Braintree Mens Golf Association

The May showers have given way to the June showers! Give us a break Al Gore! No more global cooling!

Our 2017 season is well under way. The Kickoff Classic was a huge success in spite of the murky day. You can look at the final results on the BMGA website.

The BWGA/BMGA Memorial Day Mixed Florida was another great day of golf! The bad weather held off again and everyone enjoyed the day. The lunch in the Café was great. Thanks to Peter for his famous pastrami sandwich and potato salad. I had a couple of Hard Grape Sodas to wash it down. Yum Yum!!

The BMGA Four ball Tournament starts this month. The first round should be completed by the 11th. I will keep you posted as the tournament progresses. Best of luck to all of the entrants.

The Showdown Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, June 17th. Sign up to measure your game against the course. Go on line to the BMGA site and sign up today! Signups close soon so don’t be left out. This is a very popular tournament.

The Showdown will be followed closely by the Braintree Open. Our version of a member guest tournament. Grab a partner and get in the game. As always, go to the BMGA website to sign up.

Wow, we are really into our tournament season! As the weather gets better so does the golf.

The golf course is in great shape right now. We have more than enough water in the ponds and streams so we should have green grass for the summer. The new pumping system is working as expected and that coupled with our top notch maintenance team, means we can enjoy the best course conditions. Please take a moment to stop and tell the guys how good the course looks. I know they will appreciate it. I am still blown away at how great the 7th and 17th fairways look. The extended sprinkler heads on the 7th fairway are achieving their desired results. The rough along the left side of the hole is coming in very thick now that it gets enough water and it helps to speed up play by keeping shots in play that might have otherwise ended up in the pond. It’s great when a plan comes together!

I want to remind everyone that it’s our responsibility to fix our ball marks on the green and repair and replace your divots in the fairways and on the tee boxes.

The tees and fairways are being patrolled by our intrepid Divot Dawn Patrol! The group is made up of Mike King, Gary Rhoden, Gene Nowell, Paul Deady, and Larry Larson. They volunteer their time to make sure the par 3 tee boxes have enough divot mix and they also fix the divots in select fairways during the week. Say thanks to these guys when you see them. Their hard work helps to keep our course in the great shape we have now.

The new addition to the Café is coming along nicely. It should be ready by the time this goes to press. This new space will go a long way towards making our club a more inviting space to sit after a round and have a cold drink and something to eat with friends. I’m looking forward to the grand opening.

That’s all I have for now. Enjoy the warmer days and sunny skies.

Stay up wind from the goats! Hey Mac, try feeding those goats a salad once in a while! Their getting huge and they smell big too!

God Bless America and the Red, White, and Blue!!

Sam Abraham

Well just like that we are into the month of July! It’s all golf all the time now as the season really heats up. We’ve had a very successful season so far. The Kickoff Classic, The Showdown, The Memorial Day Florida, The Braintree Open, and The Four Ball, are all in the books and we still have more great golf to come.

The July 4th Mixed Florida is the next fun event on our schedule. I hope you sign up for what we named “The Party on the Patio”. Everyone is encouraged to bring a dessert or an appetizer to enjoy after the round. It gives everyone a chance to sit together and relax after a great day of golf on our spectacular course. I hope to see you there.

The BMGA four ball is still going on and you can find the updates and results on our website. Congratulations to everyone who signed up and especially to those who are still competing. As always, you can go to http://bmga.braintreegolf.com/champions.html to see all of the tournament results.

The golf course is in spectacular condition! Daryn Brown gave a report to the BMGA members at our last general meeting. The unusually rainy Spring has given him fits but he has managed to work around the heavy rains and still give us the gorgeous conditions that we enjoy. He hasn’t had to water the fairways because of all the rain we’ve had. He is sanding and rolling the greens every two weeks to firm and smooth them. He says that it will help keep them in good condition as we head into the dog days of August when the heat can cause problems. Thanks to Daryn and his crew for all of their hard work to give us the best possible playing conditions. Take a moment to thank the guys out on the course when you see them. I also want to give a shout out to the Dawn Divot Patrol! Larry Larson, Mike King, Gene Nowell, Paul Deady, and Gary Rhoden. These guys volunteer their time to repair the tee boxes and fairways during the week. Thanks guys. Take another buck out of the tip jar!!You deserve it! You are reminded to fix your divots and repair your ball marks.

The new Café addition opened to rave reviews. The new room adds much needed space and a spectacular view of the course. It’s a great place to sit and enjoy a cold drink and a sandwich after your round. That project could not happen without the backing of Mayor Sullivan who has been one of our biggest supporters throughout his administration. Thanks again to him and everyone who made it possible.

This is an election year for the BMGA. The membership assembled a Nominating Committee at our last meeting and they will work during the rest of the season to create a list of candidates for nomination. The committee members are Kevin Foley, Tom Meaney, and Kevin Gerry. Let them know if you are interested in running for office or if you have someone that you would like to see on the ballot. The election will be held at the last BMGA meeting of the year in October.

That’s all I have for now. July is a time for family vacations and fun in the sun! You should go out and have fun but please be safe while you enjoy the time off with family and friends. We want to see you all back at the course playing golf!

The golf course is in great shape right now. We have more than enough water in the ponds and streams so we should have green grass for the summer. The new pumping system is working as expected and that coupled with our top notch maintenance team, means we can enjoy the best course conditions. Please take a moment to stop and tell the guys how good the course looks. I know they will appreciate it. I am still blown away at how great the 7th and 17th fairways look. The extended sprinkler heads on the 7th fairway are achieving their desired results. The rough along the left side of the hole is coming in very thick now that it gets enough water and it helps to speed up play by keeping shots in play that might have otherwise ended up in the pond. It’s great when a plan comes together!

Happy Birthday to America this month! 241 years old and still going strong. Thank you to all that have served our great country. We appreciate your service and your sacrifice.

Stay up wind from the goats!

God Bless America and the Red, White, and Blue!!

Sam Abraham

The long hot summer is upon us. The next few weeks will feature hot dry weather and our golf course will be struggling to stay in the kind of shape that we’ve enjoyed for the past few months. I’ve noticed that the fairways, tees, and greens are getting beaten up because of neglect by golfers out playing the course. I realize that we are a public facility and as such, get a lot of play. I play most of my golf on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. My observation is that our own BMGA people are some of the biggest offenders! The situation has become so bad that I’ve heard some discussion about playing the ball up! That doesn’t reflect well on our members. I know we can’t control the general public but we can do a better job ourselves, and we are not. I want to call attention again to the dawn divot patrol led by Larry Larson, Mike King, Paul Deady, Gary Rhoden, and Gene Nowell. These guys are waging what seems to me to be an uphill battle to try and keep our course in good shape. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

The 2017 Club Championship is in the books. Casey Gresh sank a long difficult birdie putt on the last hole to win his second consecutive title. Congratulations to him and the other flight winners for their participation. You can go to our BMGA website and see all of the results.

The BMGA/BWGA mixed Florida, “Party on the Patio” was a great success. The appetizers and desserts were delicious and we would like to thank everyone who played. The winning team was made up of Sam Abraham, Heather Zaporetsky, Linda Murphy, and Dana Olson. Congrats to the winners! The next mixed Florida event will be on Monday, September 4th. Look for the sign-up sheet on the scoreboard in the hallway at the pro shop. We are looking forward to another large field and a great day of golf.

We were all very sad to hear the news that John Moreland suffered a heart attack on Sunday, July 30th. I played a lot of golf with John this year on Wednesday mornings. He always had a smile on his face and a joke to tell. He loved to play golf, especially with the guys on Wednesday. The last time I played with John our foursome won the tournament and he was an integral part of our win. John’s smile and his love for the game will be sorely missed.

The new indoor Café room is being enjoyed by all of the patrons at the golf course. It’s become the place to be after a round of golf to enjoy something to eat and a cold drink. Daryn Brown sent me a note last week to let me know that the first outdoor warm up net has been ordered and may be installed before the end of the season. Progress continues to be made at the course!

That’s all for now. Please remember to replace your divots in the fairways and repair your ball marks on the greens. The general rule is to replace your ball mark and at least one more. This all goes towards keeping our course in the best possible playing condition.

Stay upwind from the goats. Enjoy the rest of your summer and be safe. We want to see you out on the course.

God Bless America and the Red, White, and Blue!!

Sam Abraham

What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time our area was going through one of the worst droughts in our states history. The lack of water put our course under tremendous stress. The golf course maintenance staff did a tremendous job to save the course from irreversible damage.

The Braintree South Golf Tournament is fast approaching. This our major golf/fundraiser of the year. The tournament is in memory of two of our members, Larry Cedrone and Jim Burley. They established this event specifically to give something back to our local charities and celebrate our members. The tournament flyer and the application form have been email blasted to our members via email. There are printed copies available in the Pro Shop. You should fill out the application and submit it to the Pro Shop with a check made out to the BMGA before September 10 th . Applications received after that date will be placed on a waiting list.

Our tournament season is winding down but you can look at all completed tournament results on the BMGA web site. Thanks to everyone who participated in the tournaments so far. We appreciate your participation and support of the BMGA. We are only as strong as our members.

The golf course is showing a lot of wear and tear on both the fairways and greens. We just don’t seem to be able to educate our members well enough about replacing their divots in the fairways and fixing their ball marks on the greens. The results of this neglect can be seen as you play the course. The BMGA rules committee voted to go back to the lift, clean, and place local rule for all BMGA play.

The Dawn Divot Patrol seems to be losing the battle but they continue to fight the good fight to try and stem the tide of wear and tear from player neglect. We appreciate their hard work and dedication. Thanks guys!

That’s all for now. Keep your eyes on your email for more notices about upcoming events. We want to see you out on the course during the Fall season. Stay upwind from the goats.

God Bless America and the Red, White, and Blue!!

Sam Abraham