From my own personal experience and based on feedback from others, Shaker Ridge CC played extremely tough during the 2-day NEWGA Championship this week. The beautiful golf course was surprisingly playable the first day and a half of competition, despite several days of drenching rain the past few weeks. But OH, those putting greens…those fast, furious, and unforgiving greens…left many players perplexed and made putting the ball in the hole extra challenging! I own a ball marker that reads “Friends Don’t Let Friends Three-Putt” but I don’t think any friend could have helped prevent the myriad of putting mayhem which resulted in higher-than-normal scores for much of the field. Such is the game of golf we all love so much!
There were several players, however, who managed to crack the code and figure out the quickest path into the hole with greater success!! The best was Sue Kahler (Ballston Spa) who clinched her second consecutive (and fourth overall) NEWGA Championship title carding a stellar 2-day total of 155 (78/77) narrowly edging out runner-up Kathy Harkins’ (Ballston Spa) 158 (77/81). Congratulations also go out to other notable performances by the likes of Heather Morrison (Burden Lake), Sue Mooradian (Troy), Linda Kolnick (Canajoharie) Tracey Ranieri (Oneonta), Noreen Leonard (Western Turnpike), Mary Assey (Ballston Spa) and Lynn Cummings (Pinehaven).
I would like to commend the entire field of thirty-nine women who participated in our Championship event this year. It’s not easy to put yourself out there to compete in stroke play over the course of 2-days, you are ALL champions in my eyes! Thanks to each one of you as well as a special thanks to Kathy McLaughlin (Shaker Club Rep and our indispensable Web Chair) for securing and hosting the 2023 NEWGA Championship at Shaker Ridge and making it a very enjoyable experience. Kudos to Club Pro Mark Jorgensen and Trent Kaufman who aided with scoring and made sure everyone stayed safe during the turbulent weather. We appreciated their professionalism.