2018 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT JOHN PAESANI
GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN
During a career spanning three decades, including play in five major
championships and ownership of every award in the Connecticut Section,
John “Pi” Paesani lived by one straightforward philosophy.
M
ajor competition on the
Connecticut golf scene
begins each year with the
Julius Boros Challenge
Cup at New Haven Country Club, pit-
ting top players from the Connecticut
Section PGA against a CSGA team.
No one in its 47-year history has en-
joyed the Challenge Cup more than John
Paesani. The former head pro (for 26
years) at Norwich Golf Club qualified for
20 Boros Cup Matches and even showed
up once when he didn’t just to enjoy the
festivities with close buddies and long-
time foes.
“The Challenge Cup was always my
favorite golf day every year, not just for
the competition, but for the entire expe-
rience,” Paesani said. “Great times with
Fran Marrello and Dennis Coscina.”
This from a guy who played in the
1991 U.S. Open, 1988 and 1997 PGA
Championship, 2010 and 2011 U.S. Se-
nior Open, nine PGA Tour non-majors,
including the Greater Hartford Open
seven times, 12 PGA of America Nation-
al Championships and four Senior PGA
of America National Championships.
Paesani was the CT Section PGA Player
of the Year in 1991, ‘92, ‘97 and 2001.
He won the Section Championship in
1991, ’92, ‘93 and ‘97, the Section Club
Pro Championship in 1997 and 2001,
the 2001 PGA Tournament of Champi-
ons and the 2001 Connecticut Open.
He also captured the Section Vardon
Trophy for low stroke average in 1990,
‘91, ‘93, ‘94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘99 and 2001, the
2014 PGA of America Quarter Century
Winter Championship, 2015 Cape Cod
PGA, 2016 Pro-Pro Stroke Play, and
2017 Pro Assistant Championship. In
2017 he was inducted into the Connecti-
12 | CSGA Links / December 2018
Vol6_issue6.indd 12
“My father told me,
work hard, be honest
and good things will
happen.”
– John Paesani
cut Section PGA Hall of Fame.
Paesani, 59, a PGA member for 32
years, won the Quarter Century event six
months after undergoing treatment and
multiple surgeries for colon cancer. “My
general approach has been to keep doing
what I do during any of the treatment.”
Paesani said. “I worked and played right
up to my surgery date, trying to stay as
busy and fit as possible to reduce any
down time.”
Paesani was born in San Jose, Cali-
fornia and moved to Connecticut in
third grade when his dad took a job as
a professor at UConn. Paesani started
playing golf every day in the summer. He
graduated from E.O. Smith High School
in Storrs where the golf team went 25-1
and won the Eastern Connecticut Con-
ference title in his senior year. The team
also included Mike Toner, son of UConn
athletic director John Toner, and Mark
Vasington, who won the CSGA Senior
Amateur Championship in 2014.
Paesani served on the Section Board
of Directors and on the PGA of America
Competitions Committee. He received
the Section’s Presidents Award for
Fundraising in 2010. According to Tom
Hantke, Executive Director of the Con-
necticut Section, “John always seemed to
elevate his game the bigger the compe-
tition and stage. Whether in meetings
in a board room or playing in the PGA
Championship at Winged Foot, he
brought the same competitive fire every
time.”
Paesani’s resumé includes five course
records, among them the Golf Club of
Avon, where his 64 in the final round of
the 2001 Connecticut Open produced a
one-stroke victory.
Among his biggest thrills have been his
son, Matt, caddying for him in the 2010
and 2011 U.S. Senior Opens, and the
1988 PGA Championship.
“At the PGA I had a locker next to Ar-
nold Palmer,” Paesani recalled. “As I was
tying my shoes for the opening round, he
entered the locker room, sat down next
to me and we had a brief conversation
before teeing off. Quite a thrill.”
Paesani earned a Bachelor of Sci-
ence in marketing from Central Con-
necticut State University, where he was
a three-time All-New England selection,
and a Master of Arts in Sport Manage-
ment from UConn. “In his early years,
John was not the easiest person to get
to know,” said John Nowobilski, an-
other Central grad and longtime pro at
Tallwood CC in Hebron. “He was a great
player, and he knew it, but I got lucky
as an acquaintance relationship turned
into a true friendship. I am so happy the
CSGA is recognizing his achievements,
and I am honored to call him my friend.”
“I am humbled by the Connecti-
cut Golf Hall of Fame selection,” said
Paesani.“My father always told me,
‘Work hard, be honest and good things
will happen. There is real truth in that.”
—Bruce Berlet
www.csgalinks.org
12/19/18 4:25 PM