NJSGA Ends Member Golf Day Season With Flourish
The NJSGA Member Golf Day season of 12 events ended with a flourish, as three Fazio-designed courses staged the three final MGD events in a span of 12 days.
Renowned The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes was the setting for the final MGD on Monday, October 24. It followed the Member Golf Day at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster on Tuesday, October, 18, and the previous MGD at Galloway National G.C. in Galloway on Thursday, October 13.
All three of those Member Golf Days were sellouts and 135 golfers were on hand at The Ridge at Back Brook, divided into morning and afternoon shotgun starts.
“These are three of the top golf courses in New Jersey, “ said Rich Kennedy, NJSGA Director of Handicapping and Member Benefit Services. “It’s a great way to close out the Member Golf Day season. “We asked the golfers to speed up play as we did at Trump National, and everybody was able to play in under five hours. No one said they had trouble with the pace of play.
“This is the best way to end the Member Golf Day season. Iy’s the best time of year to play golf in New Jersey,” Kennedy said.
Partners Mike Decker of Princeton Junction and Gary Del Duca of Berkeley Heights were fortunate enough to play the final three Member Golf Days as well as the play-day events at Echo Lake and Navesink.
“It’s a great opportunity to come and play these wonderful places at such an affordable rate ($130),” said Decker, who teamed with Jim Schulz in winning the NJSGA Ultimate Team event in August at Upper Montclair C.C. “It was a great stretch of golf for us.
“After Galloway, we got on a plane the next morning and flew to Streamsong and played four rounds there, before coming back home and playing Trump National. It’s been my greatest golf season. The quality of the courses I played and winning the UTE made it very memorable,” Decker said.
Decker and Del Duca work together in computer-based testing.
“I look at the Member Golf Day schedule early in the year and figure out which ones don’t conflict with work. The timing was excellent this year,” Decker, 53, said.
“This is good for the public golfer,” said Del Duca, 48. “There’s so many great events offered to public golfers. These are three of the top 10 courses in the state.”
“You keep hearing golf is declining in numbers, but for the avid golfer, to play in these events is really special and affordable. I applaud the NJSGA,” Decker said.
“You can’t put a dollar figure on playing these type of private facilities We’re treated like club members whenever we play. The lunches are great and the locker room attendants treat us wonderfully. And the courses are impeccable.”
Del Duca was playing The Ridge at Back Brook for the first time.
“A friend of mine played it and described it as the Augusta of the North. When you’re out here, there are no disturbances. You barely see other golfers. The course is amazing. I’m real excited about being here,” he said.
Ellen Martin and Patricia Burrus of Spring Lake were playing in their first Member Golf Day.
“We had heard how fantastic this course was and when we found out it was available as a Member Golf Day, we made sure to register as quickly as we could,” Burris said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”
Sue Kamish of Medford, who played in the NJSGA Better-Ball Championship, was thrilled to be at The Ridge at Back Brook.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to play here. The Member Golf Days are so well run and organized. It’s nice that these type of courses are available. I always send a thank you note to the NJSGA because I enjoy everything about the Member Golf Days,” she said.
“Not many people get this opportunity to play The Ridge at Back Brook. I looked at the schedule and picked this one out immediately. My friends told me about Member Golf Days and I’ve been waiting all summer to play here,” said Ryan Kulat, who coaches the Ocean Township Hgh School golf team and went 17-2 in 2016.
