Ballyowen hosts Macallan Scotch tournament

Hardyston — Playing golf and enjoying some great Macallan Scotch while playing a beautiful golf course was the order of the day for the playing of the Macallan Hickory and Scotch Golf Tournament at the Ballyowen Golf Club on Wednesday, July 20.
Needless to say the event attracted a sellout crowd of local and New York metropolitan area golfers including ladies and male golfers of all ages.
The format of play for the event was a two-player team event in which each golfer on the team teed off and then the team members alternated shots through the completion of the hole. At the end of play the team with the lowest score was declared the winner. When all of the golf scorecards were tallied the team of Robert Schelinck and Sean O’Brien had achieved the winning score of one over par 73 to defeat the second place team of Dylan Dembeck and Jack Russell who carded a three over par 75. The team of Frank Alfano and Dennis Ives were declared “The Most Honest Golfers” by carding the highest score in the event.
The skill event winners included Kyle Lisa for his performance on the Hickory Stick hole, the par three fourth with a shot that came to rest 34 feet from the pin, and Perry Lees 5’ 7” shot on hole #6.
The event is special because it includes a “Hickory Sticks” component that requires all of the golfers to play the par 3 fourth hole at Ballyowen using 1929 era hickory golf clubs and balls. To make the task easier the 1st of 2 Macallan Scotch tasting stations was located adjacent to the tee box on the fourth hole.
To add to the fun, the 4th hole was selected as one of two closest to the pin skill completion holes. Many golfers discovered that playing golf with antique hickory stick golf clubs was a real challenge resulting in increased respect for the old time golfers who performed so well using these hickory clubs.
The team of Mark Lisa and son Kyle Lisa went through the process of trying to decide which one of the strange looking golf clubs they should use for their tee shot to the green at hole No. 4.
It was Kyle Lisa who made the right club selection, a Mashie Niblick 6 iron. His tee shot landed 34 feet from the hole earning him the win for closest to the pin using an antique hickory stick golf club.
An awards ceremony and dinner were held in Owen’s Pub hosted by Ballyowen Golf Club’s General Manager Mark Melillo and Executive Chef Andy Lagana and their staffs, and featuring an educational seminar conducted by a Macallan ambassador, four-station Scotch-paired dinner and a complimentary cigar from an on-site cigar roller and a gift bag that included a bottle of Macallan 12-year-old Scotch.
The annual Sussex County Long Drive Competition kicks next week at the Black Bear Golf Course on Friday evenings between 5 and 7 p.m. for golfers seeking to qualify for the Championship scheduled for September.