| 2020 has shaped up to be a very good year for Amherst Golf Club despite the challenges presented by the COVID19 pandemic. Our membership is up as well as our greens fees receipts. As a non-profit business, this will hopefully allow the Club to have the resources to replace some aging greens equipment that has bitten the dust or is on its last legs . . . more on that later. We’d like to thank our membership and guests for their support and continued observance of the COVID19 rules that have been unique to the pandemic. We started off the year with a bang in March prior to the outbreak, and then had to shut down until golf was added back on to the allowable Phase 2 activities by Governor Baker. Once we were allowed to re-open in late May, we were able to have our leagues and most tournament events still take place. We ask that you all stay vigilant in maintaining these rules as the threat of COVID has increased with the students returning. The need to wear masks if the 2-club distancing rule cannot be maintained on the course is imperative. Masks are required within the Pro Shop. Also notable is that the course dodged any significant damage from the moderate drought that the area experienced beginning in June or so. . . . kudos to our Greens Superintendent Carl Teschke and his crew for handling things well and serving up course conditions that have been very good if not excellent.  LEGENDS MEMORIALIZE THREE FORMER MEMBERS Sandy McNiven arranged for the Legends golfers to honor three late members prior to the July 29, 2020 league event. On our website LINK, we provide videos of Dick Simpson, Ken O’Brien and Larry Briggs remembering the late Charlie Bradshaw, Jack Doherty and Vic Zumbruski, respectively. Pro Dave Twohig also spoke. This Wednesday Sept 9th, the Legends are planning a special birthday party for Ken O’Brien who is turning 93 – please see Dave at the Pro Shop for details. All seniors are welcome to play the Legends on Wednesday mornings – just sign up at the Pro Shop!  Carl Teschke is celebrating his Silver Jubilee with us – 25 years as our Greens Superintendent. Carl began work for us in January 1996, and he has seen the club through it’s hey day when there was a waiting list for membership in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s . . . Carl has subsequently responded to many challenges ranging from drought to turf disease to downed trees to gully washers wiping out cart paths . . . you name it. But in the end, he delivers us “the best greens in western Massachusetts“, which is no small feat. Additionally, Carl has worked year-round to keep our aging equipment going, most of which is about 20 years old. So Carl has added value to our club with his mechanical expertise as well. Not only has the Club been fortunate to have Carl, but also his family, Cathy (wife) and Carl Jr. (son) and sometimes Samantha (daughter) too. The Teschke family has been the backbone of the greens crew for many years. Congratulations Carl and thank you for 25 years and we hope many more! GREENS REPORT Amherst Golf Club is in the process of extending the lease for the course with Amherst College, and it goes without saying that we are in debt for the support that Amherst College has provided the club over the years. Major capital improvement planned is the replacement of the rough mower which is one of the more expensive pieces of equipment that the greens crew relies on. We also hope to replace one or two of the utility carry-all vehicles. Also note that due to decent conditions, we have delayed the aeration of the greens to after Thanksgiving when the course will be closed. The Greens Committee implores that all members and guests be good stewards of the Amherst Golf Club course: 1. Please be diligent in replacing divots and repairing ball marks. The divot repair mixes we normally deploy on the carts and certain tees cannot be used this year for the same reason we don’t want people touching rakes in sand traps or the flag stick. So divot replacement has become very important with the increased play we have seen this year. 2. Those in carts, please observe the single-rider rule (with exceptions). Stick to the cart paths where available and avoid cart use in areas that are off limits marked with green and white pegs. 3. Also a reminder to the new members and/or guests, please refrain from teeing off on No. 8 if people are in the landing area. The players from hole 9 have the right of way. When playing holes 8 and 9, please keep to the right of the fairway until you get perpendicular to your ball and play on No. 9 has safely passed.  The club acknowledges a very thoughtful gift from Marie Appleby and her sister Louise who generously donated this lovely pitcher which represents the AGC Women’s Championship trophy . . . it has been engraved with all the names of past recipients and will continue to be presented to the Women’s Champion for years to come. Such a special gift follows in the tradition of many notable women who have done a great deal to foster both the game of golf and, in particular, the women’s vital role at Amherst Golf Club. Thank you Marie and Louise! AGC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION AGCWA will have its annual fall meeting on October 8 using Zoom – details for the Zoom meeting will be provided via the AGCWA e-mail. The voting for officers will be done via email. The AGCWA members send kudos to the women that played the blue/red tees for the 18 hole President’s Cup. At the end of the round, the participants gathered while social distancing to congratulate: Gross winner ~ Michelle Morgan with 76 First net ~ Karen French with 65 Second net ~ Ann Kieser with 69 Third net ~ Laurie Shannon & Pat O’Brien tied with 70 Closest to the pin Jen Ayre In addition to the AGCWA Monthly News, Jean Gowdey notes that while hockey has hat tricks and baseball has grand slams, AGCWA has Pat O’Brien. Witnessed by Edith Hunsberger, Pat pulled off possibly a once in a lifetime accomplishment when she hit out of the sand on 13: a birdie, a chip-in and a ringer all in one shot. Congratulations Pat! To quote Michelle Morgan, “Keep swinging! you never know when something great might happen!!!!” And if you don’t know what a ringer is , ask Jean or Pro Dave! Similar to the Men’s Legends on Wednesday AM, the Niners will be playing Tuesday AM into the Fall and that all are welcome, you just need to sign up at the Pro Shop with Pro Dave. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE With the Garber Memorial 4-Ball wrapping up this weekend, we have the following tournaments scheduled for the next few weeks. September Sept 12,13 A.M. The Hadley Open Sept 13 P.M. Over 50 (W) Sep 20 A.M. Old Member/New Member (M) Sept 26 P.M. Dr. Bob Scramble Sept 27 A.M. Old Member/New Member (M) October Oct 2 PM Hospice of Fisher Home Par 3 Fundraiser Oct 3,4 Amherst 2 Ball Open Oct 11 A.M. Octoberfest Oct 12 P.M. Women’s 2 Best Ball Note that the Fisher Home event is modified from previous years due to COVID19, and will be mainly a members only Par 3 event, similar to our FNL events. Please plan on playing or donating to the Hospice of the Fisher Home – which continues to be an Amherst treasure for our loved ones in need! (see announcement below). As described below, we have our annual meeting on October 17th, and then November brings the popular Novemberfest events.   AMHERST GOLF CLUB CELEBRATES ITS 120TH YEAR! This year is our 120th anniversary . . . and what a difference 20 years makes when the 100 year anniversary was feted. Due to COVID19, we can’t really celebrate this year, but we will have our 125th coming up where we hope to have an appropriate celebration. Jack Shea’s historical account of the Club has been invaluable, and our IT guy is working on getting some of the historical tournament winners that Jack Shea meticulously researched and maintained up on our website. Stay tuned! TOURNAMENT RESULTS We last sent our tournament results on July 20th with the 2020 Women’s Championship Results. Here are some of our more notable tournament winners since that time: Founders Cup: Diane McNamara – Net Winner Jack Shea Scramble results Junior Championship: Piet Hartman, Junior Club Champion Chase Lashway, Junior Club Runner-Up Ben Scott, Junior Div Amherst Open: Jack Neves, 0-11 HC Division Gross Steve Elkins, 0-11 HC Division Net Dan Malone, 12-30 HC Division Gross Doug George (tie) with Matt O’Brien, 12-30 HC Division Net Steam Boat Classic Member-Guest: Curt Marion & James Ryan, Gross Alex Kielb & Steve Gonsiorowski, Net President’s Cup – Women’s (18 H): Michelle Morgan, Gross Karen French, Net President’s Cup – Men’s: Adam Lussier, Gross Paul Appleby (tie) with Roger Frant, Net Dick Garber Memorial 4-Ball: Aaron Dowd and Colin Dowd, Jack Leaman Division (won in extra holes with Don Hodgkins and Jim Thomas) Bob Mitrowski and Jim Sztrowski, Steve Cutler Division At this time, we would like to recognize our Men’s and Women’s Champions and Divisional winners again: Women’s Championship: Michelle Morgan, Club Champion Marie Appleby, 1st Division Men’s Championship: Evan Rutherford, Club Champion Alex Kielb, 1st Division Sandy McNiven, 2nd Division Dave Farnham, 3rd Division Ken O’Brien, 4th Division       Don’t miss out on the action at Amherst Golf Club in 2020 with a Fall Membership! We can’t thank our membership enough for the support they have given during these difficult times. Our existing members have been the avenue for recruiting new members . . . please pass on the good word!  Thank you to our Sponsors for this 2020 season . . . they are listed above, on our website, as well as on the sign board located off the 1st tee. NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING Our annual meeting is scheduled for Saturday October 17th and most likely will be conducted via Zoom . . . details will follow in the week preceding the meeting. We will send out a separate notice regarding details for the annual meeting. At the annual meeting, we typically deliver the President’s Message, review our finances, elect our Board Members, and provide special awards to our members. If you would like to volunteer to serve on the board or a committee, please drop an email to info@amherstgolfclub.org Thank you all for your continued support of Amherst Golf Club. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the Pro Shop at 413-256-6894. Sincerely, Amherst Golf Club |
Shawn Durocher PGA is AGC’s New Pro for 2025!
After a very thorough and competitive interview process, we are extremely happy and excited to name Shawn Durocher PGA as our new Head Golf Professional
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