Boys of Summer Record attendance highlights a well-above par
Men’s Golf Member Guest Day
Beautiful weather!
Closest-to-the-Pin winner
Dennis Sgambati (left) with
teammate Ed Camilleri
Photos by Dawn Steinberg and
Stephen Vrattos
BY STEPHEN VRATTOS
Perhaps it was the spectacular
weather. Following a
brutally hot previous day of
unpleasantly humid temps in the
nineties, the conditions for the
Men’s Golf Member Guest Day
transformed to a delightfully warm
and sunny, dry and breezy day in
the low eighties. But whether the
weather, or whatever, the annual
bring-a-buddy golf gala drew a
record number of attendees this
year. Approximately 120 members
and their guests descended upon
the Country Club the morning of
Thursday, August 17, for a full day
of golf, contests, food and refreshments,
camaraderie and friendly
gamesmanship.
The day began with a lovely
catered breakfast in—appropriately
enough—Towers on the Green,
where members enjoyed a sumptuous
buffet, featuring made-to-order
omelets and fresh bagels and lox.
By 10:30 a.m., the teams of four
commandeered their carts and
hit the course. Everyone played
a full round of eighteen holes,
occasionally stopping at several
refreshment stations along the way
for drinks and snacks. At noon, a
BBQ of grilled hamburgers and
hot dogs with all the fixin’s was
in full swing (so to speak) at the
gazebo, located between the 10th
and 11th holes.
By 3:30 p.m., the final contestants
were finishing up their games,
just in time to enjoy a potent potable
al fresco at the “19th Hole”, i.e.
bar, set up by the 10th Tee. The
afternoon tipple was just the right
liquid fortitude needed for the second
half of the day’s competitions:
Longest Drive and Closest-to-the-
Pin contests.
The grassy area betwixt the trees
and dense foliage which overlooks
the tee and fairway of Hole 11
served as the ideal location for
the former. Golf Pro Bob Guido
presided while each player made
two attempts to drive the ball as far
and straight as they could, whilst a
team of Guido’s intrepid red-shirts
awaited far below to measure the
results. Awards were given to
the farthest distances in four age
brackets: 0–40, 41–60, 61–75, and
76-years-old and older.
Three out of the four victors
were returning champs in the
event, though last year’s second-tier
winner, Mark Green, made it
interesting. With only a handful
of contestants remaining, Green
stepped up to the tee, needing to
beat the impressive 264-yard mark
set prior. Green’s first attempt
misfired out of bounds, leaving
him with one remaining chance.
His second try flew true besting
the distance to beat by three feet.
Green’s score held up and the power
swinger retained his title with a
distance of 267 yards.
Meanwhile, not far from the
Longest Drive contest, Assistant
Golf Pro John Morrison oversaw
the Closest-to-the-Pin competition.
Shooting in the opposite
direction on the tee to Hole 10,
players had two shots to land a
ball as close to the Hole 3 pin
as possible. Approaching Hole
3 from the backside made for a
tricking shot with the flag hugging
the front edge of the green in that
direction, before which was a
forbidding rough and overgrown
declivity, a no man’s land normally
not traversed during normal play.
Many a player was stymied; most
Vogel and Director of Grounds Eric O'Neill 16 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ September 2017
NST Dream Team (l. to r.) Security Director Chris Stahly, Chief
Engineer Sal Castro, Assistant to the General Manager Bruce