Hot Links
But the players proved hotter during the Men’s Golf Association Member Guest Day
STORY STORY AND
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN
VRATTOS
Both heat index and spirits
were high on Thursday, August
16, as 100 enthusiastic
players descended upon North
Shore Towers for the Men’s Golf
Association’s annual Member Guest
Day. From sun-up to sundown, a
full slate of activities greeted the
participants as they arrived, beginning
at 8 a.m. for a luxurious
breakfast at Towers on the Green,
including made-to-order omelet station;
hot buffet with sausage, bacon,
pancakes, French toast, and more;
cold counterpart with bagels and
a variety of toppings and spreads,
including smoked salmon; and fresh
fruit, coffee, tea and juices.
Play began around 10 a.m. with
a Texas Scramble tournament, followed
by Closest-to-the-Pin and
Longest Drive contests at 3:30 p.m.,
which included an outdoor bar and
passed hors d’oeuvres. The latter
two events always prove remarkable
and 2018 was no different.
Perhaps it was the fact the
Closest-to-the-Pin contestants
had encountered the tricky shot
shooting backward from the 10th
Tee to the 3rd Hole last year, which
resulted in many more attempts
landing on the green. But this year’s
outcome was a nail-biter. Early on,
one savvy marksman got to just
over six feet of the pin, before Rich
Micillo knocked a beaut 4-feet,
1-inches from the hole. Nearly half
a foot better than Dennis Sgambati’s
game-winner of 4-feet, 6-inches last
year, and with two-thirds of the field
gone, Micillo’s shot looked sure
to take the title, until Jonathan
Smokler bested his, knocking one
an impressive 2-feet, 6-inches from
the pin to capture the crown.
Meanwhile, on the nearby
Longest Drive range Tom Lau just
may have broken the course record,
walloping a blistering shot 327 yards
to capture the Lightweight Division
title. “So long as I’ve been here, I’ve
never seen one longer,” Golf Pro
Bob Guido remarked. With twotime
winner in the Featherwieight
Division, Mark Green MIA this year,
it was anyone’s ballgame, succeeded
by Joe Hartwig, whose drive of 295
yards beat Green’s 2017 winning
distance of 267. In fact, the drives
in every division this year bested the
previous year’s scores, including Dr.
Martin Ross’s, who won his third
consecutive title in the Heavyweight
Division by beating his 2017 distance
by nearly ten yards!
Not to be outdone by the morning’s
memorable repast, the evening’s
dinner offering in Towers
on the Green was of the highest
order, passed hors d’oeuvres preceding
a main course, featuring
dual carving stations, serving
melt-in-your-mouth prime rib and
turkey; and a buffet, consisting of
salmon steaks, Chicken Française,
(l. to r.) NST Board Treasurer Steve Redlich, Men’s Golf Association
President Stan Yoel & Country Club Manager Mary Anne Langone
Closest-to-the-Pin participant
Rich Micillo’s attempt was good
enough to have bested 2017’s
winner in this event, but fell short
this year
Woman among men, Cheri Chan, proved up to par with her male
cohorts Tom Lau hits his NST Country Club record-breaker drive
12 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ September 2018