Last year there were two officials events, both in the midwest.
This year there will be three official events and one unofficial event.
The newest regulation tournament will be staged Sept. 22-23 in Sutton at Pleasant Valley Country Club, former home for decades to PGA Tour events, and once home for the LPGA Championship. PVCC last hosted an LPGA Tour event in 1999 with the one-year run of the area Web.Com Challenge, which crashed after purse money proved problematic.
The other WSGT events this year will be played June 2-3 at Des Moines, Iowa where the Hy-Vee Classic will offer a $450,000 purse, and the $500,000 Great Lakes Classic, a 54-hole event to be played Aug. 3-5 at Green Bay, Wisc.
The purse ($350,000) has been announced for the WSGT Fall Charity Classic at PVCC but the tour, under agreement, is delaying the name of the sponsor.
There will also be an unofficial charity pro-am April 2 in Bakersfield, Calif. The WSGT is testing the waters in Bakersfield, hoping to attract sponsors for an official event in the future.
Former LPGA Tour star Jane Blalock is the unofficial commissioner of the WSGT, which uses her Boston office as its headquarters along with her nine-person staff. Blalock has a company in her name that offers corporate golf outings.
Bertolaccini retired from LPGA Tour competition to work for Blalock then went on to operate the Friendly's Classic from 1995-98 at Crestview Country Club in Agawam.
When that tournament folded because its $600,000 purse was several hundred thousand less than what the LPGA Tour wanted, Bertolaccini went to work for ESPN as a broadcaster for Spanish language stations outside the U.S.
This year she will work out of Bristol, Conn., doing the entire Senior PGA Tour schedule, seven PGA Tour events and a handful of LPGA Tour events.
She will also do three of the major men's events on site and she will do the British Open from Bristol.
That keeps her pretty busy and now that she's in her third year as a partner in owning and operating Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown her free time is further reduced. She and her partners will be involved in adding a watering system to the 9-hole course this year.
But she still likes the shotmaking part of golf and if she can gain some confidence in her putting stroke the stylish swinger may find the short drive to Sutton worth the trip.
Blalock said the top prize at PVCC is still to be determined but is likely to be $50,000.
Blalock also said that the WSGT has finally been accepted by the LPGA Tour, which will not interfere when the players aged 43 and over take a shot at some senior cash.
The WSGT chose 43 as the proper age for seniors and will also offer a Legends Division for players 55 and over.
There are currently 85 players signed on and eligible for the events, though some like ABC broadcaster Judy Rankin and Golf Channel broadcaster Donna Caponi joined to offer support, not to compete.
Blalock said the timing for women's senior golf is good with stars like Nancy Lopez and Jan Stephenson in the fields and that growth is solid.
"There is a possibility we could add a fourth official event this year and by 2002 we should have five or six and eight to ten in 2003.
"We would probably level off at twelve to fifteen events," Blalock said.
Like the Senior PGA Tour, players may use carts.
Blalock, 55, cashed checks in both events last year and said that though her priority is to get the WSGT going strong, she will resume a practice schedule and compete again this year.
She retired as an LPGA tourist in 1986 with 27 victories. She played
sparingly on the LPGA Tour through 1996 with no success.
But the chance to join the chase for prize money and a friendlier atmosphere (by design) on the WSGT has her interested again.
"We are very fan friendly and there is less roping so the fans can get much closer to the players. The players also enjoy talling back the galleries.
"You'll have to see it to appreciate it," Blalock said.
The event at PVCC will offer a Friday pro-am and a field of about 36 players (based on lifetime earnings) in the tournament.
To provide potential local interest, two or three berths will be open in local qualifying. Amateurs must have handicaps of 3.4 or better to be eligible to enter the qualifiers.
Blalock said the WSGT has been greeted with large galleries.
"We had 30,000 on the weekend at Green Bay last year," she said.
So after some stops and starts in the past few years, the WSGT seems to have found sponsor dollars and a formula
for success.

Driving the ball “Out There,” By Jim Cline(Continued)

I’m not going to be out there either. There are any number of reasons this is true. It’s not because I’m not hitting the same ball, although as it turns out the ball Nike makes for Tiger is not the same ball you buy over the counter. (Shame on Nike) Tiger Woods has a clubhead speed of 130 miles per hour plus. That’s about 15 mph faster than the average touring pro. Most amateurs are on the low side of 100.

Let’s assume that you and I can produce a clubhead speed of 109 miles per hour and still hit the ball and straight at that. The maximum distance that ball will travel is 297 yards. If it goes farther it’s illegal. The United States Golf Association has a Research and Test Center in Far Hills, New Jersey. They have a mechanical golfer, “Iron Byron”, which reproduces a golfer’s swing. The Center tests more than 20,000 balls every year. If a company produces a ball that travels more than 297 yards at a clubhead speed of 109 mph it does not meet the standards set by the USGA. So if a company is manufacturing a ball that travels, say, 295 yards, there’s not much room for improvement. Guess what? The USGA says a high percentage of the conforming balls it tests are very close to the maximum. So what’s the deal?

It’s called marketing. And of course you have to market a product to insure good sales. But why not market a ball with a lower launch angle,(which by-the-way is what Tiger’s Nike does) or a higher launch angle, or a slower spin rate or a higher spin rate, and try to match the ball to the golfer. They’re doing it. It’s just not as marketable as distance.

Spalding began producing the Magna several years ago. It was a longer ball of course. It went longer because it went straighter. It went straighter because it didn’t spin as much.

Do the math. Your slice started down the left side of the fairway and wound up in the right rough. You’re 190 yards out. But the ball traveled 240 yards to get there. If you had hit it straight, if would have been a very nice drive.

Here’s another thought. What does your ball do when it hits the green. Does it spin and back up? Does it bounce a couple of feet and stop or does it roll to the back?

I’m going to throw in one more variable. The aforementioned Magna ball was slightly larger than other balls. A larger ball should actually roll straighter than a smaller ball. So doesn’t that make it a better ball with which to putt. By-the-way, the minimum diameter for a ball is 1.68 inches. There is no maximum. That should give you something to think about on the practice green. Try not to give it too much thought on the course. And remember, the ball you have the most confidence in may be the best ball for you.

CATTO CLAN: Mr. & Mrs. C.play to win, By Steve Kelly(Continued)
Unlike their personal relationship, golf was not love at first sight.
But when the bug came it hit hard.
Alistair Catto quit his fulltime job as a fundraiser for Amherst College and pounded balls like tour players. At least he hit a lot of them. His shots wouldn't have made any PGA Tour pro envious.
But he developed a style that worked.
"In squash we were taught to glue the right elbow to your side," Mr. C said.
He suspects his somewhat unorthodox swing comes from that training.
He has borrowed a bit here and a bit there from players he admires (like Gary Player's well known "walk through" move) and regardless of what his swing looks like, the ball rockets off the club and most often is bound for the target.
Mr. C's game has taken him a long way with three appearances in the U.S. Amateur Championship (1987, 1990 and 1995), two attempts to qualify for match play in the British Amateur Championship and in 1990 he reached match play and won twice before bowing out in the U.S. Public Links Championship at Portland, Ore.
He won the Massachusetts Public Links title in 1991 at George Wright in Hyde Park and won the prestigious Hornblower title in a 6-hole playoff in 1997 at Plymouth CC.
With Dean Godek as his partner, he shared the State Four-Ball title twice as they won in 1989 and in 1999.
Among his best showings was a seventh place finish in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, which included two rounds at the Old Course. The event featured 120 or so of the world's top international players, including Scottish whiz Andrew Coltart.
In many of those events Bonnie was there as a caddie.
And they were a pretty good team as her knowledge of the game had grown and she could offer valuable input.
"In the Hornblower she read every one of my putts. When we are in doubt Bonnie's plumb-bob method works.
"In the State Four-Ball at Hyannisport in 1999 we won by one shot. I birdied three of the last four holes and a key was a 230-yard blind shot in which she intentionally lined me up to the right, without letting me know that, because she knew I was going to hook it off of the lie I had," Mr. C said. The shot hit the green.
Bonnie made her first WGAM state amateur appearance at Longmeadow CC in 1992 without much success.
She has since made the semifinals of the WGAM state amateur twice.
In 1997she was back at Longmeadow for the WGAM's always competitive Keyes Cup and there she made her mark with a second round, course record 5-under par 67. But an opening round 81 left her too far behind to catch winner Tara Joy and she settled for the runnerup spot.
"I don't know how I shot 67. I missed an easy putt on the first hole and I bogied the second," Bonnie said. She fired six birdies that day. She has won the Orchards women's club championship nine times.
"Alistair's swing is homemade. Mine is Alistair-made," Bonnie said.
Much of their success in individual competition has been aided by the very competitive matches they play against each other as they spring from their home along the 18th fairway at The Orchards, with a wave goodbye to whatever current cat shares their big red house, clubs on shoulders, ready to grind it out with Mr. C giving Mrs. C a few strokes.
"I'd say in all of the matches we've had it's pretty much dead even. It's very enjoyable and very competitive. Almost like playing in the State Amateur," Alistair said.
Every now and then, when their schedules permit (he has a full calendar of tournaments and she fits in a few around her role as a professor at Assumption College), they compete as a team.
And, they've done well, despite an occasional tantrum from Mr. C.
Last year they won the Greenfield CC fall scotch tournament when Bonnie plunked her tee shot about 6 feet from the hole on the short, par-4 7th hole (their final hole in the shotgun style event).
"I can't hit that green with a wedge and Bonnie knocked it six feet with a 3-wood," Alistair said.
He made the putt, they had an eagle and that produced a winning score of 70.
In 1997 they shot 69 in the same event and thought they had it won. Then they lost in a playoff. "That was terrible. I choked," Alistair said.
But Bonnie, who has the proper attitude, didn't club him over the head with a 3-wood and better days followed.
Probably the next day.
Head-to-head.

Women's golf on the rise with the EWGA, By Catherine Bein(Continued)

I of course could hardly hold the club never mind hit the ball and my stance was all wrong! After reminding my husband several times that I was not made of flexible wire, his frustration started to surface. I had no idea the pressure he was under, didn't know that the eyes of the seasoned golfers behind us were burning holes in the back of his head, my poor husband cracked under this pressure and unceremoniously whisked me off the green muttering golf mantras under his breath. I have since been curious as to what would draw women to this world of men - after all hadn't Lucy and Ethel taught us anything?
My naivete in regards to golf as of yet hasn't affected my career but if I find myself in the upper echelons (which I hope will someday be the case) this lack of not just skill but basic knowledge could be a hindrance to my career goals. It was mainly for this reason that Executive Women's Golf was started in 1991 in Florida by Nancy Oliver. Her golf related business garnished the need for her to be involved in the game on a regular basis, finding no suitable avenues to occasion her involvement she started Executive Women's Golf. Executive Women's Golf Association has since grown into a national organization with regional chapters across the country. The cofounders of the Greater Springfield Chapter are Cindy Johnson and Susan Duquette. Cindy is the proprietor of Fran Johnson's Golf and Tennis Shop located on Riverdale Street in West Springfield and she knows first hand the obstacles women in golf must face. Cindy had played golf in school but as she grew older and her abilities grew, the opposite seemed to happen to programs that could have accommodated females in this sport. Cindy advises any girl or young women coming up in the ranks of golf today to stick with it, there are programs out there to assist them and they have something Cindy didn't, the support and resources that can be found in Executive Women's Golf Association.

The Greater Springfield Chapter had meager beginnings but in just a few short years membership has risen to over 200 with league play occurring throughout the week starting in May and lasting throughout the summer. This movement has allowed many women to pursue golf past the beginner stage, which has been sufficiently facilitated by enrolling in the Union-News and Sunday Republican Women's Golf Clinic program but there weren't any other stops on the road to clubhouse membership for women. EWGA caters to the needs of women golfers and holds no pretense, you don't have to be a CEO or even in the business world to become a member, all you need is the desire to play golf.

Each local chapter is an intricate part of the National mainframe and members can benefit from local, state and national tournaments and other events that help bring members together. Here a bond can develop that could have a future potential not yet actualized, whether it be on a business or personal level. During the national tournament, which was held in Palm Springs this year, the degree of involvement is solely up to the golfer herself. Intense competition, scramble events or just a friendly outing on a beautiful day are all on the venue. Membership in EWGA enables all it's members to utilize not only the programs and events of their local chapter but also that of any chapter in the organization. Membership is inclusive to all chapters and visiting members are always welcome.

If you have to travel frequently for your company, you'll be able to hook up with the local chapter of any city you'll be conducting business in.

Membership is just a click away. If you visit www.ewga.com and bring up Chapter Directory you will be guided through the stages - it's easy!!. If you'd like a more hands on introduction to EWGA before deciding to become a member then join me in attending the Kick-Off Event scheduled for March 27 at 5:30 pm, in the ballroom of the Springfield Marriott. It's a get acquainted social event. There will be a guest speaker, cash bar and vendor's stationed around the ballroom for you to view the latest golf related items. There will also be door prizes, and membership and league play tables where you can sign up or just get answers to any additional questions you may have. This is the perfect opportunity for those of you who have considered expanding your golf game and would like to meet other women with similar interests but haven't known how to achieve that goal. It's also a chance to get some insight into the inner workings of EWGA.

This organization isn't only about golf, it's also about women fortifying themselves with a sense of independence and empowering themselves with the knowledge that is gained through becoming self-sufficient. The glass ceiling may still be there but thanks to women with the courage to take on endeavors like EWGA and women who have taken the time and endured the personal sacrifices that go along with such strength and vision, that glass ceiling seems to be weakening.

Way to go Lucy, Ethel and EWGA.., We've come a long way baby!!

Tee Party links 3 golf generations, By BOB BONTEMPO (Continued)

Bontempo served as general chairman of the party until 1980 when failing health helped Henry decide to turn the gavel to Tom DiRico of Shaker Farms CC. Tom held the chairmanship for close to 20 years before naming Bob Bontempo as his successor as general chairman.
The very popular TV personality, Rollie Jacobs has served as emcee for over 30 years and his dedication to the party has been enormous. Rollie keeps things moving smoothly during a very busy and emotional evening at the head table.
The late Jim Regan of the Springfield Newspapers was an avid supporter of the party, and he had a strong hand in making the pro -am such a viable and enjoyable part of the day. Mickey Cotela, Tom, Dan, and David DiRico, and Russ Held of the Union News have made great contributions over the years. In fact, local TV and newspapers have always assisted in enhancing the popularity of the Tee Party
**********************************
Ted Perez Jr. and family to be honored on April 26. The Tee Party committee has unanimously selected Ted Perez Jr. and his family, of East Mountain CC in Westfield as recipients of the 2001 event to be held Thursday, April 26 at East Mountain.
The Perez family opened the popular course in 1963 and then developed the back nine three years later. Usually one of the first courses to open in the area, East Mountain has become a great setting for local golf enthusiasts, club and civic events, and in recent years the host for weddings and banquets in a beautiful clubhouse.
Ted Perez, Sr. has made this great golf endeavor totally a family affair with contributions made from many family members. Thus, Ted, Sr. and Jr. and family will be roasted and toasted on April 26 at the clubhouse.
Pro-Am reservations will fill fast, with a double-shotgun set for 7:30 am and 12:30 pm. The scramble format features pro and four ams, group of five ams and the popular pro-senior with pro and four ams over age 55. Tickets for pro-am and dinner are $65 and prime rib dinner only costs $30.00. Tickets available at East Mountain C.C., and Bontempo's Family Golf Center, Route 202 in Granby. (467-9269). Call the Perez family starting March 25 for golf reservations at 568-1539.
The pro-am is very popular with both team gross and net prizes and names inscribed on the perpetual Tee Party trophies. Reservations are taken over the phone but your entry must be paid in full by April 15.
The afternoon times fill faster - so call Teddy and the pro shop as soon as March 25... see you on the first tee.
The 2001 party will be chaired by Bob Bontempo and co-chaired by Bob Mucha, President of the Western Mass. PGA Chapter. We expect a gala affair for the Perez family on April 26 . . . JOIN THE FUN.

Senior women set for New England, By STEVE KELLY (Continued)

Notah Begay III is the defending champ.
The GHO began as the Insurance City Open at nearby Wethersfield Country Club in 1952 with winner Ted Kroll earning $2,400 from the purse of $15,000.
This year the GHO will offer $3.1 million in prize money with $558,000 going to the winner.
Haydenville native Bob Toski won $2,400 when he won the second event in 1953.
Among the former winners are Tommy Bolt (1954), Sam Snead (1955), Arnold Palmer (1956 and 1960), Billy Casper (1963, 1965, 1968, 1973), Ken Venturi (1964), Lee Trevino (1972) and Mac O'Grady (1986).
Bolt shot 60 in the second round on the way to his win and Palmer, now 70, earned his first PGA Tour title when he won in 1956.
The GHO moved from Wethersfield to the TPC in 1984. O'Grady shot 62 in the final round at TPC when he won in 1986 and he defeated Roger Maltbie on the first hole of a playoff at the par-3 16th hole.
The senior ladies will make their first New England appearance with the Women's Senior Golf Tour Fall Classic to be staged at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton on Sept. 22-23.
The WSGT is in its second year, operating out of businesswoman and former LPGA Tour star Jane Blalock's Boston office, as it moves for legitimacy.
The WSGT has been trying for the past few years to emulate the Senior PGA Tour but found the going tough with little sponsor support and no initial support from the LPGA Tour, which did not want such age 43 and over players like Nancy Lopez, Jan Stephenson and Patty Sheehan skipping their events to play with the seniors.
Last year the WSGT offered two official events.
There are three official events set for 2001 with the event at PVCC the final event. Others will be played in Green Bay, Wisc., and Des Moines, Iowa.
There is also a Legends Division within the regular WSGT competition with players like Kathy Whitworth, Joanne Carner, Sandra Palmer, Carol Mann, Sandra Haynie and Blalock all age 55 or over.
The LPGA Tour will skip New England again this year but the SBC Futures Tour, now the official developmental Tour for the LPGA Tour, will make two stops in the region.
The Futures Tour will play June 29-July 1 at Green Mountain National GC in Killington, Vt., and at Avon, Conn., in the Lincoln Futures Classic July 19-21. Both events offer $60,000 purses over 54 holes.