- Bay State Golf
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- Search. Find. Lose. Repeat.
Hey Everyone,
Happy Halloween!
This week I snuck in nine holes at Groton CC (Course 167) on Monday morning. What a funky nine-holer that starts with a face-slapping opening three holes. It was a lovely walk and the greens were still in excellent shape. Just another example of simple golf serving a community. They have summer camps and a pool, too.
Today (Friday), I will be part of a Ouimet Foundation video at Wellesley CC. They have launched a series called, “It’s time Ouimet,” and I’ll be interviewing a caddie as we play a few holes out there. Will be sure to share the video once it’s published in December.
A quick reminder that you can buy a Save Cape Cod Country Club t-shirt to show your support for the club before its final fate is decided. I plan to attend the Nov. 17 Falmouth Town Meeting. Purchase here.
I will be donating the funds from the sales to Friends of CCCC.
News and Notes
Pro Golf
🏌️ Jeff Martin and Boomer Erick both made the cut in the Senior PGA Professional Championship. Erick finished T50, three shots outside the cut for a berth in the Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Golf Club (Bradenton, Florida).
Martin shot 71-74-75-70 to earn a spot in the Senior PGA Championship next summer. It will be Martin’s second major senior championship; he played in the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport CC.
🔨 I enjoyed this interview with Michael Thorbjornsen. 👇️
College Golf
🏆️ The University of Rhode Island won the Wykagyl Collegiate to wrap up a stellar four-win fall. Over the course of their six events, only five teams beat them. Two Bay Staters played for the Ram - Tyler Bruneau (Concord, Mass.) finished 9th and Aidan O’Donovan (Somerville, Mass.) finished 13th. Results.
🏌️ Carson Erick (Hingham, Mass.) helped Georgetown finish runner-up in the Kilmarlic Intercollegiate. He fired rounds of 72-66-72. CJ Winchenbaugh (Weston, Mass.) chipped in with.a T19 finish and Alan Rose (Weston, Mass.) recorded a 34th place finished, highlighted by a 69 in the final round to climb 24 spots.
🏌️♀️ Merrimack finished 9th and Stonehill finished 11th in the Lehigh Invitational to wrap up their fall season. Jillian Johnson (Hingham, Mass.) and Ericka Redmond helped a skeleton crew of just four Merrimack golfers finish in the middle of the pack. Johnson finished 23rd and Redmond came in 34th. For Stonehill Jaelyn DeBoise (Springfield, Mass.) and Carol Pignato (Foxborough, Mass.) finished 74th and 82nd, respectively. Caitlin Anderson (Raynham, Mass.) competed as an individual for Stonehill and finished 89th. Olivia Arone (West Newton, Mass.) finished 84th while competing for Providence.
⛳️ Molly Smith (Westford, Mass.) finished in 28th place in the Tradition Landfall with rounds of 70-74-74.
High School Golf
Chris Morrow won the Division 1 state title last week for Xaverian Brothers (Credit: Ryan Goode)
There was a lot of action for high school golfers this week. With the Division 2 and 3 state championships postponed due to weather last week, they competed on Monday and Tuesday.
🏆️ Canton HS won the Division 2 title out at Taconic while Sam Pieczynski (Tantasqua Regional) won the individual title. Old Rochester took home the Division 3 title at Blissful Meadows. Sophomore Aidan Connell (Seekonk HS) won the individual title.
🏆️ Down at Mohegan Sun, Robby Rosati from Fairfield Prep won the Boys’ New England Interscholastic HS Championship in a three-way playoff after shooting a 69. Maxx Zides (N. Attleboro, Mass.) was the low Bay State golfer. He finished 4th with a 70, just one shot out of the playoff.
🏆️ Maddie Smith (Westford, Mass.) joined her sister Molly as a New England champion on the girls’ side.
Plugs
Picked a bunch of courses that might be worth visiting in the late fall. A wide variety of courses… from high-end spots to courses I might only play in November.
Find it. Lose it. Search for it. Rinse and Repeat.
No matter the level of golf you play, we all live on the same spectrum. We live in a world where we’ve either found it, lost it, or are searching for it.
If you strike up a conversation with a best friend or total stranger who also plays golf, your conversation will always cover this topic.
On one side, you’ll talk about the search. They might have lost their game or they feel it slipping through their fingertips.
They’ll be in the process of trying…
A new grip.
A new takeaway.
A new putter.
A new something.
On the other side of the spectrum, you might meet someone who has found it. This species is usually fresh off a range session.
They have a swing feel locked in. It’s all so easy.
How long does that last?
No one knows.
But it always feels like the harder you try to hold onto it, the faster it disappears.
My friend Jed has always equated chasing golf to dating.
The more you hope for your crush to like you, the more you push them away.
Golf is the same.
Want it too bad and poof, it’s gone.
Ignore the game, make it less of a priority, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll give you a glimmer of hope.
A pure five iron.
A birdie.
Breaking 100, 90, 80, or whatever benchmark you’re hunting.
In the back of every golfer’s mind they know the other shoe is going to drop, because it always does.
As we head for the darkness of winter and the end of the season, some people will shove their clubs into a corner and others will keep their clubs warm, hitting shots in a simulator, practicing in their living room, or sneaking out for a round when the weather is warm. Fortunate folks might even hop on a plane to enjoy golf in warmer climes.
While I hate (hate) the winter, there is something to be said for feeling like the chase shifts for a bit.
For me, I obviously have the quest to play every course in Massachusetts, but I’m also trying to do it while playing some decent golf.
Taking a break from searching, finding, and losing, and shifting the goals for a long, cold, dark winter, might be a useful reset.
At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself when the sun starts setting at 4:30 pm.
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When I’m not golfing…
I’m reading…
🏌️ Loved this article about Casual Golf by Michael Bamberger
☀️ Daylight Savings is coming… here’s how it affects our bodies.
I’m listening to…
⚾️ I enjoyed the opening segment here where Bill Simmons talks about attending the 18 inning World Series game this week.
I’m eating…
🐔 This fed me for three nights this week. 👇️
I’m watching…
🐇 First two episodes of Black Rabbit are very good.
⛳️ Kudos to the folks who put together the Internet Invitational on YouTube. My head is spinning thinking about all the footage they had to comb through to make these 3+ hour episodes.
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