SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

Sports

Seniors bring the sunshine to The Meadow

Published: July 3, 2009

Hitting the Links

Matt Jenkins

PEABODY — In a golf season that has seen more rain and clouds than anyone would care to imagine, The Meadow at Peabody golf pro Peter Cronan can count on sunshine at least one day a week.

Whether it's cloudy or not, the 100-plus group of seniors that rolls into the Peabody course every Wednesday always brings its own happiness.

"It's really a great group of guys," Cronan said. "It brings a positive to the golf course because you've got guys out there enjoying it, no matter what. I really love going in on Wednesdays."

For years, The Meadow cut off the entrants to the Senior League at 100 and left a short waiting list. Cronan and his staff decided against that this year, and the turnout has been between 125-130 players. Amazingly, of that group 11 of the golfers are over 80 years old and another 17 of them are between 75-80.

"I'm surprised that I had guys in their 80s," Cronan said. "I'd be talking to someone and they'd say, 'I'm 82'. I'd think, 'You're 82? You look like you're in better shape than I am.' They're out there playing all the time.

"Guys my age, if there's a little rain they say they're not going out. With these guys, it's no problem."

The league began on the last Wednesday in April and runs through the final Wednesday in September.

This summer's wet weather certainly hasn't cooperated, but like Cronan says, that doesn't keep the seniors from showing up for their tee times each week.

Beginning at 7 a.m. until about 9:20 a.m. The Meadow sends out senior foursomes on both the front and back nine, with groups alternating weeks.

The setup of the league has created a loyal following.

"We just love golf, and it's a great league," 67-year-old Lou Makris of Nahant said. "The way the league is run is terrific, because you play with the same foursome every week and you have the same tee time every week."

Makris plays every week with 77-year-old George Akre from Peabody, a former co-worker from the telephone company.

Akre is just the type of player that impresses Cronan. One of the 28 men above the age of 75 in the league, Akre is still playing golf at a high level.

Akre and Makris play seven days a week — once at The Meadow and six mornings at Olde Salem Greens.

"I play the same today as I probably did 20 years ago," Akre, who began playing in 1963, said. "At Salem Muni I shoot anywhere from 38 to 42, but here I'm 40 to 45. I don't hit it far, but I keep it in the short grass."

Rain or shine, the attitude always stays the same on Wednesday mornings at The Meadow.

"We've played no matter what the weather was, but it just gets tough," Makris said. "Right now you're just dying for some sun, and we just struggle along with this weather. But once we get to the golf course, we're playing golf.

"To us, it doesn't really matter much whether it's drizzling or the sun is out. We're just out there playing golf."

¢¢¢

It will be more than just golf at The Meadow on Monday when the Peabody club hosts one of the Massachusetts Public Links qualifiers. Peabody will be hosting about 80 players with 14 advancement spots available.

The Meadow has hosted a qualifier twice, before and the club has actually toned down the course preparation to prevent high scores. The first time Peabody hosted, the scores were among the highest in the state.

"We're toning it down a little. We're not trying to put the pins in impossible places; it's more middle of the green," Cronan said. "The fifth hole, instead of using the blue tees (which every other hole will be played at), we're putting the blues down with the whites to make it more playable."

¢¢¢

A local golfer recently recalled a chance meeting with the late John Updike at Cape Ann Golf Club. Updike, the exquisite American novelist from Beverly who was playing as a single that day, was paired with this gentelman's group just months before he passed away from lung cancer.

Updike, it was reported, started slowly before settling into a groove. His first two shots — worm-burners that didn't travel particularly far — were long forgotten by the time he chipped in for an impressive birdie in the middle of the round.

He ended up shooting somewhere between 40-45 through nine holes, and left a lifelong memory for a trio of local golfers.

¢¢¢

Hitting the Links, a column on North Shore golf, runs each Friday during the summer months in The Salem News. Contact staff writer Matt Jenkins at 978-338-2648 or by e-mail at mjenkins@salemnews.com.

Photos