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Captains Golf Course

    PLAYING THROUGH

    The Swinging Sisters Are Good on the Green

    A foursome’s fun and fierce style fits the spirit of the Eastham Golf Tournament

    By

    EASTHAM — Susan Everett, Carol Aro, Eileen Miller, and Dawn Skiba finished each other’s sentences. This tendency, like their golf games, evolved over their four-decades-long friendship, their strengths and foibles becoming complementary on the course and off.

    After a decade of competing together as the “Swinging Sisters” in the annual Eastham Golf Tournament, this year the foursome won’t be the same. Aro died of cancer in December.

    The original swinging sisters, from left: the late Carol Aro, with Dawn Skiba, Susan Everett, and Eileen Miller. (Photo courtesy Eileen Miller)

    To round out the group this year, Miller’s niece Kristen Blue will drive down from Plymouth on Sept. 12 to the Captain’s Golf Course in Brewster, where the 18-hole tournament will be held.

    Her teammates hope Blue will be strong off the tee. Everett and Aro were always the straight shooters. Miller is consistent. And Skiba isn’t afraid to take a chance. The foursome were all decent putters.

    “When Dawn hits it well, we don’t have to go again because we play best ball,” says Everett.

    “Best ball” means that the lowest individual score on each hole is used as the team score. This allows for a range of skills.

    “It’s a little bit of pressure on me,” says Skiba. “If Eileen or I go off into the woods, we use their ball.”

    This year’s foursome will be playing with Aro in mind. They might even be hoping for a little otherworldly assistance this time around.

    When Aro was sick, the women took turns visiting her. Skiba, who has been chasing an elusive hole-in-one for years, wanted to make sure Aro was part of it if and when she eventually sank one.

    “If I get a really good drive,” Skiba says she asked Aro, “could you help me on the hole-in-one?” Aro kept her eyes shut, but Skiba says she grinned big in response. Skiba took it as a thumbs-up.

    This could be Skiba’s year — or not. The friends will come out swinging in style either way.

    “It’s a good cause, we get exercise, and we have a great time,” says Miller.

    The tournament raises money for nursing, college, and trade-school scholarships for Eastham residents as well as other philanthropic and community-focused initiatives of the Eastham Chamber of Commerce, like the local emergency fund. All golfers play in foursomes; registration costs $150 per person.

    “We’re not there to be the best,” adds Miller. “We’re just having a day away from everything else to play golf and then go out for a little dinner.”

    “Our chance of winning is close to nil,” says Skiba, noting that the event is not split by skill or gender.

    Dawn Skiba lines up a shot at Captain’s Golf Course in Brewster, where the Eastham Golf Tournament is played. (Photo courtesy Eileen Miller)

    The Eastham Golf Tournament is an amateur event, and most like it that way, even if the recent aeration of the course has added some frustration for the regulars who play five or six times a week.

    But the Swinging Sisters are happy to just get out on the course together. During the summer, with work and grandchildren and the go-go rhythms of warm days, the women don’t have much opportunity to play together.

    They will be among the few women in the tournament. Miller estimates that only 10 or 12 women will sign up. That’s compared to over 100 men, Everett adds.

    After completing 18 holes, the women typically carpool to the Elks Lodge in Eastham for the awards ceremony, a raffle, a dinner of lobster or roast beef, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Nongolfers can join this part of the event for $45.

    A few times, the Swinging Sisters have “won” last place. But no matter. Almost every year they have also won the “Best Dressed” award for their matching shirts, khaki trousers, and accessories.

    “Eileen is our master,” says Skiba. “She goes online and orders us all shirts.” The shirts are usually some interpretative take on traditional floral design purchased from a boutique in Florida, where Miller spends part of the winter.

    “Sometimes, I make them silly hats or earrings or bracelets,” adds Miller.

    “Nobody can compete with us,” says Everett.

    “They’ve tried,” says Miller.

    “But they haven’t succeeded,” says Everett.

    After the tournament and before the weather turns, the women hope to go to Chatham Seaside Links to play nine holes, as they have done many times before. Walking the course, golf clubs in tow in pull carts, makes for a leisurely afternoon, urged on by the promise of clam chowder at the Chatham Squire.

    With the Swinging Sisters’ “best ball” approach, course obstacles — sand pits, water hazards, even trees — won’t detract from the experience. Backed up by Everett’s aim, Miller’s consistency, and Aro’s guidance, Skiba will power up a drive.

    “I’ve got nothing to lose,” says Skiba. “The other three will take care of me.”

    Only a Game

    The event: Eastham Golf Tournament & Awards Banquet
    The time: Thursday, Sept. 12, tournament at noon; dinner at 6 p.m.
    The place: Captain’s Golf Course, 1000 Freeman’s Way, Brewster and Elks Lodge, 10 McKoy Road, Eastham
    The cost: $150; $45 for the awards dinner only; register at easthamchamber.com

    GOLF

    At a Scramble, Varied Strengths Come Into Play

    The Eastham Chamber’s Tourney brings people together for fun and charity

    By

    EASTHAM — Thunder and rain filled the morning of Thursday, Sept. 16, leaving participants in the annual Eastham Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament wondering if it would go on as scheduled that day.

    But New England weather did what it does, and by noon the skies had cleared, and the Captains Golf Course in Brewster was ready to welcome teams to the 21st edition of the Chamber’s annual tourney.

    Golf tournaments can go one of two ways. Some are competitive, with players there to hone their skills. Others, this one included, are designed to be fun. Proceeds from the event benefit a few local causes: the Betty Fleming Nursing Scholarship, Eastham Resident College Scholarships and Tradesman Toolship, and the Neighbors-in-Need Fund for emergency assistance.

    Left to right: Jake McGrath, Ryan Fitzgerald, Irene McGrath, and Steve Schweikhart.

    The match was a scramble, with foursomes teeing off from different holes at the start. Captains has two 18-hole courses, one called Port and the other Starboard. My team teed off from hole 13 on Port, and this being my first time participating in a golf tournament of any kind, I couldn’t help feeling superstitious about that.

    But I was steadied by good teammates. With me was my friend Jake McGrath, and an Eastham couple, Steve Schweikhart and Irene McGrath (who is not related to Jake).

    Steve and Irene, from Hudson Lake, N.Y., recently moved to Eastham, and were tournament first-timers, but they knew the course because they’re members at Captains. Jake and I had played the course a few times, too, so we were all pretty familiar with how to approach each hole.

    In a scramble, each person in the group of four tees off, then the group chooses the best shot of the four and all hit their second shots from there. The player whose drive was best goes first on that second shot. Then, the three other players are allowed to drop a ball within a golf club’s length from the original ball’s lie and hit their second shots, and so on through each hole.

    We all had different strengths. Jake could hit a long ball off the tee, so we relied on him for distance. Steve had pinpoint accuracy hitting his irons from the fairway onto, or right in front of, the green. Irene hit the ball consistently straight from anywhere on the course, so if all else failed we knew we could rely on her shot to keep us centered. Her approach shots close to the hole were also solid.

    Left to right: Scott Bemiss, John McCarthy, Shawn DeLude, and Ken Taber.

    I’m a competitive person by nature and felt a little disappointed in my inconsistent play. But I came through on putting. While everyone else was better at getting us to the hole, I sunk a few birdie and par putts to finish off their work.

    At the end of the day, our team shot a combined 75 — three over par. Not too shabby.

    Part of the fun was watching other groups come in. Community members, local business owners, and visitors mingle at this tournament. Ken Taber, who owns the Fairway Restaurant and Hole in One Bakery and Coffee Shop with his wife, Erica, brought a friend from New York, and those two partnered with Shawn DeLude, who runs Nauset Disposal, and Nauset Regional High School boys basketball coach John McCarthy.

    There were prizes for longest drive, closest to the pin, or a hole in one. Steve had a near miss on the $10,000 cash hole-in-one hole. He put the ball within a few feet of the cup. We were told it was the closest shot of the day.

    Left to right: Aaron Burns, Gary Burns, Matt Burns, and Steve Burns. Gary and Steve are twins; Aaron, Steve’s son, is an Orleans firefighter, and Steve is a retired firefighter. (Photos Ryan Fitzgerald)

    After the tournament came dinner and a raffle at the Elks Lodge. There were about 50 people at dinner; more had played in the tournament. It was a good way to meet people like Aaron Burns and his father Steve, and Matt Burns and his father Gary. The two fathers are twins, and the foursome has been playing in the tournament as a team for several years.

    The golf tourney is a great way for a young person who has made the not-so-easy decision to return to the Cape after college to feel connected to the community. My hope for next year’s tournament is not so much about my drives — it’s that next year I won’t still be the youngest participant on the course.

    FAIRWAYS

    Golf Holds New Appeal and Old Lessons

    Playing regularly reveals more about the game, and life

    By

    Early on in the coronavirus “quarantine,” many people began new hobbies and activities, or revived old ones that they hadn’t participated in for years. Some people have exercised more or in new ways. Others took up sewing. I heard collecting baseball cards has been resurrected.

    A few friends and I, most of us in our 20s, have found something new — at least, new to us. We are playing golf consistently this summer for the first time in our lives. The experience is changing our view of the sport.

    In early spring, when courses were still closed, I spoke to a few avid players who admitted they were sneaking onto fairways to hit a few balls. At the time, I wondered what it would be like to want to play golf badly enough to get on the wrong side of the law.

    I got my first and only set of golf clubs when I was a teenager. My neighbor was an avid golfer and sold a set of his clubs to me at a yard sale for just $20. It was a generous deal, considering how expensive a decent set of clubs can be. But I had not used those clubs in at least six years when, this May, a couple of friends told me they were going golfing.

    Golf courses were among the first public areas to reopen in Massachusetts. As it turned out, here was one of the safest sports around, perfect for this pandemic because you can stay six feet apart throughout the game.

    “I took up golf as one of the few socially distant activities, and it turns out I like it,” said Crash Pechukas Simonian, one of the friends I’ve been playing with. He bought a membership at Chequessett in Wellfleet, where he lives, at the beginning of the summer and has been playing consistently.

    Nick Taber of Eastham tees off at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Nick Taber, a friend from Eastham, told me he has long enjoyed golf, “but it has always been a challenge to get on the course more than a couple times a year.” Now he makes the time to play regularly.

    So, I brought those clubs up from the basement, dusted them off and hit the links.

    My first game was bad. I had forgotten how hard golf actually is. It is not like riding a bike, it turns out.

    And I cannot blame the clubs. Although I hadn’t used them in years, they are still as good as new. It’s a mix-and-match bag that includes a Callaway driver and Top Flite putter. But the truth is, you really don’t need new clubs to play well.

    What it takes is persistence. Since that first game in May, I’ve continued to play almost every weekend this summer, and it’s taken me until now to feel comfortable with my swing. I’m still inconsistent.

    The sport requires consistency like no other I’ve played. And you have to keep at it for 18 holes. Shoot well for the first few holes and that’s good, but if the next few don’t go as well, your score starts to climb. Then you start to overthink the game.

    In basketball, even when I’m not on my game, there are times I can make the last two shots of the day for a win. When I miss a layup, I can rely on my teammates to hold their own and keep us in it. In golf, you’re your own team.

    “Something I love about golf,” Wellfleet’s Declan Mahedy-Carter told me, “is you can play completely alone. Nothing beats a round with your buddies, but if you were the last person on Earth you could still play nine holes.”

    In a time when travel is impossible, we’ve toured the Cape, playing Highland Links in Truro, Chequessett in Wellfleet, and courses in Brewster, Dennis, Yarmouth, Bourne, and Hyannis. It’s been a chance to appreciate some beautiful landscapes. And it’s fascinating to see how different courses are structured.

    Captains in Brewster is tucked away in the woods; Highland is on a cliff overlooking the ocean, while Chequessett is in marshy territory, with a few panoramic views of Wellfleet Harbor.

    Every one of them is set up to accommodate players’ need to keep safely distanced.

    My friends and I used to think golf was an old man’s game. But we are all 25 and we’re seeing lots of younger people playing. We’re seeing many women playing, too, often mothers and daughters together. One group of friends plays with a dad along.

    Maybe parents understand that golf offers “teaching moments.” It seems to be just about as enjoyable as it is frustrating. You can shoot the best you ever have on one hole and then take eight shots to get to the pin on the next hole. But maybe it’s making us see life differently.

    “I feel lucky to take in the fresh air and beautiful vistas at Chequessett, so even on the days when I can’t hit the ball straight, it’s still a success,” Pechukas-Simonian said. “There have been plenty of those days for all of us. Whether the round has gone well or badly, we keep going out.”

    GOING GREEN

    Fore! Golf Is Back

    Gov. Baker reopens golf courses with guidelines

    By

    Golfers can rejoice, as their green canvases have reopened. Gov. Charlie Baker announced on May 7 that golf courses, which had previously been required to close, could begin reopening across the state under certain guidelines.

    Since golf courses are still considered nonessential businesses, the only staff allowed on the premises are security and maintenance personnel, and they must wear face coverings. Caddies are not permitted.

    Highland Links in Truro
    A golfer lines up a putt on the 8th green at Highland Links in Truro on Monday afternoon. He wouldn’t give his name, saying he had skipped work-from-home duties and didn’t want to be recognized. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Golfers must maintain social distancing and stay at least six feet apart. Groups are restricted to no more than four players. They must bring their own clubs, and either carry their own bags or use pull carts. The state is allowing the use of golf carts only for those with disabilities, and they must be cleaned and sanitized after each use.

    Course facilities such as the clubhouse, golf shop, restaurant, bag room, and locker room must remain closed.

    The full list of rules can be found at massgolf.org/play/safeplayguidelines/. All golf courses and golfers must abide by the state guidelines, but individual courses may enforce additional standards if they so choose.

    The Captains Golf Course in Brewster opened to members on May 8, Highland Links in Truro opened to the public on May 10, and the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club in Wellfleet opened its nine-hole course on May 12 to members and will be open to the public starting May 18. Captains does not have a public opening date yet.

    “We’re glad we’re open,” said Jim Rondeau of Highland Links. Rondeau was managing the course on Monday. “We’re glad to see our old friends.”

    Highland Links, Truro
    Truro residents Mark Wisotzky, Carl Brotman, Fran Johnson, and Darrell Shed finish up a round at Highland Links. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    There were a few groups of golfers out on the links on Monday afternoon before it began raining. For players, masks are encouraged but not required, and most golfers seen Monday were not wearing them while playing. Since social distancing is a natural part of the game, players were able to keep more than six feet apart with relative ease.

    “Personally, I haven’t golfed with more than four people at a time,” said Mike Warren of Orleans, adding that social distancing is not a problem for him. He is a frequent local golfer and happy to be able to get back on the course.

    Warren believes that courses could have been open the whole time. “If people were playing safely, practicing distancing, and not in big groups, I think it could have worked out fine,” he said. “They could have set up tee times maybe a half hour apart to be extra safe.”

    Reservations are required at the three local courses and payment must be made online. Practice facilities remain closed, and tee times are 15 minutes apart. According to state guidelines, flagsticks must remain in the holes, and hole liners must be raised so picking a ball out of the hole by hand doesn’t occur.

    Rondeau said that there’s no timeline set in stone for phasing everything back at Highland, which is considered the oldest links course in the U.S., having been founded in 1892. It is located in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

    “We’ll go by the governor, the town, and the Seashore — whatever they say, we’ll do,” Rondeau said.

    Mark O’Brien, director of operations at Captains, had previously told the Independent that he expected the phased approach to resuming golf operations that is being instituted now.

    “We are formulating plans and will work with the various town departments to make sure we are providing a safe environment,” O’Brien said.

    If you choose to play, be sure to visit the course website for specific guidelines and to make a reservation (Captains: captainsgolfcourse.com; Highland Links: highlandlinkscapecod.com; Chequessett: chequessettclub.com).

     

     

    MISSING LINKS

    Local Golfers Impatiently Wait to Tee Off

    Will courses open after May 18?

    By

    Teeing off at Highland Links
    Sarah Towne of Wellfleet tees off at the ninth hole at Truro’s Highland Links on Easter Sunday. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Golf has always been a game of patience. During the coronavirus crisis, it still is, but in a different sense: local golf courses have been closed since Gov. Charlie Baker’s shutdown of nonessential businesses on March 24 and will remain closed until at least May 18.

    “When it does resume, it will most likely be in phases,” said Mark O’Brien, director of operations at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster, via email. The course is owned and operated by the town.

    Those phases could include allowing course members only at first, a limit on the number of people on the course, or a limit on the capacity at the restaurant or pro shop.

    Early on in the closure, some golfers were spotted teeing off at local courses.

    “We have had a handful of people park on a street adjacent to the course and come onto the property, but the police department has been placing fliers on these vehicles informing them that this is not allowed, and that has pretty much taken care of the problem,” O’Brien said.

    Captains has blockades at the entrances to all its facilities, and signs informing people that they need to stay out. Email blasts were sent to members, and the course’s website makes it clear that it’s temporarily closed.

    “Thankfully, people have been respecting these directives,” O’Brien said. “We all know that the golfers want to get out there, but it’s all being done to keep our community safe.”

    Highland Links in Truro and the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club in Wellfleet also remain closed, with website alerts to stay off the courses until further notice. The Links is operated by Johnson Golf Management in Harwich, which did not respond to phone calls or emails. Barbara Boone, Chequessett’s general manager and director of golf, also did not respond.

    Mass Golf and the “allied golf organizations of New England/Northeast” created the web page massgolf.org/covid19 to serve as a resource for golf courses and individual golfers during the pandemic. The group has lobbied for courses to safely reopen.

    So far, Connecticut and Rhode Island have allowed golf to reconvene under specific guidelines and restrictions, according to massgolf.org.

    Massachusetts is among eight states that won’t allow golf to be played and that have no announced re-opening date, though course maintenance is permitted.

    Golf is a socially distant game by nature. Whether it’s played in a group or individually, golfers don’t need to be near one another. The closest they might get is riding in a cart. Most regular players have their own clubs, though rental clubs are offered at some courses.

    Darren Wotherspoon of Wellfleet is an avid golfer and a Captains member. “Personally, subjectively, yeah, I think we can play golf,” he said. “But what precedent does that set? If we can play golf, then can we play tennis?”

    Wotherspoon thinks that when courses re-open, their pro shops and restaurants would need to stay closed. Fees could be paid online or by phone. He suggested that golfers not use carts and walk the course instead.

    “I love walking,” said Wotherspoon. But “there’s an issue of the elder population that plays, which is a big population around here. That kind of makes it hard for them.”

    The financial impact the closure has had on both private and municipal courses could be significant.

    “Our original revenue projections for the last quarter of our fiscal year, April to June, were approximately $1.5 million,” O’Brien said. “We expect that these revenues will be reduced by at least half.”

    He expects the course will have a deficit for the year. Six golf events have been canceled through June, though two were rebooked for later in the year. Smaller reservations have been canceled, and some rebooked, as well.

    O’Brien said he expects membership to be off but is uncertain by how much: “It’s hard to say where we will end up.”

    And so, for now, golf remains a game of patience.

     

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