April 2011 Archives

Growing up in the 50's and 60's was fun.  Kid's played outside without fears.  We were allowed to ride our bikes for miles and knew that when the street lights came on we were expected to be back home.

As a girl, there were very few organized sports available.  Girls were supposed to play with dolls while the boys played sports.  Well, this girl grew up in a neighborhood of mostly boys, so I grew up a tomboy and loved playing sports with them. 

My hometown of Milford was very proactive back then so they offered recreational softball for young girls.  I started playing when I was probably 7 or 8 years old and quickly fell in love with the game.  I even won several "softball throws" at the school track and field events.  I had an "arm" and usually would play outfield because I could throw to homeplate without a relay.

During the 60s, girls were selected from the various league teams to represent the city in an interstate type of league.  I was fortunate to be selected to that team and got to play with other players who normally were the opponent on a weekly basis.

Anyone who grew up between Bridgeport and New Haven and didn't live under a rock knew that fame brewed in Stratford with the Raybestos Brakettes.  In my day, legend Bertha Tickey had pretty much retired the mound to superstar Joan Joyce.  Joan is legend in the area for her Hall of Fame skills on the ballfield.  She was pitcher supreme and that fast pitch was something only a few hitters managed to tag.  She would pitch strikeouts all the time.  She even struck out Ted Williams at a Waterbury stadium in 1961.

And most pitchers weren't known for being good hitters but Joan actually would hit cleanup and send numerous balls over the outfield fences to the parking lot.  The games were always packed when the Brakettes were in town.

Also pitching on the team during that era was Donna Lopiano.  Donna was also a fantastic pitcher but the spotlight typically was on Joan.  Besides being great ball players they were mentors to girls playing on these interstate teams.  I remember meeting Donna as she helped with our team.  Of course that was many years ago and my memory may be tainted but for some reason I remember Donna having one of the coolest Mustangs and driving us to a game.  I sure hope that memory was accurate.

Our phys ed teacher at Milford High School at the time was also a former Brakette - Edna Fraser.  And some of the great ladies that I have had the pleasure of playing golf with over the years include other former Brakettes like Chic Meehan, Lou Albrecht, and Skippy Schippani.  Unfortunately Chic passed away many years ago but you can still play a round of golf with Hall of Famer Lou, who plays out of Smith Richardson in Fairfield or Skippy who can be found on the links at Fairchild Wheeler.

I was only 3 years old when this picture was taken.  Chic is seen top row left while Edna is bottom row center. 

At age 7, my parents would take me to Raybestos field to see the great Raybestos team demolish their opponents.  I was smitten with the game.  In the picture below is another great lady, Louise "Skippy" Schippani who I often have the pleasure of playing golf with at Fairchild Wheeler.  Skippy has the best sense of humor and just don't let her near any of your pens - she will steal them.  To be honest, I wasn't aware of Skippy back then, but I'm really glad I got to know her through golf.  I consider her a great friend.  And in the center back row is legend Joan Joyce.

In 1968, I was graduating high school and the Brakettes were again winning National Titles.  You'll see Donna Lopiano and Joan Joyce in the back row next to the trophy.

So how does this relate to golf.  Well, Joan Joyce after retiring from the world of softball actually played on the LPGA tour for a while and still holds a world record for having the fewest putts in a round at 17 putts.

While Donna Lopiano didn't follow Joan into golf, she took those mentoring skills and became the CEO of Women's Sports Foundation from 1992 to 2007.  Also a Hall of Famer, Donna was named one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports by Fox Sports.  She also received recognition as one of The 100 Most Influential People in Sports from The Sporting News.

Both Donna and Joyce made young girls realize that they could realize their dreams, even if it was to break into sports where boys typically dominated.  They along with Billie Jean King helped change women's roles for the better.  These were the legends from my era.  As I look back into the archives of the Brakettes, I now realize how many of these great women eventually had an impact on my life and my desire to play golf.

Who do you consider the leaders for change now?  If you can dream it, you can do it.

For more information on the Brakettes and their history here in CT visit their FB page Brakettes Softball or their website http://stratfordbrakettes.com.  The Brakettes are still around and you can support them by seeing their games at DeLuca Field in Stratford.  Special thanks to the Brakettes site for the use of these photos.

Update:

My apologies to two other great ladies that played for the Brakettes.  Until I looked into every archive photo on the site, I did not realize that Kit Olsavsky and Ellie Mastroni were also part of this great dynasty.  I've played golf with both these ladies at Fairchild Wheeler.  While Kit O isn't as active on the links as she used to be, I remember her as a fantastic golfer who could shoot low scores and hit a long ball.  Ellie still plays a lot and I'm always happy when I get paired up with this generous lady.  So here are team photos from the Brakettes site when these wonderful ladies were "girls".

In the photo below from 1947 is Kitty Olsavsky is in the dark shirt on the right.

 In this picture, circa 1949, is Ellie Mastroni in the back row, third from the left.

Kevin Na will be remembering the Valero Texas Open for a long time I think.  Kevin looked more like one of us amateur hackers while playing the 9th.  He needed one of those funky bead counters you see people use when they tend to score big numbers and can't remember how many strokes they've taken.

Kevin couldn't remember how many strokes he took as his tee shot went wayword into a deep thicket in a wooded area.  Rather than try to hack it out, he took an unplayable and went back to the tee.  Oops, he hit it right back into the same dang area - kind of like Groundhog Day.  Now lying three off the tee.  But this time he could actually get a club on the ball so he decides to play it.  Oops it hits a branch and kicks backwards striking him in the process.

Well the rest is history once he took that fateful shot because now his option to go back to the tee was lost and his unplayable options were minimal.  Soon Kevin lost track of his shots, as his caddie who was trying to give him sage advice was being ignored and became more and more pissed off at his pro - just watch his facial expressions and body language as Kevin plays like one of us.

What's amazing and I find most refreshing is Kevin's attitude during the whole episode.  Rather than slamming his club into the ground like many pros we see today or bleeping profanitites at his situation, Kevin has a smile on his face.  Almost like he's laughing at himself probably remembering back to days when he might have been in this same situation as a kid.  He accepted what the golf gods gave to him.

Oh and what was his score, hmmmm, Kevin had to watch the video below to determine that he had a 16 on the par 4 ninth hole.  Old and new golfers can learn a lot from Kevin by watching this video.

Note the video caption says 15 but Kevin's scorecard will show a 16.  He had a whiff in there that he knew he made but viewers thought might have been a practice swing.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DaWTXoNzuk8c&h=bc418

So what did we learn after watching this.

1. It sucks to hit it in the woods

2. Know your options with the unplayable rule

3. Know that you are going to get a penalty if the ball hits you or your equipment

4. Remember to count your strokes because you aren't likely to be on video

5. Listen to your caddie when he tells you to go back further where you can punch out safely

6. Keep a positive attitude and smile - it's only a game

C'mon, honestly can you tell me that you heard that name prior to this years Masters?  I sure didn't but Charl sure has game and he proved that he deserved to be the Masters winner.

What happened to all the big names that we are used to seeing on the leader board?  Truthfully I was rooting for Phil or Freddy to win but I think Schwartzel winning will do so much more for the game of golf.

I can say that I am glad the Tiger dominance is over.  Initially it was good for the game because there was so much buzz about this tremendous athlete.  But then it got boring for me.  Who wants to see a game where there appears to be no competition.  I get that same feeling when I watch the UConn girls basketball.  I don't like blowouts, so I tend to only watch during March madness.  As one friend told me today "ABT" - anyone but Tiger.

But back to golf.  How exciting and sad was it to see Rory McIlroy lead for 63 holes only to crash and burn on the last nine holes.  I walked down that 10th hole last year and to have his tee shot end up in the cabin area is just unbelievable.  The tree gods definitely were not on his side today.  Even Rory admitted that the blowup on number 10 was his undoing.  Many wondered if Rory could hold it together to win the big one and I guess we found out that nerves got to the young buck.  If Rory ever marries and has a little girl, my bet is he won't name her Camellia.

Phil faultered early on and never made a charge.  Freddy played fairly steady and ended up finishing tied for 15th.  Not bad for an "old' guy.

Then the excitement started - Tiger came from behind and for a while it looked like he was going to pull one of his miracle final round performances out of the hat, but it wasn't his day either.  He would tie for 4th place, four shots back.

Adam Scott and Luke Donald gave it a run but I was getting confused at times since they were both dressed in all white with similar caps on.  I know they don't look anything alike but I'm a senior now and I'm entitled to some periods of confusion.

Jason Day had a shot at the title too, coming in tied for second with Adam Scott at two shots behind the winner.  It looked for a while like Angel Cabrera might win another green jacket.  Could a win be in the cards for one of the old guys?  Nope, Angel would finish one shot behind Tiger coming in 7th place.

Such a great horse race to the finish.  The gap between Tiger and the field has pretty much disappeared now.  I find it exciting that the younger players are now winning.  Cool names like Bubba and Dustin typically are atop the leaderboards these days.  It makes the game more exciting to watch for me.  But I'll still pull for favorites like Freddy, Phil, and Davis when they are in the field.

Is it karma that Charl Schwartzel of South Africa won his first green jacket on the 50th anniversary of Gary Player, the original South African ambassador, winning his first green jacket and becoming the first international player to capture a Masters jacket? 

Charl birdied 15 through 17 and had a one shot lead as he teed off on 18.   All he needed to do was par the final hole and the tournament was his, even though McIlroy and Cabrera were yet to finish their round.  With no water on the hole, he wasn't likely to pull a Jean Van de Velde.  He ripped a perfect shot down the fairway then made an excellent shot to the green.  Two putts, that's all he needed.  But in champion style, he only needed one putt to finish his round.  It's been a long time since the winner did not come out of the final pairing of the day.  Times are changing - for the better.

Congratulations Mr. Schwartzel, I look forward to seeing you from now on at the Masters. 

I've always admired Phil for his devotion to his family.  When Phil's wife Amy was diagnosed with cancer, he stood by and took time off from the tour events.  He had his priorities straight.  Then his Mom was diagnosed with cancer.  As both women valiently fought this disease, Phil was their rock.

As a kid, Phil idolized Seve Ballesteros.  He dreamed of being like Seve and playing at the Masters.  Phil won the Master's last year and as tradition has it, he is hosting the Champions Dinner tonight in Augusta.

Most winners choose a dinner menu that reflects foods that they like or represent the flavors from their country.  But Phil isn't doing that.  Instead he asked his hero Seve, who is still recovering from brain surgery after a tumor sidelined him, if he would be making the dinner and if so he'd be honored to select a menu that he would like.  It doesn't look like Seve will be able to make the trip, but Phil went ahead with a Spanish themed menu to honor another great man.

Phil is a class act in my book.

Last week saw Stacey Lewis capture the Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament and the ceremonial dip in the pond after winning.  What was supposed to be a fun jump into the pond turned into a disaster for Stacey's mother who joined her daughter in the festivities.

Apparently Poppie's Pond is not the same depth all around and player's know to jump out towards the deeper water.  Seems nobody told Mrs. Lewis and when she jumped into the shallow end she ended up fracturing her leg.

I'm guessing the celebration was short lived.  Hopefully future jumpers will remember this incident and plan their dips accordingly.  Speedy recovery Mrs. Lewis and congrats to Stacey for capturing the first major of the season.

To many the ultimate major is the Masters and that event starts this week.  I had the pleasure of attending my first masters last year on Masters Wednesday - this is the day of the par 3 contest, a truly fun event for the guys and their kids.  The Masters has always been one of my favorite tournaments to watch on TV and now that the Masters has expanded their coverage it's even better.

I hope you'll join me in watching this year and don't forget that CTGolfer.com will reward the person who can pick this years winner with the closest final score.  Check it out, and you may just win a great prize.