Golf In New York City Blog

Did anyone get a chance to come see THE BARCLAYS, the PGA Tour event and first leg of the Fed-Ex Cup Playoffs, played at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ from August 21-24^th.

For me, the BARCLAYS was special as I was selected as one of four instructors to teach at the BARCLAY’S GOLF ACADEMY. The Academy, where five golf professionals gave lessons throughout the four-day event, was organized and managed by Lynn Blake of Lynn Blake Golf

It was a great experience for me, giving 108 lessons to special guests and invitees of the Barclays Corporation.

The BARCLAYS, and its predecessor tournaments, have been among the most prestigious and richest events on the PGA TOUR. One could notice the air of excitement throughout the four-days as most of the best PGA players in the world vied for better positions in the Fed-Ex Cup standings. Only the top 120 advanced to the second round, the following week at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

The BARCLAYS GOLF ACADEMY occupied 2,100- square feet and featured four teaching bays. The facility was constructed contiguous to The Barclays Hospitality Pavilion overlooking the 18th Green. Lessons were given each day from early morning until the close of play. The Academy featured individual and group instruction, club fitting and outdoor clinics exclusively for BARCLAYS private clients and guests.
Lynn Blake Golf, assembled a blue-ribbon team of exceptional instructors for the event. As pictured, the instructors were:

• Lynn Blake, Founder and Director of Instruction, Lynn Blake Golf, LLC
• Bill Castner, PGA, Master Professional, New Jersey PGA
• Ted Fort, PGA, Teacher of the Year, Georgia PGA / 2006
• Jeff Hull, PGA, Player of the Year, Georgia PGA, 2007 Georgia Open Champion
• Rob Noel, PGA, Teacher of the Year, Gulf States PGA / 1993 and 2000

Between all of us, we gave an estimated 400 individual lessons and eight outdoor clinics during the four days. Clients received a personalized Golf Stroke Analysis CD as a permanent record of their experience.

Ridgewood was a fantastic host club – Byron Nelson was an assistant professional at the club in the mid-1930s, and several major professional golf events have been played there. A.W.Tillinghast designed the golf course. The tournament was played on a composite of 18- holes from among the 27-hole facility.

And just in case you missed the exciting end, Vijay Singh won The Barclays for a record fourth time. He matched Sergio Garcia’s long birdie putt on the first playoff and birdied the second playoff hole to win the tournament. Singh, who won the Bridgestone three weeks ago at Firestone Country Club in Colorado, earned 11,000 FedExCup points to take the lead with 109,500 points in the Fed-Ex Cup standings - 5,125 points ahead of Garcia in second-place.

It was very exciting and great to be there – hopefully our readers will come to watch the tournament next August. Next year’s tournament will be played at the new Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City.

Andrew Giuliani, son of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has filed a lawsuit against Duke University to win back his spot on the golf team.
The federal lawsuit, filed in Durham, N.C., says Duke men’s golf coach O.D. Vincent cited several odd incidents as reasons why Giuliani’s eligibility for the schools’ athletics program was canceled in February.
The lawsuit asserts Vincent said Giuliani, tossed an apple at a teammate, hitting the side of his face, and that in a football game with golf teammates he “played harder than some of the other boys wanted to play.”
Included in the lawsuit is an e-mail to Giuliani from five teammates saying they no longer wanted him on the team.
“After careful consideration we have come to the unanimous decision that we wish that your involvement with the Duke Golf Team is terminated,” the e-mail says.
“Teams and athletic programs at the university have very clear processes and procedures for membership on the teams, who’s eligible, when somebody might be removed from a team,” said Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations.
Schoenfeld said he did not know of any other similar lawsuits filed against Duke and that students do not determine team eligibility. David Henahan, a spokesman for the State University of New York, said he was unaware of similar situations at SUNY. The National Collegiate Athletic Association did not return calls.
“I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Giuliani said.
Giuliani said he looks forward to his last year at Duke, adding, “My plans are still to become a professional golfer.”
The lawsuit asserts Coach O.D. Vincent said during a football game with golf teammates, Giuliani “played harder than some of the other boys wanted to play.”
Giuliani is coached by golf professional Paul Silva at Van Cortlandt Golf Course in the Bronx.

The first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays, is sure to be filled with much excitement when 144 of the leading PGA Tour professionals tee it up at the legendary Ridgewood Country Club.
Most of the top-ranked players, including fan-favorite Phil Mickelson, defending champion Steve Stricker, top-ranked Jim Furyk, Players Championship winner Sergio Garcia, multiple 2008 PGA Tour winners Anthony Kim and Kenny Perry, two-time British Open winner and recent PGA Champion Padraig Harrington, are scheduled to participate.
The event, which was played last year at Westchester Country Club, moves to the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Ridgewood Country Club, located on the Hackensack River in northern New Jersey. The tournament dates are the week of August 18-24th. Ridgewood has hosted several other professional tournaments in the past, starting with the 1935 Ryder Cup and most recently the US Senior Open.
“Typically after the PGA Championship, the players lose some interest in playing, but with this new FedEx Cup format, the Barclays becomes a very meaningful event for the players,” commented defending champion Steve Stricker during a recent conference call. “I am looking forward to coming back and know there will be lots of excitement surrounding the tournament.”
While fans would have loved to have see Tiger Woods, due to his season-ending knee surgery, the door for a new FedEx Cup winner has been left wide open.
Expect to see a high caliber of play, as players will encounter some of Tillinghast’s classic designs, while trying to avoid the high rough conditions. The 7,319-yard layout is a composite from the 27-holes at Ridgewood. One of the most interesting holes will be the 291-yard, par-4, 5th hole (nicknamed “Five and Dime”). Will a player attempt to drive the “plateau green” which is surrounded by six deadly bunkers? Who knows?
The tournament’s charity recipients are the First Tee of Metropolitan New York, Children’s Aid and Family Services, The Valley Hospital Foundation, The Valley Hospital Auxiliary, Ridgewood YMCA, Junior League of Bergen County, Ridgewood Education Foundation, and West Bergen Mental Health Care. 100% of the charity funds raised, mostly from ticket sales, go to the local community.
Practice round tickets (good for both Tuesday and Wednesday) are $35/ in advance, $45/ at the gate, and tournament tickets are $45 in advance/ $55 at the gate. Children under age 12 will be admitted for free when accompanied by a ticket holder (limited to 2 children per ticket holder). Ticket and other tournament information is available on-line, at www.thebarclaysgolf.com. The event will also be shown like on the Golf Channel, both Thursday and Friday rounds, and on CBS for the weekend rounds.
The event will be played at the new Liberty National Golf Club in 2009.

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