From the Editor

Bob Albright

Jotting down just four of the reasons to head over to Essex County Club this June 11-13 to watch the 36th Curtis Cup while wondering if my esteemed colleague Gary Larrabee will break out his red, white and blue slacks for the historic event.

1. Alexis Thompson: When I send my 9-year-old daughter, Emily, out to the backyard with a sawed off wedge and a bucket of balls, two thoughts quickly come to mind. The first, of course, is to open all the windows and hand out the requisite number of bike helmets to any neighbor who may be in the general vicinity. The second is the hope that she too may fall in love with this bewitching game and if, by some major quirk of fate, a college golf coach falls in love with her swing in another eight years or so, all the better.

In an entirely different universe altogether resides the precocious 15-year-old from Coral Gables, Fla. who already has three U.S. Women’s Open appearances on her resume — and the first of those was three years ago when she was just 12! No bike helmets necessary here, unless you happen to be standing in the middle of the fairway some 275 yards off the tee. Remarkably, Thompson is just one of three 15-year-olds who will visit Essex CC this summer along with Irish twins Leona and Lisa Maguire.

2. Donald Ross: As Curtis Cup co-chair Annie Barton rightly pointed out, “Essex County Club is a Donald Ross masterpiece, but a lot of clubs can say that … .” Essex, more than any course, however, boasts many ties to the legendary architect. After all, how many clubs can produce a pay stub from Ross, who served briefly as the club’s head pro and greenskeeper while redesigning the course in the early 1900s? Better yet, the colonial that Ross lived in during his time at Essex still stands proudly off the 15th tee.

3. No ropes:  As opposed to most national events, you will not find any ropes along the fairways at Essex.   Spectators will be able to follow right behind the matches and walk Essex’s fairways. In turn, you should gain a better appreciation as to why Essex is routinely listed among the top classic courses worldwide.

4. Noreen Mohler: Hard not to pull for the unassuming Woburn native for the local angle alone. To see the U.S. captain get choked up a year later talking about her reaction to being selected to head this squad, as she did in April at the Curtis Cup media day, speaks volumes about what this international competition means to all those involved. That being said, Mohler seems pretty comfortable with the golf part. It is her trip to the mound at Fenway on May 27 to throw out the first pitch that is keeping her up at night. Asked who was her preferred catcher, the U.S. captain pulled a Josh Beckett and said she would like to throw to another captain, Jason Varitek. Wise choice, and hopefully the first of many by Mohler this summer.

I’ll see you over at Essex CC,

Bob Albright
editor

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