the Championship Flight. The field will play 18 holes on Friday and then match play in various flights over the weekend.

This week’s golf course video was on Wayland CC.

Another trip to Pine Valley without my clubs

Two years ago, I attended the final match of The Crump Cup at Pine Valley. The timing was perfect. Tiff was running the Brooklyn Marathon the day before, so a chunk of the drive was already done. I only had a two-hour drive from Hoboken on Sunday.

I assumed I could arrive as early as possible to watch the morning’s semi-final matches, but that was not the case. The Head Pro informed me via email that I was welcome to arrive at 12:30 pm.

Message received loud and clear.

I was able to bring my camera though. And boy howdy did I take advantage of that opportunity. This year, I will not be able to bring a camera. It’ll be old-school journalism, like I’m Bernard Darwin covering Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club.

That will be a fun challenge, and it will also force me to watch the golf and pay attention to the course without the distraction of a camera or a phone.

I wrote a behind the scenes from my 2022 trip. You can read it here. 

And here are a few photos from my 2022 visit.

The fifth hole is a monster par 3. The first four holes loop out and back. When I first arrived, I thought the fourth green was 18 due to its proximity to the clubhouse.

This is the tee shot on the sixth hole. It's a daunting cape-style design.

In the picture below is Tommy Brennan. He was in the Senior Division championship match. If you look closely, you can see his ball in the tree on the seventh hole (it’s in the middle-center of the picture). After hunting for the allotted three minutes, Brennan had to return to the tee. As luck would have it, the ball was found after he had deemed it lost. Brennan beat Mike McCoy (2023 Walker Cup Captain) on the 19th hole.

Speaking of McCoy; he had some tree trouble of his own at Pine Valley. This was on the first hole, the 19th hole of the match. McCoy’s tee shot ended up against the small tree and he couldn’t escape with a par. Pine Valley architect George Crump made the first hole difficult because he wanted matches that went to extra holes decided quickly.

Looking forward to sharing some stories from my time at Pine Valley with you all next week. No pictures this time….

Double Click(s)

1. Usually, the office stiffs want to be the athletes. Rarely is the athlete trying to finagle his way into the boardroom. Enter, Patrick Cantlay. 

“Cantlay will also be part of the real estate investment manager’s first advisory board, which will see some of the company’s top investors meet with the executive team and give their two cents on the business.”

2. TV ratings are dooooown… The clip below is from Sports Media Watch. The more I think about it, the more I realize that August golf should all be on the west coast so they can touch primetime on the east coast.

3. Of all the holes to try to get people excited about… I hope every match ends before 18 because this hole is a bore. Holes 15-17 rock, though. That’ll make for quite a scene next year.

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When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

• This was a pretty funny NYTimes article asking the important question: Could Your Favorite TV and Movie Characters Afford Their Homes Today?

• Two-thirds of 18-34 year olds in Ireland live with their parents. Housing in Ireland is Broken.

I’m listening to…

• Heard “Bloodbuzz Ohio” during a Peloton ride this week and went back to listen to The National’s Boxer. Awesome album.

• I enjoyed this No Laying Podcast where they built a football team using pro golfers.

• The three guys from Sunday Scaries: Retail Therapy all went on wild trips (Spain, Italy, Japan) and they recapped them on last Sunday’s pod.

I’m eating…

• Kirkland Caramel ‘Smores bites are stupendous.

I’m drinking…

• Recess makes a solid no alcoholic Ginger Lime “Mule.”

• I’ve been drinking a lot of LMNT hydration this week. Got a mixed pack of the powder. I like them a lot.

I’m watching…

• Slow Horses is back. We haven’t watched the new season, but if you have never watched the show. Start now.

• We watched a couple of episodes of My Crazy Ex on Netflix. Wild stuff.

• Thought this MassGolf video about Marion and Highland Links was very good.

New here? Reached the bottom?

Hell Yeah.

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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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