Home Green Shows Support for First Tee

Home Green Advantage lays out the green carpet for First Tee

A 50-ft. putting green was the center of attention at the Fifth Annual 19th Hole on the Park fundraiser for The First Tee Metropolitan New York held recently at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan to benefit TFTMNY’s Path to College Program. Guests at the event competed in various laughter-fueled contests on the green supplied by Michael Lehrer, President and CEO of Home Green Advantage.

"Each year at our 19th Hole on the Park fundraiser, Michael donates his time and efforts to set up a 50-foot putting green in the center of the ball room. It is the highlight of the evening and our guests absolutely love trying to make that long putt," said Kate Keller, Director of Member Services, Public Relations, and Special Events and Young Benefactors Co-Founder. "Since day one, Michael has been a great supporter of the Young Benefactors and of The First Tee of Metropolitan New York."

Armonk, NY-based Home Green Advantage has been providing the putting green for the past several years at the event, allowing party goers to challenge one another and themselves to see who can make an elusive hole-in-one. Aside from this contribution, Lehrer has personally donated approximately $10,000 to the Metropolitan Golf Association Foundation since 2008.

"I've worked with Michael on various projects including a putting green for the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at the Westchester Medical Center, a putting and chipping green at our MGA headquarters in Elmsford, a putting green and tee-line project at our First Tee facility at the Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course in Bridgeport, CT, and on a significant tee and putting green renovation project at our First Tee facility at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey," says MGA Executive Director Jay Mottola. "In each of these cases, Michael exceeded expectations, while at the same time donating part of his services for the good of the game."

The MGA foundation continues to lead efforts to make golf accessible for young people of all ages with their junior competitions, educational programs, caddie academies, and the many other programs and events. As a golf enthusiast and longtime supporter of the foundation, Lehrer understands the significance of the organization.

“I am a firm believer in giving back to the community and helping out the game of golf," Lehrer said. “First Tee does a wonderful job with the kids and I am happy to help them achieve their goals.”

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Cameron Wilson Grabs NCAA Title

MGA standout Cameron Wilson captured the NCAA Individual championship yesterday in a sudden-death playoff that went three holes on the Prairie Dunes course in Hutchinson, Kansas. His win puts him in pretty heady company: The other Stamford players who hold the title are Sandy Lyle and Tiger Woods.

Wilson's overtime win came against Georgia Tech's Ollie Schniederjans, a frequent NCAA opponent and, according to Wilson, a good friend.  Wilson missed a putt on the last hole of regulation to end up in the playoff.

The win caps a stellar year for the Connecticut native. He won the Fighting Illini and the Western Intercollegiate and at one point had a streak of 197 consecutive holes without a double bogey or worse.

Last year, Wilson won his second consecutive Ike championship, bringing to five the number of MGA wins he's logged. He was named MGA Player of the Year in 2009.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Jim Nantz Honored by MGA

Jim Nantz

CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz will receive the 2013 Metropolitan Golf Association Distinguished Service Award this week. Nantz, 54, is being recognized for his impressive charitable work, especially on behalf of golf in the Met Area. Nantz has helped organizations like the MGA Foundation and The First Tee raise millions of dollars to grow the game and provide countless opportunities for young people.

The MGA Distinguished Service Award was created in 1973, and is presented annually to a candidate who has contributed “distinguished service to golf and its related activities, consistent with the valued standards and honorable traditions of the game.” Some of its past winners include Joe Dey, Harry Cooper, David Fay, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Dave Anderson, Rees Jones, P.J. Boatwright, and Charlie Robson.

Nantz spent much of his childhood in New Jersey and started at CBS Sports in 1985. He is currently the network’s lead play-by-play announcer for NFL football and NCAA basketball, as well as the lead anchor for golf coverage. Though he currently resides in California, Nantz spent most of his accomplished career in Connecticut. His accolades include three Emmys, five National Sportscaster of the Year awards, and he’s the only person ever to call the Super Bowl, Final Four and Masters in the same year (he’s done it three times). In addition to hard work and good fortune, the sportscaster credits golf for teeing up his drive to professional success.

“Golf was a vital part of my life that opened up all kinds of avenues to me in my professional career,” says Nantz, who was introduced to the game by his father, also named Jim. He worked during summers at Battleground Country Club in Manalapan, NJ, and was recruited to play on the golf team at the University of Houston where he earned a degree in radio/television in 1981. “Golf really set the course for my life, and because of it, I feel indebted to the game.”

A longtime member at Winged Foot Golf Club and The Stanwich Club, Nantz has used his celebrity status to be a visible advocate for the game in the Met Area and beyond. In 2001, he lent his voice to the MGA Foundation’s Capital Campaign video, a valuable tool which raised $5 million. The following year, he acted as master of ceremonies at the groundbreaking for The First Tee of Metropolitan New York at Mosholu Golf Course in the Bronx and has been a consistent supporter of this national youth initiative.

“More than any other sport, golf has a heartbeat that cares about people,” Nantz says. “It’s the basic nature of the game: etiquette, kindness, playing by the rules and doing good things – golfers are people that care for other people and it’s one of the tenants of the sport to give back and be caring for others.”

Nantz continues to promote and give back to the game his dad introduced him to. His contributions and vigorous advocacy of the game will help ensure that the game and its values are passed on to the next generation, which makes Jim Nantz most deserving of the MGA’s Distinguished Service Award.

“Jim and I have been friends and partners for many years, and he is as genuine a person as you’ll find,” says MGA President Jeff Holzschuh. “His passion for the game is matched only by his commitment to giving back, and he has been a true friend to golf in the Metropolitan Area.”

The award will be presented at the 116th MGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 4 at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Max Buckley Named MGA Player of the Year

Max Buckley  Photo courtesy MGA

Max Buckley of Westchester Country Club has been named the Metropolitan Golf Association's Player of the Year for 2013. He secured the award with a win at the Nassau Invitational during the final week that points for the award were available. The 24-year-old recipient of the 2013 MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award will be recognized for his achievement at the 116th MGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 4, at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.

The Jerry Courville Sr. MGA Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the Met Area amateur who compiles the best record in select events during the course of the year, and is based on a system in which players earn points for their finishes in designated local, national and international championships.

Buckley’s triumph at the Nassau, the penultimate event on the Met Area competitive schedule, gave him a mere 40-point edge over Andover, N.J.’s Pat Wilson in the Polo Golf MGA Points Standings, making it one of the narrowest wins in the past 20 years.

“When I sat down with my coach [Gary Weir] at the beginning of the year, this was one of my main goals,” said Buckley, a 2013 graduate of Southern Methodist University. “Once I won a few tournaments and put myself in that position, I felt more and more comfortable in tight situations, and that’s something that really helped me.”

Right from the get-go, one had the feeling it was going to be a special season for Buckley, who developed a knack for coming up big down the stretch of tournaments. It began in April while he was competing overseas as a member of the MGA Carey Cup team against the Golfing Union of Ireland. Playing in the second to last singles match on the final day, Buckley overcame a three down deficit with four to play to win his match and secure the retention of the Cup.

In May, he edged Wilson in a sudden-death playoff to win the New York City Amateur, the first of four victories on the season. In June, he narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Open (T-6 at sectionals) and recorded his second consecutive runner-up finish at the Ike Championship. A few days later, he took home the Mittelmark Invitational at Fenway with a birdie on the first hole of a three-way sudden death playoff. He claimed sole possession atop the Player of the Year standings after he finished tied for third at the Westchester Open and won the Arcola Cup by three shots in late July.

However, being a factor in the Player of the Year race wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Buckley; he made the past three Player of the Year Honor Rolls (awarded to the top 10 players in the standings). He now joins an elite list of players who’ve claimed the Met Area’s most coveted amateur title.

“There are a lot of great names on that Player of the Year Award list, and to be among them is pretty special,” he said.

Standing in his way was Wilson, a 2013 graduate of St. John’s, who sat near the top of the standings for much of the season. The 23-year-old, who plays out of Panther Valley, took over the lead in early August after his impressive victory at the Met Amateur at Stanwich. Both players earned on-site cut points at the Met Open and after a third place finish at the Boff Invitational in September (Buckley finished 10th), Wilson’s lead extended to 60 points heading into the final week of the season.

Buckley saved his finest performance for last, qualifying for match play and winning all four matches en route to the Nassau crown and Player of the Year title.

“Max is a really good player,” Wilson said. “He did what he needed to do. It was a deserving win.”

“Pat and I had a good rivalry all summer,” Buckley said. “He played spectacular golf, especially at the Met Am. It was a tight race till the end.”

This is Wilson’s second consecutive Honor Roll finish. Joining him are other Met Area standouts including Sam Bernstein of Century who is making his third consecutive appearance, two-time MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington who finished fourth in the standings, and 2013 Met Am and MGA Mid-Am runner-up Trevor Randolph of Arcola who finished fifth. Rounding out the Honor Roll is last year’s POY runner-up and Met Am champ Ryan McCormick of Suburban, reigning Met Junior winner Cameron Young of Sleepy Hollow, Dylan Crowley of Glen Cove who finished 8th, former MGA/MetLife Boys winner Matt Lowe of Colonial Springs, and 2013 NJSGA Amateur champion Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

PGA of America Opens Golf Central Office

Here comes the PGA of America. 

The organization is returning to its roots in Westchester by opening a satellite office in Elmsford this fall. The office will be at "Golf Central" on Knollwood Road, which houses the headquarters of both the Metropolitan PGA Section and the Metropolitan Golf Association as well as the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association, the Westchester Golf Association, the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, and the Hudson Valley Golf Course Superintendents Association (did I miss anybody?).

Kevin Ring, The PGA of America’s chief marketing officer, will relocate to the area to head the office, which will be helpful as the organization gets ready for its Centennial Celebration in 2016 and 98th PGA Championship to be held that year at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.  The office will also be used to build deeper PR, marketing, and communications relationships in the NY media market.

Robert White, a club pro and entrepreneur at Wykagyl CountryClub in New Rochelle, became the PGA’s first president at a meeting of leading pros and amateurs called by Rodman Wanamaker, son of the department store founder, to organize the group at the Hotel Martinique, now the Radisson Martinique, in Manhattan. Wanamaker donated the namesake trophy awarded to the winner of the PGA Championship each year. The inaugural PGA Championship was played in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville.

 

“We are very excited about establishing a foothold in the New York metropolitan area, near the birthplace of The PGA of America,” said PGA CEO Pete Bevacqua. “New York holds a key to our future and a special link to our storied past. As we drive forward towards our centennial in 2016, the region will play a major role in telling the story of the first 100 years of The PGA and what the next 100 have in store for our association.”

Welcome home!

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Met Golfer EXTRA Debuts

Check it out!

The Metropolitan Golf Association has started issuing a new digital publication, Met Golfer EXTRA. It's meant to be a complement to the MGA's award-winning print magazine, The Met Golfer, which is sent to members of the organization's clubs in the NY Metro area. The new publication will be delivered monthly via email to golfers who receive the monthly eRevision newsletter that updates their handicap.

"This publication will provide you with quick, highly visual, stories that we are sure will be of interest to Met Area golfers," says Executive Director Jay Mattola. 

The first issue is available now, so check it out here.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Big Little Book About Golf's Rules And Rewards

Gene Westmoreland writes about more than just the rules of golf in A Game For Life, his collection of essays about a subject he knows better than just about anybody.  The book, proceeds of which will be donated to the MGA Foundation, gives us not only insights in the sometimes bewildering rules of the game but also into what makes it one of the best ways to enhance your life.

That may sound like heady stuff, but Westmoreland is anything but a stuffy philosopher. His writing is easy, his approach to the subject is thorough without being pedantic, and his outlook on the game is not so much reverntial as appreciative. He makes a great case for playing by the rules but doesn't hesitate to loosen them up a bit to make the game more fun for duffers just out to enjoy a walk in the sunshine. I've played a round or two with the man, and can attest that his attitude toward the game made every one of them a pleasure.

That attitude carries over into Westmoreland's explanation of the rules of golf, most of which are not only spelled out in clear English but illustrated with incidents many of us have seen either in person or while watching the pros on TV. He does this particularly well in situations that can be rather confusing, like encountering loose obstacles in a hazard. Can you move them? No. Are you penalized if you move, say, a twig in a bunker during your swing? Again, the answer is no. Westmoreland points out, though, that your "swing" doesn't include your backswing! So, if you touch that twig during your takeaway, you've added two strokes to your score. He illustrates the concept by recalling the penalty Brian Davis called on himself during a playoff with Jim Furyk at Harbour Town:

"The TV announcers correctly quoted Rule 13-4, but misunderstood the definition of a stroke, for while it is okay to touch a loose impediment during the stroke, Brian touched it on his backswing."

Nearly every rule examined in A Game For Life has a real-life example that makes it easier to understand and Westmoreland's career in the game has given him thousands of such examples from which to choose. He has been an active member of USGA Championship Committees, serving as co-chairman of the 2004 U.S. Amateur and the 2006 U.S. Open. His service as the Metropolitan Golf Association's Tournament Director for many years (among other accomplishments) led the MGA to christen the trophy for its premiere event, the Met Open, the Westmoreland Cup. In A Game For Life, Gene Westmoreland speaks with both common sense and authority.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Met Open At Sleepy Hollow

A powerful field of more than 150 golfers will compete in the Met Life Metropolitan Open Championship at Sleepy Hollow Country Club August 23-25. This will be the first Met Open hosted by the Scarborough, NY, club, a major highlight of Sleepy Hollow's centennial year celebration.

Defending champion Bob Rittberger will face challenges from top players like Rob Labritz, winner of the 2011 NY State Open, Andrew Giuliani, 2009 Met Open champion, Kevin Foley, 2011 New Jersey State Open champion, and Frank Bensel, 2011 Connecticut Open champion and a previous Met Open champion. Former champions of the modern era include Darrell Kestner, George Zahringer III, Bobby Heins, Mike Diffley, Johnson Wagner, and Andrew Svoboda. Wagner, who won the Met Open as an amateur in 2001, won the title again in 2002 for his first victory as a professional.

The Met Open was once considered one of golf's "majors" along with the U.S. Open and Western Open. Winners during golf's golden era include Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Byron Nelson, Craig Wood, and Claude Harmon.

photo courtesy of Sleepy Hollow CC

Sleepy Hollow Country Club was founded in 1911 by some of the nation's most prominent business leaders at the pinnacle of America's "Gilded Age" including members of the Vanderbilt and Rockefeller families. Charles Blair Macdonald, assisted by Seth Raynor, designed the course, which was later tweaked by A.W. Tillinghast. More recently, Sleepy Hollow Country Club completed a comprehensive restoration bringing back the original designs and concepts of Macdonald. The result is a wonderful classic yet fully up-to-date course world renowned for its 16th hole, with its dramatic green and unparalleled view of the Hudson Valley.

John Cooney, Jr., President of the Sleepy Hollow Country Club, said: "We are honored to have been selected to host the Met Open during our club's centennial year. Competing golfers will enjoy our unique and challenging course that is in keeping with the Met Open standards and tradition."

Over the decades, Sleepy Hollow Country Club has hosted numerous golf tournaments including the Met Amateur Championships in 1944, 1965 and 1983, the Metropolitan Golf Association's 2003 Ike Championship as well as the 1993 French-American Challenge. From 1986 to 1993, Sleepy Hollow hosted the "Legends of Golf" Senior PGA tour event and in 2002 it played host to the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.

Mr. Cooney added, "The strong fields and world-class venues that characterize the Met Open have made it one of the nation's most sought-after regional titles. Sleepy Hollow County Club is proud to join the Met Open's distinguished list of host sites."

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, hiring, firing, and motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.

MGA Media Guide Now Online

The Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) promotes and preserves the interests of the game by serving more than 565 clubs representing 140,000 golfers in the NY metro area. Virtually every round of golf in the region is connected to the MGA in some way, making it a nationwide leader of the game.

For the complete story, check out the 2011 MGA Media Guide. It includes material that covers the rich history of the MGA and its prestigious championships that will be sure to provide exciting golf action once again across the Met Area.

You can also keep up with the MGA on Facebook and new this year, on its Twitter page. Follow @MGA1897 for up-to-date tournament news and results from the MGA.

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, hiring, firing, and motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.