Chips & Divots

Quick news from
around the North Shore

Visualizing the untapped potential of their popular driving range in Salem was never a problem for either Vin or Al DiLisio. Bringing that vision to fruition? Well, that was another story.

The two brothers and long time Salem CC members had leased the property for 30 years and often inquired to the their landlords, Aggregate Industries, as to the prospect of purchasing the property.

“We would ask almost every year, but they didn’t want to sell it,” said Al who’s 81 years young and who has been affiliated with golf and ranges all the way back to his time as an 11-year-old working at the old Sum Beam Driving Range in Lynn.

“It was tough because we were very restricted in what we could do and felt like our hands were tied. Unfortunately in those last couple of years the place got a little run down which was a shame, but there was nothing we could do.”

Suffice it to say, those days must now feel like a distant memory to anyone who grabs a bucket of balls at DiLisio Brothers Driving Range these days.

Finally successful in their quest to purchase the property in December of 2007, the brothers have finally been able to put their ambitious plans into motion and have literally transformed the range.

Built primarily on ledge, nearly 90 percent of the rock has been removed and the entire range has been landscaped. Now instead of staring out at ledge, golfers can take dead aim at a rolling fairway that would serve as a great par-4 at any course. The brothers have also added 37 brand new mats as well as an area to tee off from the grass as well. While it has been a hefty undertaking, both say it was necessary to accomplish their ultimate goal.

“We didn’t want to make it just a good golf range, we wanted to make it the best,” said Al gazing out at the new rolling fairway which has been reseeded three times and features pin placements at several intervals enabling golfers to simulate virtually ever shot in the book. There’s even a hole 240 yards away.

“You play that twice and it’s just like playing a par-5,” says Al. “It’s been fun. Everyone needs a hobby and this has been ours.”

The instruction continues to be a strength at DiLisios starting with the timeless Joe Murphy who can still be found breaking down swings of all shapes and sizes most days. Also on the staff is Ty Andersen, a Top 50 Kids Instructor, as well as Marblehead’s John Michael Saraceno, who recently penned his first book, “Tempo … Heartbeat of the Golf Swing.”

Beyond the instruction if you are looking for a swing to mimic you could do a lot worse than copying any one of a plethora of DiLisios who can often be found emptying a bucket or two. Along with Al and Vinny, who have a combined 13 hole-in-ones between them, there’s Vinny’s son, Dana, who plays to a 2-handicap over at Salem CC and who runs the other part of the family’s business, Castle Creek Adventure Land, across the street. Dana’s two sons, Anthony and Steve, appear poised to take bragging rights for the next several years in the golfing family. Anthony, 18, who will play for a powerhouse Skidmore College team this fall, just won the Salem CC club championship and has had solid showing at the Mass. Open and state amateur as well as the New Hampshire Open this summer. Steven, only 11, is already a scratch golfer himself and may surpass them all. Last month he holed out a 20-footer on the final hole to capture the Boys Division at the Mass. Junior at Framingham CC. – Bob Albright

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The kids’ champion:
Foster recognized by NEPGA

He would be the last person to admit it, but Mike Foster, in forty years of service to the membership and public at Larry Gannon Golf Course, has attained legendary status nearly on the same level as his predecessor, the man for whom his Lynn layout is named. So it has come as no surprise to those close to the Greater Lynn golf community that Foster has been named the 2009 recipient of the New England PGA Junior Golf Leader Award. Foster will receive his honor at the annual NEPGA awards dinner October 24 at Wollaston Golf Club. A second honoree that night will be former Essex assistant Jim Noris, now the head pro at Dedham. He will receive the NEPGA Professional of the Year award.

Just like the late great Gannon, Foster has been a booster of junior golf on the North Shore without peer. The head professional since Gannon’s death in 1974, Foster believes there is no finer gift he can leave the game than to help develop golf among today’s youth. “Junior golf is a lifeline for the future membership,” he points out. “But even more important, junior golf can be an experience kids can enjoy their entire lives. It’s an experience that can be valuable to them as they mature into adults, for making friendships, for enhancing their work careers, and in keeping them healthy in their senior years. What’s not to like about golf?”

And what’s not to like about Foster’s dedication to the game and to junior golf? “Mike is as fine an example of junior golf leadership in our PGA Section as I know,” declared Don Lyons, head pro at King Rail Reserve and Reedy Meadow at Lynnfield Centre, both in Lynnfield. Lyons is the former NEPGA president and one of those who nominated Foster for the award.

Foster and his LGGC staff run free clinics on five Mondays during the summer. The clinics provide instruction, free equipment and free golf. “Way back we originally had forty boys and girls involved,” Foster recalled. “Now we get 150 or more each Monday. We get them out on the course from 10 to 1. They might play as few as three or four holes or as many 9 or 18, based on their age and skill level. They learn the game’s basics, the etiquette, make friends.”

Foster says his commitment to junior golf could not be as successful without the support of the Larry Gannon membership. “The members support the program devotedly,” Foster said. “They donate clubs, bags and balls to make sure every kid has equipment to start the program. Tara Johnson of the pro shop staff and I take the older kids out and people like Mike and Kathy Jauron and Mary Hunt have pitched in for years. These kids are motivated because approximately 20 junior memberships are donated each year by organizations like the Lynn Fire and Police Departments.” – Gary Larrabee

From what he has heard, Foster says that there’s a good chance that the opening scene of Edge of Darkness, which is due out this fall, could be the scene from Gannon’s 15th. He adds that the whole experience has given him a good insight to the rigorous behind the scenes work it takes to shoot just one scene of a major motion picture.