nepga.com | AUGUST, 2019 | 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS P6 P10 P14 P18 MANCHESTER PAESANI’S CHANGE OF PJ BRETON CONQUERED! PRIORITIES SCENERY JOINS Shawn Warren wins John Paesani’s “grind Shake up your routine #TEAMCALEB second NEPGA Sec- through it” mentality 18 with a golf trip you’ll When P.J. Breton, tion Championship through thick & thin never forget! teed off at the NEPGA with clutch final 9. earns him 2019 New Pro-Pro Stroke Play England PGA Deacon Championship he had Palmer Award. a very special gallery following his every shot. OFFICERS Ron Bibeau, PGA Allan Belden, PGA Mike Bradshaw, PGA Rob Jarvis, PGA President Vice President Secretary Honorary President [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 2 | AUGUSGT, 2019 | nepga.com P20 P22 P24 P28 BIG SMILES AT SASO, HEATH PGA JUNIOR CHAPTER BUTTON HOLE TAKE HOME LEAGUE ROUNDUP QUALIFIER JUNIOR PGA SECTION News and notes from “Yes, it’s a competi- CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP around the Section. tion, but it’s all about TITLES An estimated 350 the smiles of the kids In a down-to-the-wire, junior golfers, repre- and that everyone is record-breaking thrill- senting 36 PGA Junior having fun and enjoy- er, Jack Heath, 17, League teams gath- ing the game of golf.” of Charlotte, sank a ered at Stow Acres stunning 40-foot birdie Country Club for the putt from the fringe on PGA Junior League the 72nd hole. New England Section Championship. NEPGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dave Tiedemann, PGA David Soucy, PGA Doug VanWickler, PGA District Director District Director District Director Rhode Island Vermont Maine (401) 322-2107 (802) 422-4633 (207) 787-2890 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] John Fields, PGA Joanne Flynn, PGA Mark Aldrich, PGA District Director District Director District Director MA Eastern New Hampshire MA Central (617) 484-5360 (603) 434-2093 (508) 853-5087 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Lou Rivers, PGA Dave Donnellan, PGA Dan Gillis, PGA District Director District Director Senior Director MA Southern Cape Cod (978) 692-4606 (508) 543-4661 (508) 362-2606 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] nepga.com | AUGUST, 2019 | 3 EVERYTHING WORKS, BUT NOTHING WORKS FOREVER Message from the Executive Director was the earliest playing of the NEPGA Championship since I have been with the Section. If you were in New Hampshire this year for the Championship, or you followed the event on social media, Michael Higgins I hope you witnessed and enjoyed an amazing finish. Dave Ben- Executive Director nett, PGA played a phenomenal three days of golf, but a late surge New England PGA by Shawn Warren, PGA down the stretch proved to be a little too much to handle. On behalf of the Section: congratulations to Shawn on his second NEPGA Championship victory! I would also like to congratulate the 12 additional NEPGA Professionals that Every year August brings will join Shawn in Austin, Texas next April for the PGA Professional along with it a few major cham- Championship and thank the 140 participants for making our event pionships! Much like many of a success. I am confident that our “bakers dozen” of PGA Profes- you at your facilities, the NEP- sionals will once again represent the New England Section quite GA Staff is geared up for our very well on the National stage. Section Major Championships all month. With the traditional In addition to championship month for our PGA Professionals, it dates of the Section Champion- is also a championship month of sorts for our juniors. Both Drive, ship and the Senior Champion- Chip & Putt Regional Finals as well as the PGA Junior Regional ship flip-flopping in 2019, this and Section Finals take place in August. It was amazing to wit- ness 360 junior golfers all wearing team uniforms at Stow Acres CC this month, and it was great to see the look on the DCP com- petitors faces when they came one step closer to Augusta Nation- al. Junior golf in New England is strong and we are proud of the efforts by Junior Golf Director Jacy Settles and his merry band of interns that conduct a rock-solid program all summer. Recently I played in a member guest (outside our Section) for the third year in a row. My partner and I have never come close to winning our flight so every year it’s like Christmas morning when I receive the invitation, but our poor play is a story for another newsletter. The event is fun, and I have a blast with my partner, but this year I had my old Tournament Director hat on and made a few observations. I noticed that everything at the event has been the same each year. The meals have been identical, the tee gifts have been similar, we start on the same hole every day, the contests don’t vary, and even our team picture is three years old. During the three-hour ride home I started to think about our Sec- tion events. Do our PGA Professionals feel like it is “Groundhog 4 | AUGUSGT, 2019 | nepga.com Day” at the New England PGA? I Learn from someone that has had success certainly hope that is not the case and I think our staff does a great for a long time. Find a peer at a similar job of reinventing our events year facility and brainstorm operational ideas. after year, but it is never a bad idea to step back and occasionally Connect with a young professional just re-evaluate our operation. starting their career and mentor them the Recently I listened to an inter- best you can. view with former Ultimate Fighting Champion Frank Shamrock. At one time Shamrock was pound-for- pound one of the deadliest men in the world. The story of his child- are all around us. “If nothing changes, then nothing changes.” hood was fascinating and his rise to the top truly is an inspirational I encourage you to examine your events and see how long story, but his approach to his skill your agenda has been the same. Does the field want the was amazing and really blew me same steak, baked potato and corn on the cob for dinner? away. He took a very scientific and Are they getting the same golf shirt in a different color this cerebral approach to fighting, by year? Have the trophies been the same year after year? researching his opponents, study- ing their technique and always What if you could implement the Plus, Equal, Minus System reinventing himself so his oppo- this year? Learn from someone that has had success for a nents couldn’t do the same to him. long time. Find a peer at a similar facility and brainstorm op- Shamrock constantly evolved as erational ideas. Connect with a young professional just start- a fighter never wanting to become ing their career and mentor them the best you can. predictable. He said, “Everything works, but nothing works forever.” Personally, I am going to try and implement the system my- Shamrock talked about a system self and will encourage our entire staff to do the same. I am that he lives by that he calls the going to make a promise to our PGA Professionals that we will Plus, Equal, Minus System. Plus always try and keep our events and programs fresh. If you – He finds someone ahead of him ever feel that we are getting a bit stale with any of our events and learns from them. Equal – He I encourage your feedback. I never want any of you driving finds someone equal with him, and home and saying, “wow this event is the same every year.” exchanges with them. Minus – He finds someone he is ahead of and Please be sure to reach out if either myself or any of your shares with them. I absolutely love talented NEPGA staff if we can ever be of service. this system because it recognizes that ideas, help and motivation can Respectfully, come from anyone and anywhere. Everyone has value and lessons Michael J. Higgins nepga.com | AUGUST, 2019 | 5 Warren Steals MANCHESTER NEPGA Section CONQUERED! Championship With It was a finish every golfer dreams of, but most never achieve. Final-Nine 30 Shawn Warren, PGA (Falmouth CC) was four strokes off the lead with five holes to play in the final round of the 2019 New England PGA Section Championship at Manchester Country Club, but closed with a back-nine 30, including must-make birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, to steal a one-stroke victory over David Bennett, PGA (CC of Vermont). At the end of the day, it added up to a 4-under par 67 for Warren, the second in as many days to win his second NEPGA Section Championship at 8-un- der par. Bennett, who began the day with a one-stroke lead, made six birdies in his first 13 holes and seemed unshakeable throughout the round. But after about a 30-minute weather delay with the final group standing on the 16th tee, Bennett was unable to convert par putts on the 16th and 17th holes. War- ren, meanwhile, made a 10-footer for par on the 16th to stay alive, then rolled in a 12-footer on the 6 | AUGUSGT, 2019 | nepga.com “Coming down the stretch when I knew I needed to make putts, to end up holing them, that’s why you practice. That’s why you do it all.” 17th to draw even with Bennett going into the 18th.