SEPTEMBER 2019 Early autumn Simply IrresistibleTURKEY TROT i 2 STERLING FARMS GOLFER | SEPTEMBER 2019NATURE WALK SEPTEMBER 2019 | STERLING FARMS GOLFER 3 Birdie Barrage It's a tad early to be thinking about Turkey Day, and this little birds would prefer we avoid the subject altogether, but even these hoofers know the only place to be in September is on the links! (Only they flew a bit too bar west, and wound up on the 16th at The Griff....) All of us here at Sterling Farms Golf Course would like to thank you for your patronage during the Summer of 2019 golf season, and invite you to take advantage of what prom- ises to be a beautiful, cool, and inviting autumn for golfing. For the past five decades, Sterling Farms has prided itself in pro- viding the people of the town of Stamford (and the greater Tri-State region) with the best public golf facility possible. Our staff, our 18 greens and fairways, new fleet of EZ-Go golf carts, lighted and heated 44 bay driving range, PGA professional staff and Aulenti Fitting Studio, Golf Pro Shop, and pristine practice facilities represent our pursuit of perfection, which is everlasting. Our 18 hole championship golf course is a continuously changing and shifting green space that reacts to the seasons, the amount of play, the weather, and the efforts of our turf professionals to nurture it. Led by our golf course superintendent, Michael Golden, our dedicated golf course main- tenence team creates the playing conditions, sets up the hole placements, and fine-tunes the shot angles you experience each time you tee it up. Those efforts work in tandem to capitalize on the green, smooth look and feel of our tees, fairways, and greens. It's all in the name of great golf at Sterling Farms, and represents our commitment to making your days of golf here as fun and memorable as possible. As the Autumn golf season gets under way, know the golf course is getting a lot of attention and care, and the conditions remain magnificent. Now is the time to reward yourself with a day of golf this week, or in the coming weeks, as the foliage colors burst. On behalf of all of us here at Sterling Farms... we thank you for your continued patronage. , Paul Grillo, Executive Director 4 STERLING FARMS GOLFER | SEPTEMBER 2019 w elcome to Sterling Farms Golf Course, and the pages of Sterling Farms Golfer magazine. This month is a great time to play golf. Come on out and enjoy Autumn! Paul Grillo365 days a year, the Sterling Farms driving range golf ball-washing "Birdie Machine" churns out 7,895,571 potential sub-par oppor- tunities for you to create your next Mona Lisa on the golf course. Hit a bucket today. Your next masterpiece awaits! Birdie MachineSEPTEMBER 2019 | STERLING FARMS GOLFER 7 CONNECT WITH US sterlingfarmsgc.com | sterlingfarmsgolfshop.net | sterlingfarmstennisclub.com | curtaincallinc.com | sterlingfarmsgolfer.com The Sterling Farms Golfer is published periodically by John Byrne for Sterling Farms Golf Course. Reproduction without the written permission of Sterling Farms Golf Course and John Byrne is prohibited. MMXIX, Vol. I, No. 4. ©2019 Sterling Farms Golf Course, 1349 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, CT 06905, (203) 461-9090. All content, photos, and videos were taken by John Byrne. Any errors, omissions, or if an image or video has appeared (of you or one of your family members, and you wish it to be removed or deleted), or if you have any questions about the content of this ezine, or would like to ask anything at all, please feel free to email: john@sterlingfarmsgolfer.com. 58 This Kid Has Game Angad Manaise is a 13-year-old product of Stamford who is ranked No. 2 on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour's Ernie Els Boys 11-13 Division. DEPARTMENTS 4 Welcome ` 10 The Right Start 12 Journal 16 Roots 20 Pro Shop 67 Tee to Green 88 Eyes on Sterling 132 19th Hole 98 Hot Shots 28 Early Autumn It is absolutely stunning out right now in early autumn, so grab those golf clubs and enjoy the best time of the year to play golf. It's simply irresistible! Every day is Ladies day, but this month is a Special Edition of Hot Shots devoted to the women golfers of Sterling Farms. Have a look. ESTABLISHED 2019 i CONTENTS Cover photo of No. 17 was taken on September 11, 2019.8 STERLING FARMS GOLFER | SEPTEMBER 2019 is all about us and golf! It is back to school for the kids, and the fairways at Sterling Farms never looked better. I have been out there playing, taking some shots of the golf holes, and have to say now and spring are the best times of the year to play. The course is recov- ered from the summer rush, and everything seems.... greener! That is the focus of this issue: the current course, as it looks right now. The photos inside this edition were shot by me over the past few weeks. Most of them were shot within the last week. The guiding principle behind the effort is to show the golf course for what it is today. All too often, what we see isn't what we get. That's not how it needs to be! Inside Sterling Farms Golfer, you get exactly what is going on, and in near-real time. It is a luxury I hope you will enjoy as much as I have in creating it! Golf is a tough game. We have to be thick-skinned to endure the brutality of it at times, as it tests our physical and mental abilities to the nines. Often, when we do everything right things just don't work out. But, just as quickly, a ball goes into the hole, or we strike the right shot, and life is good again. Golf is one pursuit we can do where we are the master of our universe. We can measure ourselves, and mark our accomplishments. But who is looking? When you are out there scuffing it around, is anyone really watch- ing? Of course they are; they are just immersed in their own journey as well. We all come out to enjoy the good company, as well as the stellar playing conditions. Stamford is a big little town. It hasn't changed much since I grew up on Malvern Road back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is an eclectic mix of country and city, where ur- ban meets rural, and Sterling Farms epitomizes those two qualities... it has a sophistication to it, but never loses touch with its countrified roots. This month, we look at that unique mix on a host of levels. I hope you'll enjoy the ensuing pages, and invite your participation and comments, as always. john@sterlingfarmsgolfer.com John ByrneNext >