Week of Syracuse, NY
August 1, 2001

After a wonderful weekend in New Hampshire at Lake Winnipesaukee with Salzmans, we drove six hours to East Syracuse, NY. I played the Links at Erie Village the first year it opened in 1996 and then again in 1999 and 2000. The course sits alongside a river and a large subdivision so precision off of the tee is a must! I've had success in the past, last year I tied for 6th, so I look forward to this event.

Many of you read that in Corning and in Albany my friends Joan Kinsella and Bonnie Phillips watched me compete. They have been friends since 1982 and have kept scrapbooks, photos, articles and souvenirs from their travels to see me. They are probably two of the nicest people I have ever met. Joan's twin brother John and his wife Sandra are our housing hosts for the week in the city of Jamesville (about 10 minutes from the course). This is the 3rd year now that they have shared their cabin with us.

We arrived there on Monday and moved into the beautiful guest cabin. Sandra and John have built their large log home on the crest of their property, and then built a second one just down the hill. It is exquisite and we had the entire place to spread out, cook, and to do laundry. A third cabin has recently been built on the island in the center of their lake.

Tuesday night Val, Bonnie, Joan and I hosted the Futures Tour tournament directors, Sally Raque and Ann Talbot, for dinner at the lake. We had a cookout, brought it all down to the dock area to eat and then we all paddled around in the paddleboats. It was a great break for all of us as we were playing the 10th of 12 events in a row.

Wednesday night the pro-am 'meet the pros' party was held at the beautiful home of Jim and Cathy Breuer. They had a big tent in the backyard, a large bar and country music, and there must have been 250 people there. It was a nice event to kick off the week.

Thursday morning's pro-am had rain just up until our 8:30 shotgun start. It had rained all night and the course had many puddles in the fairways. The Syracuse law firm of Hancock Estabrook sponsored the pro-am and I was paired with 4 of their lawyers. Jim Muldoon, John Powers, Mike Corp and Steve Shaw could all hit the ball a very long way, and we all made some putts which contributed to our -13 score. Our eagle on #16 was the highlight of our really fun day.

Friday's first round made for one great day! I had 6 birdies and one bogey to shoot 66 on the par 71. I was tied for the lead with Beth Bauer, and was asked by the local press if I had done anything different than last week. Not really. I prepare the same each round, attempting to hit fairways (I hit all 14) and greens (I hit 15). But this day, most of the putts from 9-21 feet went in! Bonnie and Joan watched every shot, and Walt and Marilynn Eising (University Park members) drove 3 hours from Buffalo to watch. They decided to stay over and watch again on Saturday.

It was a nice weather day, but Val will remember it for 'the day the bag broke'. The strap on my 10-week old Precept bag broke loose from the bag and it suddenly dropped onto the green on #14 (our fifth hole). Val fixed the bag so we could use it, and I repaired the iron marks on the green! She was cool within a tense moment!

Saturday was fun having 200 people follow us in the last group. Beth and I had shot 66's on Friday and Angela Buzminski had posted a 67. This day was not at all like the first, as I only had one birdie and two bogeys. The crowd was polite and pretty quiet, and it is good practice to have to perform within such circumstances. At the end of the day, I was tied for 5th.

Sunday again was beautiful. Being in the second to last group was not nearly as populated as the day before, but still many people in Syracuse came out for the final day. On the par-3 #9, a player in my group, Ashley Winn, hit slightly over the green. Apparently a lady moved to get out of the way, slipped and fell. She landed directly on her forehead and cut her head badly. So here is a lady fallen and on her back with people all around her, and our assistant tournament director, Ann Talbot, standing over Ashley's ball so no one will walk on it. The ambulance came quickly, and we let the final group behind us hit onto the green. Now all of the people are everywhere around the green, the lady is ok, but badly cut, and Ashley had to finish the hole alone (Angela Buzminski and I had already finished). Just like my sister Cathy who was hit by a foul ball on July 7, this woman had to get many stitches too. It was very say and very strange to have it happen in the middle of our round. I ended up shooting 73, and Ashley birdied the last hole to also shoot 73, so we both tied for 5th. Again, the faithful Bonnie and Joan watched every shot every day, and Dick and Carol Narkewicz (from Calusa Lakes CC in Venice, FL) drove three hours from Cranberry Lake to watch me play the final round. Dick and Carol attended my golf school at University Park and have watched the web site every day this summer. Very nice to have such great folks watching. Also Jo Birks, Joey Loren, Carolyn Coons, Kathy Ward, Michelle Marquis, and Nickie Rousche were out watching this week.

It was a great week, we swam and paddled around on Monday morning, and had to say goodbye to our great friends and spectacular surroundings. It is hard to leave one of the prettiest places I have ever seen.

We drove three hours to York, PA to our hotel, and only have two events left this summer.

Thanks for your interest and e-mails, have a good week.

Sue E.

Back to Weekly Letters home