"So, What's Your Handicap?"

By Billy Condon

With the U.S. Open less than a month away, the worldwide golf buzz has already started. People at bars, courses, and walking down the street are excited to watch Tiger & co. tackle Bethpage once more, and golfers are debating about how they would fare teeing it up with the big boys. This conversation often turns to: “So, what’s your handicap?”

Therefore, in tune with this week’s poll, we’ll tackle one of golf’s greatest mysteries…the handicap. True or false: every golfer keeps a handicap? False. Fact: every golfer SHOULD have an official USGA Handicap Index, even if they don’t entirely understand the purpose of that double — but hopefully one day single — digit number. Here is a quick overview of the handicap system and why, no matter the skill of the player, you should keep one.

1) It allows players of all abilities to compete on an equitable level…making it your only chance to beat Tiger Woods outside of video games
2) It allows players to track their games as they improve
3) It allows players to track their games as their game falls apart
4) It allows a player to enter tournaments, outings and other events where handicaps are required
5) And if nothing else, it makes you look like you are serious about the game…and it’s cheap!

Now that you are excited about the handicap system, here’s how to sign up:
-You can click here: I am ready to start my handicap journey
-If you are an existing member of a golf club, men’s league, or any other organized group, you can talk to your handicap chairman about getting started with an official USGA Handicap Index.
-If not, contact a club near you and sign up today!

Catch the Trend

By Billy Condon

Trends come and go, especially in sports. From the short-shorts in the NBA to the oversize visors in golf that were sported by the likes of Tom Kite and Laura Davies (sorry David Toms), sports trends are in and out of style as often as Sergio changes putters.

Like all trends, it just takes an individual to spark the idea before others adopt a similar routine. From LeBron’s baby powder toss before a game, Big Papi’s pre-swing spit-clap and Paula Creamer’s pink outfit and golf ball, athletes have become synonymous with their individual trends. Not to mention that guy who wears red on Sundays. Here is a short list of examples in golf that help make our game unique, exciting and the source of conversation at the 19th hole.

-Any outfit by Ian Poulter

-John Daly’s new clothing endorser

-Boo Weekley and camouflage

-Bubba Watson and pink shafts

-Camilo Villegas’s Spider-man approach to reading putts

-Jim Furyk’s “back-off” putting routine

-Anthony Kim’s belt buckles

-Shingo Katayama’s cowboy hats

-Gary Player’s all-black attire

Photo Credit: Stuart Franklin - Getty Images

Despite Unfavorable Outcome, MGA Enjoys the Emerald Isle

By Kate Keller

Thursday, May 7

Several of the MGA Team members departed this morning for New York Mike Reardon, Cameron Wilson and Robert Cronheim all stayed at Portmarnock to play in the Irish Amateur Open Championship beginning Friday, May 8 at Royal Dublin.

A few of us, Al Small and his wife Patti, Gene Westmoreland and his wife Mary and I, traveled to The North. The drive along the cost of Ireland is spectacular! Everywhere you looked there was natural beauty in some form, whether it was the mountains on our left or the Irish Sea on our right.

We visited Royal County Down Golf Club. It was just as picturesque as one can imagine, and all were raving about the experience of playing this world famous course. Mary and I toured the quaint town of New Castle and sampled the local shopping and cuisine. Then it was back into the car to head further north to Port Rush!

Wednesday, May 6

It was another great finish today, although the outcome didn't come out the way the MGA had intended. Members of both teams played great and the awards reception was lovely. MGA President Al Small and team captain Gene Westmoreland stressed how much pride they had in their team, and how impressive the caliber of play was this week. Gene said it best, "When we arrived on Monday, there were some new friends and some old friends, and after today, we are ALL old friends".

We made plans with P.J. Collins, President of the GUI, and Rollo McClure, Honorary Treasurer of the GUI, to meet up when they visit New York for the U.S. Open in June. They were also invited to join us at the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association Dinner on June 16th where Gene will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award. All in all, it was a great day for the game of golf.

MGA, GUI Tied After First Day of Carey Cup

The MGA and the Golfing Union of Ireland are tied after the first day of competition at the Carey Cup Matches at the Portmarnock Links and Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Visit www.mgagolf.org for complete coverage. Kate Keller, the MGA Director of Special Events, sent us another update from across the pond:

May 5
I never fully understood how difficult playing golf under true links conditions could be...until today. The wind knocked over golf bags, blew golf balls off tees, and almost sidelined a few golf administrators! Nevertheless, both teams played very well and impressed us all. The MGA team made a great comeback in the afternoon, winning two of the three matches.

The GUI treated the MGA and Portmarnock officials and staff to a wonderful dinner at Bon Appetite in Malahide. The 7 course tasting menu was exquisite—a truly special evening that we will never forget!

I also had a conversation with MGA team captain Gene Westmoreland on what he thought of the day’s play:

“Despite winds of 40-50 miles per hour, the caliber of play was incredible,” said Gene. “The fourball scores in all matches were unbelievably under par. We're happy to be tied 3-3 going into the singles matches and looking forward to another great day of competition.”

MGA Carey Cup Team Set for Matches

The Carey Cup Matches began Tuesday morning at The Links Portmarnock in Ireland. Visit www.mgagolf.org for live scoring and full coverage. Kate Keller, Director of Special Events at the MGA, sent an update on the Matches:

May 4
Today the lads from the Golfing Union of Ireland arrived and both teams and officials played a practice round at The Links Portmarnock to get ready for the matches. Following golf, there was a cocktail reception and an official dinner to formally introduce the two teams. It was wonderful to see old friends from the GUI again and to meet new friends from both the GUI and The Links Portmarnock. MGA team captain Gene Westmoreland and MGA President Al Small spoke on behalf of the MGA and the Carey Family, expressing the spirit of the matches and the great pride everyone has in representing their respective group. Tomorrow morning the matches begin at "half 8"!

Kate Keller

MGA Carey Cup Team Arrives in Ireland

The six-man MGA Carey Cup team traveled to Ireland over the weekend for the 8th Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup, a Walker Cup-style event against a team from the Golfing Union of Ireland, on May 5 and 6 at the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links (left). The MGA team is led by 2008 MGA Player of the Year Joe Saladino of Huntington and includes 2008 MGA Mid-Amateur champion Greg Rohlf of Winged Foot, 2007 MGA Mid-Amateur champ Mike Reardon of Tuxedo, and Ed Gibstein of Engineers, who is playing in his ninth MGA international competition. Sixteen-year-old Cameron Wilson, the low amateur at the 2008 Met Open, and 20-year-old Robert Cronheim of Twin Brooks, who finished tied for 9th at the 2008 New Jersey State Open, round out a strong MGA team. MGA Director of Special Events Kate Keller will send updates on all the action from the matches:

May 3
WE MADE IT! We arrived this morning at Dublin Airport at 10:15 a.m. Our flight was a little late, but Seamus Smith, the General Secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, was there to greet us with our bus. We picked up our rental cars, loaded the bus and checked into the Portmarnock Hotel. The team got a quick bite to eat, then it was off to golf at the K Club, site of the 2006 Ryder Cup. The group reconvened for a lovely dinner at one of the hotel's three restaurants. The weather has been great so far with just a few showers throughout the day, but that's typical here in Ireland!

Kate Keller

Back at Black

By Billy Condon


Last week, I got the opportunity to travel to Bethpage for a photo shoot for our upcoming June/July issue of The Met Golfer. The goal was to get shots of Mike Davis, Sr. Director of Rules and Competitions for the USGA as well as Hamilton Lopes, a member of the grounds crew who is an alum of the MGA Foundation's GOLFWORKS student intern program and who will be featured in that issue as well.

I have been to Bethpage a few times in the past to conduct U.S. Public Links qualifiers and interviews for the upcoming article with Hamilton and head superintendent Craig Currier. I always got that feeling of excitement when pulling up to the welcome sign and always think back to that "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode where they sleep in their car. However, being there as all the tents and preparations are now in full swing was tremendous. Between the corporate and hospitality tents going up to walking up to the famous sign on the first tee "WARNING - The Black Course is an Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers." It reminds you of how special a place it really is. I couldn't help but take some pictures of my own.

Seeing the eager and nervous anticipation of the players waiting to tee off, (including some who disregarded the WARNING sign and made everyone aware that they are not highly skilled) made me wish I was one of the lucky ones able to get a tee time between 8 and 1 for the chance to play the Black and for the chance to say "I was there, I went dead center on #1 and got on in two! Tiger hit his in the rough!"

Between the cameras and the interviews (I got the chance to pretend to be Jimmy Roberts as I interviewed Hamilton) onlookers were trying to get the scoop as I have been that onlooker on numerous occasions. It definitely gave me a sense of importance and that in some small way, I was a part of the 2009 U.S. Open.

Ike Duo Rules School

By Billy Condon


Having witnessed the outstanding golf put on display by Kevin Foley and Morgan Hoffmann on numerous occasions last summer, including their one-two finish at the Ike respectively, it is great to see their continued success each week on the college circuit.

Foley, a Penn State junior, and Hoffmann, a freshman at Oklahoma State had outstanding months of March and have brought their A-games into April as they prepare for conference and NCAA tournaments right around the corner. This past week, Foley finished at a tie for first place at the Boilermaker Invitational with a total score of nine under par. This helped Penn State to second-place finish overall, one shot short of first. This marked the fourth time that Foley finished first in a collegiate event. It should also be noted that fellow Met Area student athlete Chris DeForest, a sophomore at the University of Illinois finished in third place, two strokes behind Foley and helped Illinois capture the team title.

As for the Cowboy's freshman phenom, Hoffmann has recently been named one of ten semifinalists for the Ben Hogan award. The award goes to the top collegiate player among all divisions, taking into account all of their collegiate and amateur achievements in a 12-month period. Hoffmann has won two events this year while at OSU, and was also named the Big 12 Golfer of the Month for March, and made it to the quarterfinals at the U.S Amateur. To be one of ten for the Heisman Trophy of golf is extremely impressive, and he's only a freshman!

It will be exciting to see both Kevin and Morgan, as well as the other Met Area college stars continue to excel throughout the rest of the collegiate season and hopefully their fine play will continue into U.S. Open qualifying.

Viva Argentina!

By Greg Midland

One last thought on the 2009 Masters champion, Angel Cabrera. I had the good fortune to travel to Argentina in February with about two dozen golf professionals to sample a few of the best courses in this golf-rich country. In addition to spending more time than we ever expected eating some of the finest steaks in the world, our group got to sample five courses around the capital city of Buenos Aires. Golf has been played in Buenos Aires for more than 125 years, when British settlers first brought the game to Argentina. While golf is a distant second behind soccer in the Argentine sports pantheon, Cabrera's second major win will only help boost its profile.

One of the highlights of the trip -- in addition to trading a New York winter for an Argentine summer for a week -- was the opportunity we had to meet and interact with two legends of Argentinian golf, Eduardo Romero and Roberto De Vicenzo. Romero, or "El Gato," as he is known by Argentinians, has had a very successful run on the Champions Tour, and won an event just a couple months ago. But it is De Vicenzo, now 86 years old and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, who put Argentine golf on the map. He won the 1967 British Open at Hoylake, by two strokes over Jack Nicklaus. The following year, he made one of the biggest gaffes in golf history. De Vicenzo signed for a 66 in the final round of the 1968 Masters, rather than the 65 he actually shot, which would have put him in a playoff with Bob Goalby. Instead, Goalby was the outright champion, and De Vicenzo uttered the now-famous words, "What a stupid I am!"

Rest assured, De Vicenzo is anything but. When he walked into the clubhouse at Pilar Golf Club outside Buenos Aires, everyone in attendance, from golf pros to clubhouse staff to members, congregated around him. I was able to pose with him for this picture (above), along with teaching pro Pat Eggeling of Old Oaks and head pro Don Beatty of Garden City Country Club. De Vicenzo clearly set the bar for players like Romero, Cabrera, and young Andres Romero to follow in his footsteps and bring deserved recognition to Argentinian golf.

What an Ending!

By Billy Condon

Wow! I don’t think anyone could have predicted such an exciting finale to the Masters. With Tiger and Phil’s comeback efforts falling just short, Kenny Perry nearly acing 16 and a three-man playoff, this year’s Masters was anything but drama-free. Although our predictions were a little off with no European, man from the Emerald Isle, or Mahan/Cink coming through in the end to don the green jacket, it sure was fun to watch and congratulations are due to Angel Cabrera. From the avid follower to someone watching for the first time, it’s hard to say golf isn’t a great spectator sport.

Yesterday was a perfect example of why not only golf, but all sports are so exciting. Just when you think you're out for the count, you get a lucky bounce off a tree back into the fairway, make a putt and before you know it, you are in Butler Cabin being awarded the green jacket. Cabrera paralleled what the Boston University hockey team achieved this weekend, as the Terriers scored two goals in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and eventually win the National Championship.

2009 will be a great year for major championship golf and with the next stop being right here in the Met Area, the world’s best will be itching for their next shot to win a major at the Black.