The Most Beautiful Day of the Year
Message from CSGA Executive Director, Mike Moraghan
B
ack in September, while sitting
on the porch at Silver Spring
Country Club with Club
President Stephen Vehslage and General
Manager Karl Habib, I noticed a young
father and his young son emerge from
the far corner of the clubhouse. They were
carrying their clubs, the man a step or two
behind the boy.
He might have been eight, maybe
nine years old. The golf bag slung over his
shoulder was half the size of his father’s
bag, and the boy himself looked to be
about half the size of his father.
They moved with the same gait,
the same tilt to their heads. Their right
hands rested on their clubs in an identical
manner and their left arms swung with
the same rhythm as they walked toward
Silver Spring’s practice green. They were
fifty yards away, but it could not have been
more obvious that they were father and
son.
Fathers and mothers and sons
and daughters and golf. Is there a better
bond that can be created between souls
so similar, individuals who look and move
and act so much alike? Is there a better way
to share time with your parent or with your
child? I don’t think so.
Within the big CSGA family, the
thousand or so players who compete in our
tournaments, and all those throughout the
state like the two at Silver Spring, we see
constant reminders of this special bond,
the unique love that is shared.
Watch Steve and Clark Robinson
move with their long bodies and long
swings and their abundant talent, and
their just so similar competitive attitudes.
Notice Len Horvath and daughter Carolyn
reading a green. See Jeanne FitzGerald tee
it up with any one of her six sons. Listen
to John VanDerLaan talk about his oldest
son John VanDerLaan and his younger
son Michael VanDerLaan.
You notice Dave French is
caddying for his son Logan, and Brian
Fierston is caddying for his son Nate, and
Ivan Lendl is caddying for his daughter
Daniela, and Bill Carlson is
caddying for his son Brian. You
understand the love that parents
and their children share through
golf, and it is just a beautiful thing
to behold.
Think Dave Szewczul is
tough? Just watch how he melts
a little when you ask him, “When
does young David head back to
college for the fall semester?” Big
Dave lowers his head a bit and you
can almost see him well up at the
inevitable separation as summer
draws to a close and their time
together on the golf course runs
short.
In truth of course, it’s not
always perfect joy out there in the
short grass and the rough. Often
there is no escape from rehashing
the day’s arguments at the dinner
table. Maybe the fatherless or the
childless are the lucky ones in discovering
someone who fills that special place as a
golfing mentor or golfing pupil, without
the baggage of annoyance about dents
in cars and refrigerator doors left open.
Sometimes we treat those at a slight
distance better than those whose DNA we
share. Still, that parent-child thing is an
amazing phenomenon.
For all of the great CSGA
Championships we conduct each year, the
Father-Son Championship remains one
of my favorites. It does remind me of the
many times my own Dad and I competed
in the tournament at CC Farmington,
and the one time we qualified to reach the
championship proper at Shuttle Meadow.
And it is just a joy to see so many fathers
and sons together in one place at one time,
all sharing their time through golf.
Maybe it’s a little selfish, but I like
being the starter for this championship
because I get to meet every one of them.
I get to see how much they resemble each
other, the young version of the older one,
or the old version of the younger one. They
come in all shapes and sizes and all ranges
of age, from a 10 year-old with his 34 yearold pop, to a 75 year-old with his 50 yearold boy.
Our
2017
Father-Son
Championship will be held at Madison
Country Club, thanks in large part to
the enthusiasm and support of Kieran
Doherty, who we at the CSGA can’t think
of without also thinking of his son, Kieran
Doherty.
As we encourage more girls to
play golf we hope the day comes when we
conduct a Mother-Daughter or FatherDaughter or simply a Parent-Child. But
for now we have the Father-Son, and
I am already looking forward to seeing
past champions like the Robinsons, and
Chris and Bill Simione, and Shep and
Dick Stevens, and Madison’s own Bob and
Brendan Ruby. My Dad will be there with
me in spirit as he always is. Honestly, I can’t
wait to get to Madison and be surrounded
by all those fathers and sons. The energy
one feels is unlike any other championship,
and regardless of the weather, it will be the
most beautiful day of the year.
ABOVE: Marty Moraghan (left) and Mike Moraghan (right) pictured in the mid 1990s.
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Zach Zaback tees off on the 10th hole at Woodway Country Club during the 82nd Connecticut Open. OPENING SPREAD: Madison Country Club (10th green
pictured) played host to its first CSGA championship when it hosted the 71st Connecticut Senior Amateur. TABLE OF CONTENTS: The northeast's best golfers warm up on the practice
green for the 87th New England Amateur Championship.
2016 ANNUAL / CONNECTICUT STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION / 7