This year’s Golf and Tennis Outing took place on Wednesday, May 22nd at the beautiful Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley was our most financially successful and largest event to date with 180 guests in attendance!
Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty President and Chairman of the Board, Pat Petersen, was honored as a dedicated and effective advocate in preserving the very places which define the character of Long Island’s North Shore. Our record-breaking turnout was a true testament to Pat and her supporter’s gratitude for her many contributions to maintaining the quality of our community.
We couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect day of activities. The morning began with the sun rising over the course and our group of 24 foursomes enjoying a continental breakfast on the terrace before heading out to their respective tees. Golf prizes were generously sponsored by Holderness & Bourne and were awarded to the lowest net winners Russell Albanese, Philip Foote, Steve Malito and Greg Matthews with a score of 54. Second place net came in with a score of 57 and went to Chris Becker, Don Manfredonia, Joe Torsiello and Larry Torsiello. The first place gross winners were Rob Ballman, George D’Ambrosio, Jamie Pacala, and Joe Zakierski with a score of 67. Men’s, individual gross went to John Gilchrist (70) and ladies to Alex Gulden (98). The winner of the longest drive in the men’s division was Jack Fennebresque and in the women’s division was Sarah Blundin. Winner of men’s closest to the pin was Greg Matthews (4’2”) and ladies Liz Finnerty (86’).
This year we saw the golf and tennis outings reunite, which lent invigorating energy to the entire day. We welcomed our tennis players to the beautifully manicured grass courts for a fun-filled warm-up with the pros, followed by a round-robin tournament. There were 36 players in all, with Alexis and Tim McAndrew taking 1st place in the Wimbledon flight, and Ted Bahr and Leanne Heeg as runners-up. Terry Parsons and Janine MacMurray took the lead in the French Open flight, with Suzy Dubuque and Eileen Knapp in a close second.
A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful event chairs Nancy Douzinas and Patrick Mackay, golf chairs Abby Sheeline and Melissa Stark, and tennis chairs Kim Como, Mary and Russell Selover and Margaret Trautmann for serving up a lovely group of players to benefit a naturally worthy cause.
As the activities commenced, our guests congregated on the lawn overlooking the Piping Rock golf range for lunch. We offered a raffle and an assortment of silent auction items including threesomes and foursomes at Maidstone, Bethpage Black and Piping Rock Club, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra tickets and a 40-bottle wine entertaining package, among others. Lisa Ott presented honoree Pat with a beautiful engraved crystal Tiffany’s bowl to commemorate this very special day.
In Pat’s acceptance remarks she announced a $30,000 dollar for dollar matching grant in honor of her late partner Ralf Lange for the restoration of the Wawapek Greenhouse garden which will be named in Ralf’s honor.
Throughout the year, the Land Alliance provides many opportunities to connect people with nature. In addition to raising important funds to support the Land Alliance’s conservation mission, this Outing was another great opportunity for people to come together in one of Long Island’s most beautiful recreational open spaces. This year’s outing was a huge success and raised more than $140,000 in support of land conservation projects and educational programs.
Thank you to all who joined us in this effort.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 2020 Annual Fore the Love of the Land Golf and Tennis Outing, please contact the Land Alliance at 516-922-1028.
