Splitting the local fairways in 2008

By Gary Larrabee

Gary Larrabee

Praise the golfing gods. We got through another nasty New England winter, our suffering eased by the remarkable showings of the Red Sox, near-perfect Patriots and the rejuvenated Celtics and Bruins.

The turf on our favorite links is greening and growing. The trees are beginning to show some leaves. We’re flushing our drives and holing more of our testy five-footers.

We marvel as Tiger Woods continues his record-breaking pro career and his pursuit of the two biggest standards of them all – most tournament wins and most major wins.

And, we begin the official two-year countdown to the staging of the 2010 Curtis Cup Match at Essex County Club.

Lots of good stuff to throw out to you, our loyal readers and advertisers, as we tee off with Year No. 6 of North Shore Golf, the 21st issue in which I’ve been given the privilege of using this final page for anything golf I choose.

As per custom, here are a few of my wishes for the 2008 season:

That Essex CC’s Jim Deveney will bounce back from major hip surgery with his best competitive season in 20 years.

That retiring Northeast Health System Chairman of the Board, Hank Ramini, finds the game to defeat his talented wife, Maureen, the queen of Salem CC ladies club champions, just once on their beloved Donald Ross layout.

That somehow, someone can return Beverly Golf and Tennis Club to its pristine state of yesteryear, complete with a bulging membership and the appropriate support from the city (get my drift, Mayor Scanlon?).

That The Renaissance Club and Turner Hill will prosper with an influx of new members.

That Boston Globe Division 2 Player of the Year Cam Kneeland of Triton Regional will have the opportunity to display his talents on the local and collegiate tournament scene; and that Division 1 state individual co-champ Mike Mullavey of St. John’s Prep will enjoy as rewarding a life in the game as his club professional dad.

That Salem CC’s Tom Standring, who last December had a room dedicated to him at Danvers’ Peabody Institute Library, where he served as a trustee for nearly 25 years, will shoot a career round this season.

That Kernwood’s Jack Taymore will serve the Massachusetts Golf Association Executive Committee with similar distinction as late, great fellow KCC members Ike Fermon, Joel Gibbs and Peter Oppenheim.

That Vesper’s Phil Smith, after his exciting two-stroke victory over the state’s top player, Frank Vana, in the MGA Mid-Amateur late last season, will break through at the State Amateur this July at vaunted Kittannsett.

That former Salem CC assistant pro and ex-New England PGA president, Steve Napoli, will flourish in his new post as top man at the Carnegie Abbey Club in Rhode Island with the same level of success as he experienced at his former post, Wannamoissett GC.

That Beverly native Ron Kirby’s new golf course design project in Ireland, CastleMartyr, will be received as warmly as his world-renowned Olde Head.

That Ferncroft CC executive David Swales, a new United States citizen, has a chance to show off his long-awaited new clubhouse with a major tournament in the next few years.

That there are more golf benefactors on the North Shore like Kernwood’s Rich Bane, who last fall received the sixth annual award honoring outstanding service as a Francis Ouimet Scholarship from Ouimet Fund director Todd Wetzel.

That there are more holes-in-one in the future of popular Beverly tooth doctor and Renaissance member Don LeClair after he registered his first ace last fall at Raptor Bay GC in Bonita Springs, Fla. (176-yard fourth hole, 5-iron). Ditto for Indian Ridge’s Tom Ricker (he notched No. 3 last fall) and for 83-year-old John Emerzian, who made his “1” on the eighth at New Meadow.

That John Theo has more wins in store after his victory on Chris Young’s New England Senior Tour last fall.

That former Kernwood head professional Cotton Dunn savors his retirement with wife, Jerry Ann, after rounding out his career with a 25-year stint at Prestonwood CC in Dallas.

And lastly, that we shall never forget those among our North Shore golf family whom we have lost since last summer, including Paul Hannaway, Ron Dion, Bob Sears, Peter Doyle, Norm Leach, Pat Femino, Alex Petkevich, Wayne Day, Ellen Duffy, George Ambrose and Charlie Pappas.

Have a great golf season, y’all!

?Gary Larrabee, the author of The Green and Gold Coast: The History of Golf on Boston's North Shore, 1893-2001, has been covering the North Shore/Greater Boston golf scene for 35 years. He has written centennial histories for Salem, Winchester and Wenham Country Clubs. His latest book project, the 100-year history of St. John's Prep, was published last summer.