North Shore Golf Spring 2018

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NSG_Spring2018.qxp_Layout 1 3/20/18 2:06 PM Page 14 N O R T H S H O R E G O L F NOTEBOOK By BILL BROTHERTON FROM THE TOP: Toby Ahern and Jen McCarthy 14 >>> SPRING 2018 PHOTOS: Spenser Hasak Bill Crocker is the new clubhouse manager at Salem Country Club, succeeding Greg Cincotta who is now at Concord CC … Lorelei Judge is the clubhouse manager at Kernwood CC … Maxine Harney, granddaughter of the late Bay State golfing legend Paul Harney and daughter of Chris Harney, is a junior member at Ferncroft CC. •••••••••••• Ryan McDonald is the new head PGA pro at Wenham CC. He was previously at Northfield CC in central Vermont … Peter Bracey is the new head PGA pro at Woburn CC. Bracey, who grew up in Woburn and played the course as a young man, was most recently head pro at Ole Monterey Golf Club in Roanoke, Virginia … Cory Paris is the new superintendent at Middleton Golf Course. •••••••••••• PGA of America President Paul Levy was special guest at the NEPGA Section Spring Meeting March 27 … Eric Barlow, pro at Winchester CC, is the NEPGA’s Teacher of the Year … Peter Doherty, pro at Atkinson Club, won NEPGA’s Player Development Award … Jim Furyk received the Ouimet Award at the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund banquet March 27 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. •••••••••••• Nahant Golf Club has donated 20 junior memberships to the Nahant Recreation department. Head PGA pro Toby Ahern presented the gift to Jen McCarthy of the Rec. Department, which will distribute the memberships. Ahern said the PGA Junior League program will continue this year, as will a series of junior clinics. Adults have not been forgotten: Ahern will host five-week Adult Beginners group lessons Wednesday and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. starting April 18. Go to nahantgolfclub.com for details … Middleton Golf Course is hosting a Glow Ball Scramble Friday, April 20, 6:30-11 p.m. Pizza party before the 9-hole tourney. The course will provide glow ball equipment. Details at Middleton Golf Course’s Facebook page. Crystal Lake Golf Club in Haverhill has a new owner. The 18-hole, 137-acre course was sold at a foreclosure auction for $960,000 Jan. 11 to Sterling Golf Management Inc. The Newton-based company manages eight other courses in Massachusetts, including Unicorn GC and Stoneham Oaks, both in Stoneham, and one in New Hampshire ... Ould Newbury has undertaken an ambitious treeremoval project on its 6th tee and the side of the 5th green. This will allow sunlight to get to the tee boxes, which will be rebuilt this year. The men’s locker room at the club is also being completely redone … Unicorn GC in Stoneham has installed a new irrigation system on the entire course. •••••••••••• Donnie Lyons reports that Reedy Meadow in Lynnfield was one of the first North Shore courses to open: Feb. 26, thanks to a stretch of unseasonably warm days before the snow came. Back for another season - his 68th! - is longtime club manager Bob Baker, who Lyons said continues to be the face, heart and soul of the Reedy Meadow facility. “The man is amazing, I have never seen anyone better with people’s names than Bob, and honestly, people just love the place because of him,” Lyons said. “Think about it, he turned 80 in August and has been here for 68 years. Bob is just one of the greatest guys you will ever meet.” … Lynnfield's other course, King Rail Reserve, plans to open on April 1. •••••••••••• Josh Salah of Gloucester and Bass Rocks continues to compete on the Asian Development Tour. “I am continuing to make great strides with my swing changes and am excited about my progress,” he reports from Thailand … At press time, Salem native Rob Oppenheim of Indian Ridge CC had made the cut in five tournaments on the PGA Tour, earning $138,460 and ranking 224th on the money list. •••••••••••• Members at Mount Pleasant CC are still talking about last fall’s lively retirement party and 9-hole tournament for Jack Hassett, the Lowell course’s longtime superintendent … Beverly Golf & Tennis Club will hold its opening day Bramble on May 5 … Four Oaks Country Club in Dracut will host its popular Junior Golf Camp July 10-12. Instructors will be PGA professionals Anthony Martinho and Mary Wilkinson. Go to fouroakscountryclub.com PHOTOS: Spenser Hasak for info. l
NSG_Spring2018.qxp_Layout 1 3/20/18 2:07 PM Page 15 The BEST and WORST of golf movies It’s too bad Bogie never starred in one By BILL BROTHERTON For those of us itching to hit the links, the wind, rain and snow of early March frustrated us to no end. One day, after breaking my back shoveling about eight inches of the heavy, wet stuff I nursed a Green Head IPA, settled int o my cozy chair and binge-watched a batch of golf-themed movies. There are more of them than you’d think. “Caddyshack” has always been one of my favorites, and has been since it came out in 1980. It’s still hilarious. Even funnier is the Three Stooges’ short “Three Little Beers,” a 1938 howler that finds Moe, Larry and Curly creating mayhem at an exclusive country club and nearly destroying the course, cutting down trees, damaging greens and doing their laundry in a ball-washer. Kudos, too, to a series of amusing instructional/slapstick comedy shorts by the legendary Bobby Jones; W.C. Fields is even in one episode! After 10 hours of viewing, I’d decided “Caddyshack” had slipped to No. 3 on my favorites list. Putting on both my Siskel and Ebert hats, here is my ranking of golf-themed films. CHAMPIONS 1. “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” 2005, starring Shia LaBeouf, Elias Koteas, Stephen Dillane. A true underdog story of young amateur Francis Ouimet’s (LaBeouf) unlikely 1913 U.S. Open victory against renowned Brit Harry Vardon (Dillane) at The Country Club in Brookline. Lots of golf action, with a riveting undercurrent of class prejudices and lack of support from Ouimet’s father. And you’ll want to go to Google to see if Ouimet and Sarah eventually married. Even though you know how this ends, it’s terrific entertainment. 2. “Tin Cup,” 1996, starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin. Lovable underdog Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy (Costner), a train wreck of a human being and failed golfer, qualifies for the U.S. Open, where he competes against his arch nemesis Sims (Johnson) and competes for the affection of Sims’ girlfriend (Russo). A winning romantic comedy with lots of golf and inside humor. Plus you’ll love the way she waggles it! 3. “Caddyshack,” 1980, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight. A classic National Lampoon comedy that evokes laughs no matter how many times you’ve seen it. Dangerfield is a riot and Knight is spectacularly insufferable, but they and “SNL” stars Chase and Murray are upstaged by a gopher. “Whoa. Did somebody step on a duck?” RUNNERS-UP 1. “Happy Gilmore,” 1998, starring Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen with memorable contributions by Bob “The Price is Right” Barker and Richard “Mr. Larson” Kiel. First off, I detest Adam Sandler. His shtick is annoying as hell. But this comedy is priceless, equal parts “Caddyshack” and “Slap Shot.” The sight gags are sublime and the one-liners are hysterical. The stuffy pro tour could use more lovable Happy Gilmores and fewer jerkward Shooter McGavins. 2. “Pat and Mike,” 1952, starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray. Technically, not a golf movie. But there’s a glorious pivotal scene featuring Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Hepburn’s Pat Pemberton and other women golfers on the course. One of Tracy-Hepburn’s best films, the chemistry between the stars is undeniable. 3. “Dorf on Golf,” 1987, Tim Conway, Vincent Schiavelli. Maybe the Green Head IPAs were talking, but this is silly, stupid, dopey, dumb foolishness. I laughed like an idiot at the antics of Conway’s diminutive golfer and clueless caddie Schiavelli. ABLE TO MAKE THE CUT 1. “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” 2004, starring Jim Caviezel (The guy from “Person of Interest”), Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam. 2. “Dead Solid Perfect,” 1988, starring Randy Quaid, Kathryn Harrold, Jack Warden. 3. “Donald’s Golf Game” and “The Honeymooners” “Hello, ball” episode. FAILED TO MAKE THE CUT 1. “A Gentleman’s Game,” 2000, starring Mason Gamble, Gary Sinise, Philip Baker Hall. 2. “The Caddy,” 1953, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis (despise him more than Sandler; and the movie’s a dud), Donna Reed. 3. “The Squeeze,” 2015, starring Katherine LaNasa, Michael Nouri, Jeremy Sumpter DISQUALIFIED 1. “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” 2000, starring Matt Damon, Will Smith, Charlize Theron. New-age mush. An embarrassment. The outfits are great though. Bill Brotherton is editor of North Shore Golf magazine. Let him know which of these are on your must-watch list or if there’s a film he missed; email (bbrotherton@essexmediagroup.com) or comment on North Shore Golf magazine’s Facebook page. Results of this informal poll will be reported in our Summer edition. NORTH SHORE GOLF
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North Shore Golf Spring 2018

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