The feedback was all positive when USGA officials visited Essex County Club earlier this summer to map strategy for the club’s hosting of the 36th Curtis Cup Match next June 11-13.

“The course was so right we could have played the Match right then and there,” marveled Woburn native Noreen Friel Mohler, captain of the U.S. team that will take on the best women amateur team Great Britain and Ireland has to offer.

“It was just a great visit for us, meeting the membership, getting a sense of the logistics, the grand old brick clubhouse, you name it.”

Friel was accompanied by husband Jeff Mohler, USGA staffer Maggie Giesenhagen and USGA Curtis Cup Committee members Marion Levins, Lesley Shannon Stewart, Martha Lang, Roberta Bolduc, Caroline Jordan and Barbara Douglass. General chairman Bill Van Faasen and Event Chairman Annie Barton served as hosts.

“It was an energizing experience for all of us at Essex,” said Barton. “We got a lot accomplished, but we still have a lot of work ahead. Once the season ends, the 2010 season will be here before we know it, and we have to have all the pieces in place by early May. We expect 3,000 to 4,000 spectators each of the three days, so we have to be ready for them regarding parking, transportation, facilities, concessions, gallery control. The media (including The Golf Channel coverage), officials and the players, of course, all have to be taken care of, too.”

Course superintendent Eric Richardson called his meetings with the USGA “most helpful.” “The changes they asked us to make after they left that weekend amounted to three hours of work, so we’re doing okay. The one major job that has been planned all along is removing the sand from all bunkers and replacing it with new sand.”

Vesper’s Alison Walshe led after two rounds (68-63) of the LPGA Futures New England Classic in Bloomfield, Conn., before shooting 75 in the finale and finishing T-6, four off the winning score.

Congratulations to Kernwood’s Tami and Harry Bane, who won low gross, and Michelle and Maxwell Kane, who won Div. 2 low gross, at the State Mother-Son on their home course.
Congratulations to Arizona State’s Jaclyn Sweeny of Andover (Indian Ridge) who tied for 11th at NCAA Division I Women’s Championship to help lead her Sun Devils to the national crown.

Red Tail GC in Devens received rave reviews from all on hand at the U.S. Amateur Women’s Public Links Championship earlier this summer. Keep your eye on California’s Jennifer Song, 19, who defeated Kimberly Kim for the title. With the regular match play concessions, Song was nine under par for the 30 holes of her scheduled 36-hole match. She consistently drove the ball 250 yards or better and never missed a fairway (23 of 23) in the final, while hitting 25 of 30 greens in regulation for good measure.