The CSGA Links Volume 5 Issue 1 April 2017 | Page 45

Pictured: Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame Members in attendance. Back row (L to R): Bruce Berlet (2009), Reverend William T. Lee (2008), Dave
Szewczul (2010), Bill Hermanson (2012), Dennis Coscina (1996), Walter Lowell (1979, Gary Reynolds (2011). Front row (L to R): Ted May
(2014), Tom Gleeton (2016), Jeff Hedden (2016), Richard J. Zanini (2015)
qualified for the U.S. Amateur, reached the semifinals of the
Connecticut Amateur and became a three-time All American
at Florida Southern College.

In 1979 Tom became the first player from Connecticut
to capture an NCAA Individual Title in golf while leading
Florida Southern to their first NCAA Team Championship.
Longtime Florida Southern Head Coach, Charley Matlock
often credited Tom with jumpstarting what would become
one of the nation’s most successful college golf programs, a
program that to date has won twelve national championships
and produced players such as Lee Janzen, Rocco Mediate and
Marco Dawson. Tom was the first golfer to be inducted into the
Florida Southern Sports Hall of Fame.

“Tom was the one who really got us started,” said
Matlock. “He proved that we could be a program that could
attract and develop great players, and win NCAA individual
and team championships. He helped create a recruiting pipeline
for us in the Northeast that led to bringing in players like Tom
Patri and Steve Sokol and many more. We are a small school,
but what Tom did for us can’t be overstated. He was to Florida
Southern what Arnold Palmer was to Wake Forest.”

Tom turned professional after college and earned
full PGA Tour status in 1986. In a playing career that has
spanned more than three decades Tom has won more than 70
professional events, including the CT Section PGA Stroke Play
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Championship five times. He has won the PGA Section Match
Play, Club Pro Championship and Section Championship,
finished runner-up in the Connecticut Open, and been named
CT Section Player of the Year.

CSGA Executive Director, Mike Moraghan describes
Tom as “a great competitor and an idea man, always thinking of
ways to improve and ways of helping others improve.”

“For many years I’ve been in the habit of calling on
Tom just to find out what he is thinking and what he’s working
on,” recalls Moraghan. “He has a wonderful nature about him,
a calmness and reflectiveness with real world knowledge and
experience. He is a ‘still waters run deep’ type of guy.”

Tom’s service to golf as a club professional is as
impressive as his competitive record. A past president of
the Connecticut Section PGA, Tom served eight years on
regional and national boards including the PGA’s Scholarship,
Education and Employment Boards. He has spent many years
directing mentor programs for assistant golf professionals, and
has developed and personally supported golf programs for the
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Waterbury.

Tom is currently in his 25th consecutive year serving
as Head Professional at the Country Club of Waterbury. He is
widely credited with leading a rebuildin g effort when the club’s
membership declined after the 2008 recession, establishing a
model since adopted by other private clubs.
CSGA Links // April, 2017 | 45