By Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
FALL RIVER, Massachusetts (May 13, 2024) – It was within the last week or so that the gentler side of spring awoke with a flourish. And so, 176 two-man teams were greeted with the bright, freshly green splendor of May on the south coast of Massachusetts, as they descended upon Fall River Country Club and Country Club of New Bedford for the 27th playing of the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship.
From the innumerable buzzing carts combing the sun-dappled fairways, one team separated from the pack, as Dean Godek (Agawam Municipal GC) and Ed Garbacik (Westover GC) fired a pristine six-under round of 64. Unfortunately, due to technical issues with the live scoring app, their round was a bit like this weekend’s northern lights phenomenon: if you weren’t in the right place at the right time, peering through the correct lens, you missed it.
Reader, I missed it.
The duo took it low in the afternoon at CC of New Bedford, tallying three birdies apiece and never surrendering a shot in the other direction. They’ll sleep on a three stroke lead, with an 8:47 a.m. tee time at Fall River looming. The early start will provide an opportunity to post a shimmering number for the rest of the leaderboard to gaze up for the balance of the day, assuming they have the correct lens.
In the morning wave, Darren Eddy and Jim Cesarz of Marshfield Country Club turned in a round of three-under 67 at CC of New Bedford, leaving them in a tie for second at day’s end.
Eddy shot out like a comet, birdieing three of his first four holes. That pace may not have been sustainable, but the duo was able to keep their score right around that -3 number throughout the rest of the day. It wasn’t for a lack of squares on the card, but for the most part, when one of them made a bogey, the other was there to pick him up.
“It seemed like we dinged and donged all day long,” said Cesarz. “If I messed up, he made some unbelievable pars and when he messed up, I made some good pars as well. So it was a really good, solid team effort.”
Though they play out of the same club, the two had never partnered up in a four-ball competition before (though Cesarz was quick to point out that Eddy cancelled on him before 2023’s championship at The Captains Golf Course). Eddy insisted that the format doesn’t change his mindset on the golf course at all, but he sounded grateful to have Cesarz in his corner, “I mean, he was a master at getting up-and-down and some pars that he had were phenomenal, when we needed them desperately.”
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About 20 minutes up the road at Fall River, Brian Kelley and Frank Depiano, both of The Haven Country Club, matched Eddy and Cesarz’s three-under 67. They went out in 36 with one birdie to two bogeys, but made their hay on the inward nine, as Depiano birdied 13, 14 and 16, before Kelley capped it off with a birdie of his own on the 18th.
“I was lucky. Found the fairway, stuck it to about, I don’t know, eight feet or so, and made the putt. We kinda knew going in it was going to be close to the leaders if I made it, so we’re just glad to be a part of it,” said Kelley.
After Depiano’s run of three birdies in four holes, he finished double bogey, bogey, so Kelley’s strong finish was a welcome boon. “I’m glad he was there the last few holes, cause I was out of it. Played good on the back until the last couple of holes,” said Depiano.
They’ll head over to New Bedford for a morning start to round two, where they’ll look to keep up the momentum of their strong closing nine.
“We’ve never seen the golf course, but we’ll see what it’s like and do our best,” said Depiano.
“All we can do is just keep hitting fairways, try to keep our mistakes to a minimum, and we’ll see what happens in the end,” added Kelley.
In the year 1900, the land on which the course currently sits was leased to the recently formed Fall River Country Club at $400/year for ten years by the Hambly and Hathaway families. The owner of the land reportedly said, “the game of golf is just a fad and will not last long.”
That take didn’t age well, Mr. Hambly.
In 1918, the Hamblys and Hathaways sold the land to the club. The families were convinced that some of the infamous Captain Kidd‘s treasure was stashed somewhere along the shores of their property, and asked that a clause in the contract stipulate that if any treasure was recovered, it would go to the families. No such clause was included, and to date, no such treasure has been found.
For many years, FRCC was limited to nine holes. In the ’50s, 20 acres of land was added from dredging of the Taunton River. In 1974, architects Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson were commissioned to design another 9 holes on the recovered land, completing today’s 18 hole routing.
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