Carly Ray Goldstein with her dad Barry- caddie, golf instructor and best friend!

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter loves the history of THE PLAYERS, a major emerging in our lifetime like The Masters did back in the 1960s. In the early days before TPC Sawgrass, the PLAYERS was hosted on different golf courses much like the U.S. Open and PGA Championships today. The East course of Inverrary CC in Lauderhill, Florida hosted the 1976 event where Jack Nicklaus won the middle one of his record three PLAYERS titles. To relive a past PLAYERS is what brought Reistetter, along with Merri Daniel, to Inverrary. What they found there, however, was Carly Ray Goldstein, a high school senior champion golfer and her father Barry, a prominent golf instructor. Join Merri & Andy and let us introduce you to Carly Ray, who no doubt will be making an impact on and off the golf course in the years to come.

What a pleasure to meet Carly Ray and her father Barry.

If you are a friend of Barry Goldstein on Facebook there is no need for you to read this article.

If you are not a friend you should be. Not so much to be his friend but to get updates like this latest one on the golfing career of his daughter Carly Ray:

“A three birdie 70 in the wind at Country Club of Miami for victory 98 today for my lovely daughter Carly Ray Goldstein with her brand new Ontic putter! SADDD DADDD as she heads to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the fall to play for the LSU Tigers and begins her college career! Ha…well, we celebrate the wins and her previous 97 were with her ‘trusty’ Odyssey blade…today she won by 5 over 30 players, and loved her Ontic blade. Proud Dad, I LOVE YOU CHAMP. Goes for 99 next Sat and Sun, same course….Daddy/Caddy/Teacher/Best Friend/Coach/Bank Account will be there!”

Of course I love Barry as we have the same hometown of Binghamton, New York. We did not know each other there though we were a couple years apart in high school. I was as excited to meet him as Merri and I were to meet Carly Ray when we ventured south to play Inverrary.

Barry was a notable amateur golfer who played in South Florida tournaments as a teenager with Tiger Woods. He chose to follow his passion and become a professional golf instructor. Featured over the years on the Golf Channel, Goldstein recently was honored by Edwin Watts Golf in their first annual “Top Golf Teachers in The World” List and was picked by Golf Tips Magazine as “One of Americas Top 25 Golf Teachers” in 2012. Inverrary CC is also home to the Barry Goldstein Golf Academy. Of course if you are his Facebook friend you already know these things.

Carly Ray Goldstein

When we first met the State of Florida’s individual Div 2A high school girls golf champion it was in Carly’s Corner out behind the practice facility. Amidst what is known as Nicklaus’ Nook, the five holes Jack birdied to finish off his win 36 years ago, the 17-year old young lady was practicing her short game with grace and skill.

After some pitches we move to the back of the range and witness her full swing of grace, skill and power. Then we saw her stroke a few putts. She is of the age that grew up with a long putter that may not be in play in three year’s time. By the post above it looks like she has made the conversion with her magical stroke intact.

Carly Ray’s earliest childhood memory is being in a high chair watching dad swinging a golf club and him calling her “Champ.” Perhaps out of Carly’s Corner will come a fighter who makes her way to the LPGA tour and the Olympic golf tee in Rio de Janiero or elsewhere in 2020? Someone who wins nearly one hundred events by the age of 17 is that good. This proud father is not exaggerating his daughter’s talent; it is there for all to see.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., Inverrary is a golfer’s golf course. Where else do they post Stimpmeter readings on the first tee? Golfers be forewarned though if you do have to warn others by yelling fore a lot Inverrary is still accommodating to your game with wide areas in play. Tee it from the tips and it is all the golf course you want or need to challenge your game. A wide variety of hole designs keeps one engaged in the round as fiercely as Nicklaus and his blue eyes were in his heyday. Check out the 8^th green, it is 50 yards deep.

And away we go!

The East Course hosted Jackie’s Gleason’s Inverrary Classic before and after the 1976 PLAYERS. Ralph Kramden used to tell Alice on the Honeymooners, “one of these days, bang, zoom you are going to the moon.” By the end of the show Ralph would come to his senses and let Alice know how much he loved her by saying, “Baby you are the greatest.”

This father says, “Champ, you are the greatest,” and likely that golfing prowess will come to the daughter in terms of future golfing competitions. Unlike Ralph, Barry got it right from the start. Greatness in terms of life and the love between a father and daughter is already a rerun in the Goldstein household. Like golf on television, that is a show worth watching and cheering on. And away she goes to LSU… 

Merri’s Marvelous Moments

1.       Inverrary CC is a place a women can feel comfortable. Greeted by an outside staff that is willing to help you to a Golf Shop that is accommodating to women (has a selection of women golf gloves), the telltale sign is foursomes of women teeing off the first tee.

2.       I loved the hallway painting with Jackie Gleason… and away we go! I made Andy strike that pose and love to smile at him and say “and away we go,” when we go!

3.       The Inverrary Vacation Resort across the street from the golf course had its heyday back in the 1970s but is undergoing a Renaissance with major renovations in progress. The upgraded rooms have a mini- kitchen that is functional, a corner sectional couch that is comfortable and a four post bed that is a heavenly retreat. Nice place to stay when you play Inverrary CC.

4.       The bar & grill area is inviting and the chicken salad sandwich excellent. We ran into owner Jordan Ross on the golf course. He is onsite every day and one of three owners. You can tell the owner, staff and operation folks get along. This is a fun place to visit and a good place to play golf.

5.       We picked up a short game practice tip from Carly Ray and her dad. When practice putting makeable 20-25 footers, lay down the flagstick about two feet behind the hole. Try to putt the ball hard enough to finish between the hole and flagstick and you will never leave a makeable birdie putt short. One more tip, check out the Chicken Kitchen a great place to eat and it is a healthy addiction.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer and a broadcast assistant for the various golf networks. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Web.com and LPGA.

Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and the home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook or touch base with him by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

If you think about it, all of us, men and women, lived in a Women’s World very early in our lives. A woman helped us even before we could breathe, gave us the nourishment we needed and provided a comfortable place for us to rest and sleep. Though we did kick back a little, we were safe, nurtured and happy for the most part in those days of gestation.

What the heck happened? It was only a three or four inch trip down the birth canal from complete happiness to the real world. At that moment in time, we did not think a mother or any women knew what was best for us. After all it led us to a man’s world or at least what most men think is still a man’s world.

I grew up with three sisters and a mother for the most part. Dad was a fireman who lived part time at the firehouse back in the days of 24-hour shifts. We had quality time together golfing, fishing and watching Johnny Carson on TV but it was my mother who ran the household. My two older brothers were off to college before I was in fourth grade. One thing I learned from my mom and remember to this day is that I should treat a girl the same way I would want another other boy to treat my sisters.    

How did I come to attend the Generation W Women’s Leadership Conference? Anybody who knows me knows the answer to that question—golf. Normally a freelance golf writer, the fairway I took to get there made sense, at least, in my own mind. I met Donna Orender, the founder and CEO of Generation W at TPC Sawgrass last fall. I knew she had previously worked for the PGA TOUR and ran the WNBA. I heard of the inaugural Gen W Conference last year but was out of town that week and missed it. I asked her if I could attend this year’s event and write an article about the experience. Her response was yes, please join us. It seemed to me as easy and fun as joining up with another golfer on the first tee at the golf course.

Generation W played to a lively audience in the packed Lazzara Performance Hall on the UNF campus.

While I am comfortable playing golf with women I was a little out of my comfort zone arriving at what was advertised as a women’s conference. About a thousand woman of the Generation W converged on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Once I found my seat and the conference began, I felt somewhat comfortable being the minor minority if gender is considered a minority at all these days.

Was this going to be a women’s rally or a parley of leadership principles? The answer came in the very first presentation about transformational leadership. The presenters were newlyweds Carolyn Buck Luce and Rob Evans. This was going to be a marriage encounter weekend. Just kidding, their shared presentation about mountain climbing on their recent honeymoon was right on message and was a guide to reference my own journey through a day of presentations and networking functions.   

Here are some of my lasting thoughts, impressions and hopefully learning from that day at the Generation W conference:

1.   Woman tend to find the center versus find the top. Maybe I would be happier and more fulfilled in the center?

2.   In a world of ME, in a world of increasing isolation despite technology, let’s choose to connect. I want and need to connect with other human beings.

3.   Most issues of Women’s Rights are not woman issues, they are human issues. I am human, these are my issues too even if I am a guy. It’s all part of living life in the center and being connected. Makes sense to me.

4.   Do we let other people define who we are? Who are you right now? I like Carolyn and Rob’s description: “I am the one who knows how to do this.” I can use that whether climbing a mountain, making a four foot putt to win or closing that sale at work. I am good at being Andy Reistetter. I bet you are good at being you too.

The name of Florida Blue’s Pat Geraghty’s talk was “My Take”. After hearing him speak, “my take” is he is a natural leader in all regards.

5.   This is a guy’s conference too. Yes there are cross-over role models in women but there were several other male speakers including Florida Governor Rick Scott and Pat Geraghty, the CEO of Florida Blue. The keynote speaker was Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Chief Medical Editor for NBC News who has a lot to say about the health of both men and women on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.    

6.   “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” This is a quote from Madeleine Albright from her keynote speech at the Celebrating Inspiration luncheon with the WNBA’s All-Decade Team in 2006. Maybe a bit of a rallying cry but in reality there is a place in hell for any person who doesn’t help another person in life and it is not a special place to be.

I witnessed something pretty spectacular on tour earlier in the year at TPC Scottsdale. There were 179,022 spectators who came to the golf course on Saturday for the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The most ever I have seen and the most in history to witness a golfing competition for sure.

In a different context I had the same feeling of awe, amazement and inspiration at the Gen W event of 1,000 on the UNF campus. Orender is on to something different and meaningful here. It wasn’t a gathering of political and corporate female titans and wannabes. This is the full heart and soul of cupcake makers, scientists, athletes and leaders who happen to be female. That is where they start in life but not where they will end. One can easily see the impact of today’s Gen W movement 20 years down the road.

Whether you are female or male, it doesn’t matter. Young or old, it doesn’t matter. Married or single, it doesn’t matter. Gay or straight, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we ourselves and every other person in this world have a choice.

Generation W is making a difference, not only in the lives of women but men too. All around the world, too; there is no telling where the little ripples that originated at the University of North Florida will travel to and make an impact.

Back in the days when we were confined to a Women’s World we weren’t just safe, nurtured and happy. We were growing. Life is growth and change and if you don’t want to die just keep growing.

Embracing a woman in the sense of understanding how they see the world is “not simply a matter of emotion or altruism,” as Hilary Clinton stated. “A growing body of research tells us that supporting a woman is a high yield investment resulting in stronger economies, more vibrant civil societies, healthier communities and greater peace and stability.”

But you already knew that, right? After all you were not born yesterday.

Check out the Generation W (www.GenWNow.com) and I look forward to seeing you at next year’s conference!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer and a broadcast assistant for the various golf networks. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Web.com and LPGA.

Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and the home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

Embark on a “Journey to Olympic Golf” with Reistetter in the Fall of 2013 as he travels from St. Louis, Missouri where golf was played in the 1904 Olympics to Rio de Janiero where it will be played again in the 2016 Olympics.

http://www.journeytoolympicgolf.com/

Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook or touch base with him by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Suzanne Yost McCourt: The Person, The Artist Here in Ponte Vedra

Local golf writer Andy Reistetter first met Suzanne Yost McCourt a little over a year ago at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Amidst the celebrities and the golfers was the lady artist that intrigued him with the secretive painting of Tiger Woods. Upon further artistic investigation was a woman, delicately aged with life’s experiences, who through her artwork captures the essence of being, encountering and overcoming all that life has to offer. Join Reistetter here and at a soiree in Ponte Vedra during THE PLAYERS week (Facebook him for an invitation) as he introduces Suzanne McCourt, an emerging neo-realism golf-artistto the golf world. 

Many things Tiger Woods pre-Thanksgiving 2009 were never disclosed or made public. Since then, Suzanne McCourt created the one thing about Tiger that has never been published. She was selected for a dream assignment; to become the first woman to create original artwork to grace the cover of the souvenir program for the celebratory 25^th AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-am in 2010.  With Tiger returning for the first time in eight years, she painted a cover that prominently featured him. When Tiger withdrew from the tournament he was replaced in the artwork and on the cover by 2009 champion Dustin Johnson.  

What triggers an artist to create? When Suzanne was 4-1/2 years old her preschool teacher told her mother that being an artist would be her life’s calling. Her first painting as a 6-year old of her cat drinking Mayflower milk won the Oregon statewide contest. Between then and now, Suzanne’s life has been as vivid and as real as the twists and turns of the Monterey Peninsula’s 17-Mile Drive.

A professional artist since 1992, she went from a “sweety sweet watercolor artist” to a “saxy and sexy blues artist” when she found sheets of music in an old piano bench that came out of storage. In between, of course, there were renditions of nude men; sort of David lying down, sketched, not chiseled. Life dealt her a brain tumor in 1999 and she felt “in a world of my own, not knowing if I was going to live or what I was going to do.” A survivor, she became even more passionate about her artwork.

After her daughter survived thyroid cancer in 2004, inspiration found her again and transformed her artwork to be uniquely her own life experiences. She believes in kismet, that there is fate and destiny to our journey in life. She creates, but knows she is not the ultimate producer, commenting that, “in my artwork, I never finish the story for you.”

Her life came full circle with the discovery of an old box in her mother’s attic full of her father Dick Yost’s golfing memorabilia. Yost was no ordinary golfer. From Portland, Oregon he was one of the great Northwest amateurs. A personal friend of Bing Crosby, he played in several Clambakes at Pebble Beach and was a member of the 1955 Walker Cup team. The year Suzanne was born he played in The Masters as a guest of Bobby Jones. He died tragically at the age of 43 of “the 19^th hole disease.” Suzanne, the oldest of three sisters, was 16 at the time. In the box was a picture of her as a little girl at age 5 in a red dress and red shoes swinging a golf club on the range of the family’s pitch & putt golf course. There were many questions to be answered.

That box brought the lady artist into golf and led to the Pebble Beach cover. There are still connections between her dad and Ken Venturi, who is a WGHOF inductee this year, to be explored. This is yet another reason, for a pilgrimage to Ponte Vedra, for the artist who created one of the rarest paintings of Tiger Woods.    

Suzanne captures more than the golfer, the experience, or the setting. Technically, her artwork is Acrylic and Mixed Media. Naturally, she is a storyteller with paint. The background of photos, scoreboards and text tells the story and takes you to an interesting point in golf history. Overall, the sensation is a pleasing effect, the same as hitting a sweet iron shot in close for a gimmie birdie.

An opportunity to meet and see Suzanne McCourt’s artwork during PLAYERS week is like driving along 17-Mile Drive and coming to the Lone Cypress Tree. One must make time to pull over and engage the beauty, tranquility and sense of being the moment brings. We look forward to seeing you during PLAYERS and WGHOF Induction week!