Ten highlights from 2023...

let's get personal

Author

Sean Melia
December 15, 2023

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for opening this email. Plenty of ways to kill time on a Friday morning on the Internet, and this is where you ended up.

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Let’s get to it.

With the wild golf news cycle and my limited time on the golf course, my writing here has skewed towards writing about professional golf and what I’m noticing as I sit on my couch and watch the sun begin to set at 2 pm in Boston.

I bought Kyle Porter’s Normal Sport 3 (you should, too), and he organized it as a numbered list of thoughts and ideas. This is a clever idea, and I’m stealing it to help me reflect on my golfing year.

So, here are 11 highlights from 2023 in my golfing life…

  1. The Double Dip has become a tradition. The last three years, we’ve managed to play George Wright and Franklin Park in the same day. With the help of Sampson, we get two of the toughest tee times in the state. Kevin, Jed, and I joined Sampson for the 36-hole day. It’s just a wonderful day of golf and one of the highlights of the year.

  2. Returning to Carne in Ireland was the main reason I lugged my clubs across to Ireland on a trip that was not centered on golf. I played there many times with my dad, and after he passed away in 2014 I had not been back to Carne. It’s an awesome course that is unlike any course I’ve ever played.

  3. I also got to play golf in Scotland for the first time. It was one of the windiest days I have ever played. Tiff joined me for the first seven holes and then headed in because it was pretty miserable. We showed up early and grabbed fish and chips. They let me tee off an hour earlier than my tee time. This is a private course, and it was such a refreshing experience.

  4. Teeing it up in competitive golf is nerve-racking, but over the last few years, I have learned to calm my nerves and enjoy the challenge. I had an extra challenge in the Mass. Public Links Qualifier as I had to play with a cobbled-together set of clubs because my bag was stuck in Scotland. I also got to play in my first USGA qualifier with my buddy Jed as we tried to get into the U.S. Four-Ball.

  5. My golf clubs returned from Scotland 21 days after our flight. I had given up nearly all hope, but a phone call late on a Sunday night with the good news frankly altered my summer and fall because it was looking bleak and expensive.

  6. It’s incredible how golf connects and reconnects people. When I played Carne I paired up with a couple from Wisconsin who were lovely. The husband had been a part-time caddie at Augusta National, so there were some stories over a few pints following the round. I also had a former student where I taught track me down to play. He was visiting Boston and wanted to tee it up. It made me feel old playing with a kid I knew as a 13-year-old, but if it wasn’t for golf, he isn’t reaching out.

  7. This September, I was out in Western Mass. and found Elmcrest CC on a map. I decided I’d check it off the list. I was with Tiff, and it looked like we’d get there a little early. I could kill time at any golf course, except Elmcrest. The course was basically in hospice care. The clubhouse had a giant red “X” on it to warn first responders. There had been two kitchen fires. I had nowhere to kill time; there was just a shack in the parking lot. So we checked into our lodging, and I returned to play an hour later to meet my friend Dan. The course was in horrendous condition and the guy in the shack warned us we’d lose a lot of balls in the rough because they weren’t cutting the grass anymore. It was zombie-land golf. Was the experience great? Hell no, but there was something wild and unique about playing a course that had been totally neglected because it was up for sale. Just an insane round of golf.

  8. Taconic (Williamstown, Mass.) is one of my favorite in the state. I played it in 2020 and returned for the first time this summer to play it again. It was as good as I remembered.

  9. I reached the 100-course mark in my quest to play every course in Massachusetts. I played Maynard GC, the course I grew up playing. I played with Dan, Phil, and Phil’s son Dylan. Dylan is a true golf sicko, as we had to pull him off the course due to heavy rains as we played the nine-hole course a second time. Just an awesome day in May.

  10. I got to play with Darren Clarke this year at Willowbend CC. Sheesh, was that cool. It was just for six holes, but he was a pleasure and exactly the same as he is on TV. Outgoing, a touch edgy, and very freaking good at golf.

  11. My buddy Burke made the Mass Amateur for the first time in either of our lives this summer. I was thrilled for him. We’ve been trying for two decades, and he broke through. I joined him for his second round at Essex CC. It was a great walk with a friend I met through the game of golf. Hopefully, next year, we’ll both have our bags with us at Framingham CC. It’s not Essex CC as a venue, but it’s still the Mass Am.

Next week’s newsletter will be a compilation of my favorites from the entire year. Books, pods, articles, food, drinks, and some of my writing, too.

Picture of the week: Taconic GC

Williamstown, Mass.

The view from the 13th green at Taconic

When I’m not golfing…

I’m gambling….(Every week, because it's now legal in Mass. I'm going to make five NFL picks and keep track of them here.)

  • Last Week: 1-4 (Season record: 37-33)

    • Broncos (-4.5) over Lions

    • Browns (-3) over Bears

    • Falcons (-3) over Panthers

    • Rams (-6.5) over Commanders

    • Chiefs (-7.5) over Pats

I’m reading… Kevin Van Valkenburg’s piece about golf fandom was superb. Go read it.

I’m listening to… I found a new IG account called Somewhere_Soul. He posts about jazz and soul music and makes playlists. This Under the Radar Gems playlist is excellent. And here’s my unrefined Wrapped Playlist from 2023.

I’m eating… I had a gluttonous weekend. We had a some holiday fun both in Boston and in Portland. I always make slow cooker meatballs. Just buy frozen Swedish meatballs and dump in a jar of chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly.

On Saturday night we had dinner with some friends at Fore Street in Portland. One of our friends has a bunch of serious allergies. Our waiter sat down with the chef and marked up the entire menu with what he could and couldn’t eat. It was insane; I’ve never seen anything like it. Everything was delicious; I had the pork loin, which was preposterously good.

Before heading home on Sunday, we hit up Scratch Bakery in South Portland. I had the gingerbread pound cake and we got a couple bagels, too. They also had coffee syrup, which is a simple syrup made with coffee as a substitute for water.

I’m drinking… I enjoyed ginger ale this week. Also had a good Guinness at 21st Amendment in Beacon Hill. Finally, if you’re going to a holiday party, can’t recommend bringing a pre-made batch Old Fashioned. I used this recipe, and it turned out great.

I’m watching… For all Mankind and Shetland are on the recently played list as of right now. We also watched Home Alone this week.

I'm (shamelessly) plugging...

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