NH Golf: What you need to know heading into the season
Apr. 8—ALTHOUGH many New Hampshire golf courses are still battling wet conditions, the golf season should soon be in full swing.
The following Q and A is geared to fill you in on what's changed since the 2022 golf season ended, and what's in store in 2023 ...
Question: Can golfers still play a round at Green Meadow Golf Club before the facility closes?
Answer: No. During the winter months, there were rumblings that Green Meadow would remain open for at least part of the 2023 season, but, as the Union Leader reported last month, Target Corp. bought the property and there will be no more golf on the Jungle or Prairie courses.
A popular choice for the recreational golfer, Green Meadow also served as the site for many New Hampshire Golf Association events like the Stroke Play Tournament and State Am qualifiers.
"The biggest news is probably Green Meadow shutting down," NHGA Executive Director Matt Schmidt said. "It's not like we didn't know it was coming. We've had a long runway for it. They were one of our biggest clubs from a GHIN (Golf Handicap Information Network) standpoint, from a handicap standpoint in terms of revenue, but they started to wind that down once a sale was coming.
"In a state where we're already short on inventory, from a golf course standpoint, to lose a 36-hole facility is a challenge. You had a lot of people migrating in from Massachusetts to play in New Hampshire (Green Meadow). The challenge is going to be trying to figure out where those people go now and how we can keep them engaged with public facility play in New Hampshire.
"It's going to be a challenge for some of the courses down there to absorb those folks from Green Meadow who want to play somewhere else down in that area because everybody is still so busy at this point. For the most part, you still don't see a lot of open tee times at daily fee golf courses."
Question: Where will some of the marquee New Hampshire golf events be held this summer?
Answer: There's no question the state's most popular tournament is the men's Amateur Championship, which returns to Manchester Country Club for the first time since 2005, when Craig Cyr (Canterbury Woods) prevailed. This year's State Am will be played July 10-15.
Sky Meadow's Brandon Gillis defeated Laconia CC's Jim Cilley to win last year's State Am at Abenaqui Country Club.
The women's State Am will be played July 31-Aug. 2 at Montcalm Golf Club, and the New England Golf Association's Junior Amateur will be held Aug. 7-9 at Mount Washington Resort.
Question: If Derryfield CC's Danny Arvanitis breaks his putter in half after making a triple bogey — not that Arvanitis would do that (make triple bogey) — during an NHGA tournament this summer, can he replace his putter?
Answer: No. Although one of the USGA rules changes that went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year allows a player to replace a club that is damaged during a round, the club cannot be replaced if the club was damaged through abuse.
Question: Who is Darin MacEacheron and why will he be surrounded by women this summer?
Answer: Last year, the NHGA absorbed the day-to-day operations formerly handled by the now-defunct New Hampshire Women's Golf Association. Schmidt said although things went well overall, he quickly realized the addition of so many women's events required more staff to run things properly.
To address the issue, the NHGA created an additional full-time position: the director of women's golf. That position was filled by MacEacheron, who was hired in November. MacEacheron worked with the NHGA as a USGA PJ Boatwright intern last year, when, among other tasks, he administered the women's golf events.
"Now we have a staff person completely dedicated to all the women's tournaments, not only the historical NHWGA stuff, but the ladies events that we've been running for a couple years now," Schmidt said. "To have a staff person completely dedicated to that side of it is good, because absorbing all those tournaments is a heavy lift.
"There were some speed bumps we had to get through last year. I think it's going to be a better experience for everybody and a smoother experience for everybody."
Question: Where can those interested get more information about New Hampshire golf?
Answer: Durham resident Mica Stark has a podcast called Granite State Golfers that focuses on amateur golf in the state. The most recent episode includes guest Chantel McCabe, a New Hampshire native who covers PGA and LPGA events for The Golf Channel.
The Union Leader golf column will typically appear in the New Hampshire Sunday News (and online) each week. Anyone with a feature idea or a noteworthy item about New Hampshire golf or golfers from New Hampshire can email that information to rbrown@unionleader.com. Thank you in advance.
Rules question
Question: True or false: If a committee member is not available in a reasonable amount of time to help with a rules issue, the player must play on and must not unreasonably delay play. Correct Answer: True.
Source: USGA Rule 20.1a.
NEW HAMPSHIRE GOLF CALENDAR
April 27: Stroke Play Series (Scottish Highlands)
April 29: Tournament Series (Wentworth by the Sea)
May 9-Sept. 9: Match Play Championships (Pease, Beaver Meadow, Sky Meadow, Montcalm, GC of New England)
May 16: Stroke Play Series (Candia Woods)
May 17: Women's Weekly "B" (Exeter)
May 18: Women's Weekly "A" (Hoodkroft)
May 21: Spring Four Ball (Keene)
May 23: Women's Weekly Combined (Rochester)
May 25: President's Cup (Maplewood)
May 27: Club/Mixed Club Team (Derryfield)
May 28: Mixed (TBD)
May 31: Women's Weekly Combined (Indian Mound)
June 3-4: Players Invitational (Baker Hill)
June 5: Stroke Play Series (The Oaks)
June 6: Spring Fling (Windham)
June 8: Tournament Series (Lake Sunapee)
June 12-14: NEGA Women's Amateur (Manchester, Conn.)
June 12: Four Ball Championship (Owl's Nest)
June 12-14: Women's Tri-States (Martindale CC/Auburn, Maine)
June 13: Women's Weekly Combined (Hooper)
June 22-24: New Hampshire Open (Bretwood)
June 27: Women's Weekly Combined (Breakfast Hill)
June 28: Women's Weekly Combined (Blackmount/Haverhill, Mass.)
July 6-7: Women's Team Championship (Canterbury Woods)
July 10-15: 120th NH Amateur Championship (Manchester)
July 18-20: NEGA Amateur (The Woodlands, Falmouth, Maine)
June 20: State Am Qualifier (Passaconaway)
June 24: State Am Qualifier (Bretwood South)
June 25: State Am Qualifier (Beaver Meadow)
June 26: State Am Qualifier (Maplewood)
June 28: State Am Qualifier (Breakfast Hill)
June 30: State Am Qualifier (Concord)
July 16: Mixed (Loudon)
July 17: Parent-Child Championship (Stonebridge)
July 19-21: Junior Championship (Beaver Meadow)
July 19: Senior Legend Classic (Lochmere)
July 21: Women's Weekly Combined (Newport)
July 23-24: Senior Team (Mount Washington)
July 31-Aug. 2: Women's Amateur Championship (Montcalm)
Aug. 7-9: NEGA Junior Amateur (Mt. Washington Resort)
Aug. 8-10: Stroke Play Championship (Ridgewood/Atkinson Resort)
Aug. 8: Women's Weekly Combined (Pease)
Aug. 15-16: Women's Mid-Amateur (Ridgewood)
Aug. 20-21: Mid-Amateur Team (Mount Washington)
Aug. 20: Mixed (Mount Washington)
Aug. 22: Women's Weekly "B' (Bretwood)
Aug. 24: Stoke Play Series (Hoodkroft)
Aug. 29: Women's Weekly "A" (Derryfield)
Sept. 5: Women's Weekly Combined (Den Brae)
Sept. 6-7: Senior Championship (Canterbury Woods)
Sept. 11-12: NEGA Senior Amateur (Fox Hopyard/East Haddam, Conn.)
Sept. 21: Stoke Play Series (Kingswood Gold)
Sept. 26: Fall Classic (Keene)
Oct. 2-4: Mid-Amateur Championship (Rochester)
Oct. 8: Mixed (Kingswood Golf)
Oct. 16: Tournament Series (Cochecho)
Oct. 18: Stroke Play Series (Newport)
Oct. 23: Corporate Challenge (Concord)
Oct. 30: Tournament Series (Laconia)
