N.J. Golf Fans Enjoy Unforgettable Bus Trip To Augusta
It was the trip of a lifetime for a group of 13 golf fans from Caldwell, N.J., who journeyed by bus to Augusta, Ga., to watch the Masters.
Jeff Lawshe organized the five-day excursion that left on Saturday morning, April 2 for the junket that included two days of golf play and one day at The Masters for the practice round on Tuesday, April 5.
The trip included Jeff’s three sons, Derek, Michael and Christopher, all of them former caddies at Mountain Ridge Country Club in North Caldwell, and all three of them recipients of NJSGA Caddie Scholarship Foundation college tuition grants.
“We had talked about it for a long time. I had gone five years ago with my oldest son, Michael, and two friends. With the younger two sons as active as they were in caddieing and taking a liking to playing golf, we knew we had to do it again,” Jeff Lawshe said.
“We tried last year, but The Masters fell on Easter weekend and that made it difficult for many of us to get away.”
The trip was organized by Triangle Tours of Florence, N.J., which provided the bus, the bus driver, a four-night hotel stay, and the tickets.
The cost per person, including the difficult-to-procure tickets, was roughly $1,350 per person.
The trip included two days of golf in Greenville, S.C., at the University of Clemson course and at The Preserve at Greenville.
“We had a blast golfing, and after golf was a boding experience. The trip was a dream come true,” Jeff said.
The travelers met the bus in the parking lot of Caldwell High School early Saturday morning and took off. Along the way, they made stops in Florence, Washington, D.C., and Richmond to pick up members of the traveling party.
Later, they watched the semifinal games of the Final Four on the bus before arriving in Greenville.
Other members of the crew included Bill Mergner, a Rockaway River C.C. member, and his sons, Bill Jr., 26, who lives in D.C., and Danny, 24, who lives in Richmond; Jeff’s close friend Mike Marek and Bobby Long, who is dating Marek’s daughter Cait; Lawshe’s brother-in-law Vinnie Graziosa and his son, Vincent, 26, who graduated Clemson, Jeff’s co-worker Pete Westhead and Jeff’s buddy, Rich Hauser.
The CSF alumni Lawshes , who all played football and basketball at Caldwell High besides caddieing, include Michael, 27, a U.S. postal inspector who graduated Sacred Heart University; Derek, 25, (Susquehanna University), who works in capital finance, and Christopher, 23, (Shippensburg), a sales associate for the New Jersey Devils. The family also includes aughter Maggie, a freshman at Shippensburg.
“When we first walked into Augusta, I felt like I was in Disney World. I’m just amazed by the cleanliness and friendliness of everyone. And the course had a definite ‘Wow’ factor. The course is also very hilly so TV doesn’t do it justice.
“Guys have been calling me asking me when we can do this trip again. I certain we can do this every three years,” Jeff Lawshe said. “I’m already looking forward to next time.”
