( atc )
Opening Drive
For the Love
of Food
by CHRIS LANG
We asked, and you spoke. And it’s clear that food is a passion for many who play at
VSGA member clubs across the Commonwealth.
In our Clubhouse email newsletter in April, we asked members to tell us about
some of the great food found at VSGA member clubs. As The Golden Horseshoe’s
Marc Guiseppi notes in Michael Stott’s story “Cuisine in the Kingdom,” food is a part
of selling the overall club experience.
We received a lot of feedback from mem-
bers when we asked for recommendations.
In particular, Belle Haven Country Club
“Food and beverage
members couldn’t wait to share stories
has become a huge
about executive chef Duane Keller, as I
part of the full-day golf
received no fewer than a dozen emails
from members lauding his skills and his
experience, and we
personable manner with members dining
wanted to show what
at the club. I experienced Belle Haven’s
some of our member
cuisine firsthand when I covered a U.S.
clubs are doing to
Senior Women’s Open qualifier there in
April, and the lunch was top notch.
enhance their food and
Food and beverage has become a huge
beverage programs.”
part of the full-day golf experience, and this
story gives us an opportunity to show what
some of our member clubs are doing to
enhance their food and beverage programs.
Also in this issue:
• The VSGA championship season is hitting its stride. Check out results from events
in April, May and early June in our Around the Commonwealth section.
• Congressional Country Club may be in Maryland, but it holds a spot in many VSGA
members’ hearts as a major championship venue located just across the Potomac
River from northern Virginia. Andrew Green, an architect with heavy Virginia
ties, is heading up the renovation of the famed Blue course, which will host both
the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in the coming years. Read more about
Green in Leonard Shapiro’s story inside.
• In the first four months of the year, VSGA competitions staffers logged countless
hours traversing the state to teach seminars on the new Rules of Golf. Want to test
your Rules knowledge? Find our 20-question Rules of Golf quiz inside and visit
VSGA.org to take the quiz online. We’ll post the answers in the September-October
issue of the magazine.
News & Notes
BACK TO BALLYHACK
The Delta Dental State Open of Virginia
returns to Ballyhack Golf Club in Roa-
noke for the sixth straight year, with the
2019 event scheduled for July 18-20. With
defending champion Fielding Brewbaker
and 2017 champ Ryan Zylstra not expected
to compete, the door is open for a new win-
ner to emerge.
The 54-hole stroke-play championship
is split between professional and amateur
competitors, though professionals have
ruled the top of the leaderboard since the
event moved to Ballyhack in 2014. Along
with Brewbaker and Zylstra, Lanto Griffin
and Jay Woodson (twice) have won titles at
the Roanoke club.
There are plenty of strong amateurs in
the field for the championship, including
Mark Lawrence Jr., Justin Young, Scott
Shingler, Keith Decker and Trey Smith.
Young has twice been the low amateur
in the event and set the Ballyhack sin-
gle-round competitive record by posting a
third-round 63 last year. Lawrence was the
low amateur in 2015, losing out in a three-
way playoff with Griffin and Woodson.
Decker is a three-time State Open cham-
pion, and Decker, Shingler and Smith are
past VSGA Amateur champions.
Ballyhack member
Justin Young has
twice earned low
amateur honors at
the Delta Dental State
Open of Virginia.
As always, if you have any story ideas highlighting the great things happening in golf
in Virginia, please send me an email at [email protected]. Reader submissions are
always appreciated!
Chris Lang, Editor
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