Natalie Gulbis Visits Shackamaxon C.C. To Raise Money For Charity
LPGA Tour star Natalie Gulbis visited the Shackamaxon Country Club in Scotch Plains on Wednesday, September 25, and succeeded in raising monies for worthy charities.
A morning golf outing, in which 25 foursomes paid $2,500 per, benefitted Feherty’s Troops First Foundation, which assists soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In between, Gulbis, who has played fulltime on the LPGA Tour since 2002, conducted a clinic. The afternoon fund-raiser, the Garden State Tour Pro Challenge, in which she played match play with partner Frank Esposito Jr. of Brooklake, winner of the State Open and the PGA Section Championship, against local participants benefitted the N.J. Golf Foundation.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the NJSGA Caddie Scholarship Foundation.
“I thought playing on the LPGA Tour would be great, but it’s better than I expected,” said Gulbis, 30, a native of Sacramento. “I’ve had the chance to see the world and I am able to keep raising money for charities.
“I fulfilled a dream this year when I opened my own Boys and Girls Club this year.”
Gulbis has spent most of the past week in the New York area, doing charity work for breast cancer research.
“I was at first a gymnast and also competitive in high-board diving. Both are time consuming, so when I decided I wanted to be a golfer, I had to sacrifice those sports,” she said. “Now a lot of girls are bred for golf.
“My father was in law enforcement and worked the midnight shift and when he’d come home, we’d go golfing,” she recalled.
“If he could have afforded it, I would have taken lessons. I should’ve gotten lessons earlier, especially with the fundamentals and learning how to correct my mistakes,” she stated.
Gulbis attended the University of Arizona for one year befpre turning pro. Her first professional coach was famed Butch Harmon.
“For a woman golfer, most of the power comes from getting your body through the shot. It’s about getting momentum,” she explained. “Everybody has a bad shot during a round. But it’s the bad attitude that will affect the round.
“When my swing goes bad, it’s because I have a lot of flexibility in the back swing. I can get long with my swing. It’s something I consistently fight.”
A number of area golfers participated in the Garden State Challenge at area clubs to win the right to play with Ms. Gulbis at Shackamaxon.
They included George Policastro of West Orange and Antone Maranusco, both of Galloping Hill; Ed Magyar of Union and Steve Vanicek, both of Galloping Hill;
Also, Kathleen and Matt Smith of Springfield, also of Galloping Hill; Denise and Peter Waeschle of Westfield; Ivan Ferro of Jackson and Woodlake, and Bill Teeling of Flemington and Heron Glen; and Nick Rencis and Sam Giddens of Long Valley and Black Oak, and Christina Parcells of Bernardsville and Thomas Urciuoli of Short Hills, both of Baltusrol.
Parcells, a junior at Kent Place School in Summit, was third in the NJSGA Juniors this summer and was NJPGA Girls Player of the Year.
