The girls of summer
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Four state day golfers (from left to right) Kathy Martel of Waterford, Sandra Towns of Lyndonville, Thelma Pearson of Stratton and Joan Rizio of Manchester sit on the terrace at Proctor-Pittsford on Tuesday. |
Toolbox
By Bob Fredette
Staff Writer - Published: July 2, 2010
Joan Rizio, Thelma Pearson, Sandra Towns and Kathy Martel were chatting over lunch in the dining room overlooking the 10th fairway at Proctor-Pittsford Country Club. They were trading stories of their golf experiences, kidding and complimenting one another over the round they had just shared and generally having a nice time.
You might never have guessed that they had only met about five hours earlier.
That’s part of the beauty of the ladies state day circuit for these girls of summer. It’s competition, it’s fun on new courses, it’s a day away from the everyday grind and it’s forging new friendships.
Rizio, by far the state day veteran of the group, and Pearson, are regular travel partners playing out of Stratton Mountain Country Club. Towns and Martel, St. Johnsbury Country Club members, also travel together, making the two-plus-hour drive after learning the state day at Enosburg had been cancelled.
“It’s a two-hour trip and I was up at 5 a.m.,” Towns said.
Five a.m.?
“She,” Towns said, alluding to Martel on her left, “was probably up at 4:30.”
Martel just smiled and didn’t feel compelled to deny it.
They were among the 101 women at PPCC on Tuesday and for Martel and Towns, it was their first exposure to PPCC.
“I’m glad we came,” said Martel. “It’s beautiful here.”
“We’ve already decided we’re coming back next year,” Towns said.
The state day circuit is the busiest feature on the Vermont State Women’s Golf Association calendar. Almost every week from mid-May through mid-September there are three state days, positioned around the state for easy access for the many takers. There are major events scheduled by the VSWGA but state day is tailored to give every player of every ability a chance to place in gross and net competitions.
Another attraction is the price; whereas PPCC is usually very reasonably priced at about $40 a round, state day participants shelled out a mere $20 to play a nice course in very good condition.
“It’s a good opportunity to play courses for reasonable fees. I’ve met an amazing number of wonderful women through state days and you meet them at invitationals and state tournaments,” said Nancy Murphy, who heads the women’s sports committee at PPCC and is the club’s representative to the VSWGA.
Let’s not get the wrong impression here. The women play to win, but it could be argued that there’s a softer, more global view than you might find in men’s tournaments.
Social networking “is a good part of it for me. I’m the kind of handicapper who doesn’t expect to get points; if I do, I do,” Murphy said. “To get out with my friends is why I play golf to begin with. When I go out to a state day there are people I hope to see.”
“I like having the choice of playing different courses around the state. There are three choices every week,” said the veteran Rizio, who has been part of the state day landscape since the 1970s. “It helps your game to play away.”
Pearson has been playing golf for 10 years.
She’s been on the summer circuit now for eight seasons.
How good a stick is she?
“I’m a 20 handicap … 19,” she said, correcting herself.
“She’s a phenomenal putter,” Towns said.
“She can putt,” Martel said.
“I don’t think of the money at all,” Pearson said. “Just to be with everybody and play different courses ... to me, that’s more important.”
Martel, of Waterford, and Towns, of Lyndonville, are isolated by comparison to their new friends. Central Vermont (a heading under which PPCC falls in the statewide breakdown) is congested with quality courses by comparison to the St. Johnsbury/Lyndonville area.
Rizio, of Manchester, and Pearson, who lives in Stratton, are a cup-of-coffee ride from another handful of quality courses. Every time Martel and Towns get in the car for a state day, they know it’s going to be 90 minutes or more, one way.
But even that has an upside.
“No matter what we get for a tee time, we always plan on the whole day,” said Towns.
“You get to play courses you wouldn’t get to play, private courses you would never get on if you didn’t go to state day. But I’m also a social butterfly, so I like the social aspect, too.”
Martel is a golfer who did not used to play well away from her own course but state day is thickening her golf skin.
“I started playing state day to get used to it and I have more confidence,” she said, “and I have the day away from work.”
Bad weather is about the only thing that keeps the crowds away from state day events. With Tuesday’s near-ideal conditions, the tee sheet at PPCC was filled up.
“Proctor-Pittsford is a very popular course,” said Murphy, who started playing state days after moving to Rutland from Burlington about 10 years ago. “Many of them say ‘I love that course.’ It has a really good reputation for the players so when we have a full tee sheet today it really is nice. Since I’ve been involved when we don’t have one, it’s been weather-driven.
“Today we have people from St. Johnsbury, Williston and the Burlington area. It’s really nice to see it full.”
A lofty opinion of PPCC is not confined to the ladies association. It’s commonly filled up with the Vermont Golf Association brings its men’s state day to the site.
One of the ways the VSWGA encourages its membership to take part is offering gross and net prizes in five divisions, giving everyone a shot at the glory.
But that’s just about the golf. If everyone has as good a time as Rizio, Pearson, Towns and Martel, everybody goes home a winner.
bob.fredette@rutlandherald.com
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