North Shore Golf Summer 2021 web

2 >>> SUMMER 2021
A publication of Essex Media Group
Publisher
Edward M. Grant
Chief Executive Officer
Michael H. Shanahan
Directors
Edward L. Cahill
John M. Gilberg
Edward M. Grant
Gordon R. Hall
Monica Connell Healey
J. Patrick Norton
Michael H. Shanahan
Chief Financial Officer
William J. Kraft
Chief Operating Officer
James N. Wilson
Editor
Bill Brotherton
Associate Editor
Anne Marie Tobin
Design and Layout
Trevor Andreozzi
Contributing Writers
Mike Alongi
Allysha Dunnigan
Bob Green
Gary Larrabee
Photographers
David Colt
Spenser Hasak
Julia Hopkins
Advertising Sales
Ernie Carpenter
Ralph Mitchell
Patricia Whalen
Advertising Design
Trevor Andreozzi
Edwin Peralta Jr.
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
110 Munroe St.,
Lynn, MA 01901
781-593-7700 ext.1234
Subscriptions:
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01907themagazine.com
EDITOR'S LETTER
INSIDE
06 Back on the bag 22 Amateur achievements
10 Sibling revelry
23 Future star
12 Gannon improvements 24 Course directory
14 Pro Tip
26 Volunteer of the Year
16 Ban arm-lock?
28 Northern Getaway
18 Notebook
32 Larrabee reminisces
BILL BROTHERTON
Back in the loop
Show up! Shut up! Keep up!
Those were the marching orders when I, a scrawny 14-year-old, arrived to caddie for the first time 54 years
ago. It was 6 a.m. when my buddies Mark Bennett, Ricky Lord and I climbed the hill toward the pro shop at
Myopia Hunt Club. A couple of hours later, the caddiemaster, Robert “Brom” Bromberg, stopping frequently to
gasp for breath, lumbered up the same hill.
That day, I caddied for Forester “Tim” Clark Sr., whose golf bag was bigger, heavier and taller than me. He
was patient and kind, and helped teach me what to do and what not to do. Three older caddies also shared their
expertise.
That began a lifetime love of golf, and it’s no overstatement to say that caddying changed my life.
After a couple of weeks my buddies gave up. I was just getting started. If my dad couldn’t drive me to the
course, I hitchhiked or walked the 5½ miles from my home in Beverly Farms to Myopia. On Mondays, when
caddies had earned the right to play one of the world’s greatest courses, I’d walk carrying an ancient bag filled
with old wooden clubs, rusty irons and yellowed gutta percha balls. I got a hole-in-one the first time I ever
played; using a ball I found in the tall grass the day before: a 5-wood on the 136-yard 9th hole.
That spring I got a loop for the prestigious Pickman Cup, an annual competition between Essex and Myopia.
The Essex caddies carried two bags. “Hey Brotherton, you should come to Essex, you can double your pay.”
The next spring I did just that. It was closer, only a 4.4-mile walk. I got a swell red felt Essex cap too (pictured
above). I had a bike, but it never occurred to me that I could ride it to the next town. The summer of my junior
year, I was offered a job in the pro shop. I continued this job, first under pro Alex Urban and then David Marad,
until I graduated from college in 1976.
I learned to play golf on these courses. I loved caddying. It was fun. I was outdoors. I got paid at the end of
every round. I made enough money to pay for four years of college and a used Volkswagen Beetle.
I developed a strong work ethic and felt comfortable having meaningful conversations with successful
professional men and women. In the Essex pro shop, I got to know the man who would become my first boss:
Jay Sweet, sports editor of the Beverly Times. He invited me to be his guest in the Essex Fourball years later.
What a thrill!
I caddied for Essex member Denny Goodrich and his family the most. Denny had a profound influence on
my life and that of numerous other young adults thanks to his work with the Francis Ouimet Scholarship
Fund. I am proud to say I am a Ouimet Scholar. Denny passed away last fall. I cried when I heard the news.
This is a roundabout way to celebrate the fact that caddie programs are up and running again at most area
clubs, after the pandemic kept boys and girls off the course in 2020.
It was a trip down memory lane when I returned to Essex on June 27 to interview caddiemaster Chris Wells
for North Shore Golf magazine’s cover story on the return of caddies. Ironically, the Pickman Cup competition
between Essex and Myopia was taking place.
Also in the loop in this issue, is a look at the Ouimet Fund and its impact on thousands of young adults. You
will meet Mass Golf ’s 2020 Volunteer of the Year Christine Veator of Lynnfield, USGA PJ Boatwright intern
Abbie Weaver, and young player Isabel Brozena and the Emmerich and Tufts brothers who are all making
headlines statewide.
Wenham GC pro Ryan McDonald runs one of the region’s most successful youth golf programs; he shows
how adults can benefit from the same basic tips he teaches youngsters. Retired Tedesco pro Bob Green opines
on whether the arm-lock putting style embraced by Bryson DeChambeau and other pros should be banned.
Columnist Gary Larrabee writes about a lifetime of achievements made possible by the game of golf.
There’s also our newsy North Shore Golf Notebook, an updated course directory, four Northern Getaways all
golfers should consider, and more.
See you on the course.
Tell Bill what you think: bbrotherton@essexmediagroup.com
COVER
Caddie George Merry
of Danvers totes two
bags at Kernwood
Country Club.
PHOTO BY
SPENSER HASAK
DESIGN BY
TREVOR ANDREOZZI