The Sullivan County Thursday Night Men's Travel league has been in existence for several years now and what sets this league apart from leagues that are based at one golf course is the fact that golfers get to play a different nine holes on a different course each week and this makes for very challenging golf.

Chuck Husson IV, the administrator for this league says the travel league “does not offer league golfers the opportunity to get used to the same course and this is where the game becomes more challenging for all league participants.”

The traveling league divides itself up each week with players competing on the Villa Roma Golf Course, the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, the Lochmor Golf Course and the Tarry Brae Golf Course.

In all four courses the league potentially can compete on eight different nine hole formats.

At the present time there are 16 two-member teams competing in this league.

The teams include Ed Coney and Scott Mace, Stew Stevens and Ihor Snihura, Mike Lubniewski and Tom Martin, John Jardine and Kevin Stanley, John Bacigalupo and Mike Mitchell, Tom Ackerly and Tyler Schmidt, Charles Winters and Paul Petraglia, Brian and Brett Benzenberg, Bryan Thomas and Chuck Husson IV, Stanley Gilmore and Mike Bernstein, TC Hutchins and EJ Mack, Tom Cawley and Joe Todora, John Heavey and Scott Magill, Tony Poli and Larry Cunningham and Vincent Collura and John Fisher.

Last year's champions Bryan Thomas and Chuck Husson IV have already climbed into first place after the first two weeks of competition with 39.50 points with two teams John Bacigalupo and Mike Mitchell and Tyler Schmidt and Tom Ackerly following closely behind in second place both with 32 points.

Ed's Outlook

After finishing the season as the top ranked program in Virginia, Liberty had three players named to the 2020 VaSID All-State University Division Men's Golf team. The squad was released last week by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).

Spotlighting the trio of award winners was sophomore Jonathan Yaun, who was named the 2020 VaSID Men's Golfer of the Year.

Yaun becomes the first golfer in program history to be selected the top collegiate golfer in the Commonwealth of Virginia by the VaSID organization.

Joining Yaun on the VaSID all-state first team was redshirt junior Kieran Vincent, while junior Alexandre Fuchs was selected to the all-state second team.

Yaun finished the season as the top ranked golfer in the ASUN Conference and in the Commonwealth. He was ranked No. 50 in the final Golfstat national rankings and posted a 48-0 head-to-head record against ASUN opponents during the 2019-20 campaign.

The native of Minneola, Fla., played 16-of-27 rounds at par or better (59.3 percent) and tied for the team lead with three top-10 finishes. He also posted seven sub-70 rounds.

Vincent and Yaun were both named to the 2020 GCAA/PING All-America honorable mention and the 2020 GCAA/PING All-Region East teams.

Championship golf runs through the veins of the Florida-based Radford Yaun family who also have strong ties to Liberty and Sullivan County. The golf scene in Sullivan County remembers Radford (Rad) Yaun, (Jonathan's father) while living in Liberty when he won the New York State Amateur Championship in 1976.

Golf Tip

By Bob Menges

Our golfing tip this week involves part of what one should know when chipping.

On a normal golf shot, you take a standard distance away from the golf ball so that the sole of the club rests flat on the ground. But with a chip shot we want you to get closer to the golf ball in our setup stance.

This will require you to lift the club shaft up more vertically, raising the heel of the club off the ground.

It results in the club being able to cut through the grass a bit better than normal as it lowers the profile of the club and pushes the toe of the club down more.

It also helps the club stay facing the target better during the chipping motion by helping you maintain a straighter takeaway backwards, as opposed to pulling the club inwards on an arcing motion.

When we stand farther away from the ball, the club takes a more arcing path away from the ball which causes the face of the club to point away from the target.

Robert Menges is the head golf professional at the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, Mt. Hope Road, Swan Lake. He is available when the course opens in mid-May. If you have a question or subject you would like covered, he can be reached at 845-292-0323, 845-866-5567 or via email at bobmenges22@gmail.com

Putting Tip

By Geoff Walsh

Most important barometer for building putting skills is MOTIVATION.

The student golfers I have taught over the years that improve the most are those that are motivated the most.

Practicing diligently what they learn.

Performing the putting drills every practice session.

Building better putting skills is an ongoing process. Try EVERY week.

Geoff Walsh is a Class A PGA Professional at the Tarry Brae Golf Course at 387 Pleasant Valley Road, South Fallsburg. At this time private lessons are not available. If you have a question or subject you would like covered, he can be reached by telephone at 845-434-2620.

Twin Village

Tuesday Ladies

1. A. Husson & B. Ackerly 29.0

2. A. Bury & S. Clark 28.5

3. E. Casey & E. Carlson 28.0

4. L. Kuehn & E. Kuehn 27.0

5. C. Bowers & S. Feeney 23.5

6. Y. Rowan & D. Mantzouratos 22.0

7. Bye, Team 19.5

8. L. Hendrickson & D. Greenthal 19.0

9. K. Harris & S. Green 18.0

10. S. Ferber & J. Husson 15.5

SWAN LAKE

Tuesday Night Birdie Division

1. A. Torrens & Z. Cody 39.5

2. J. Sazoff & S. Ottino 37.5

3. C. Roth & C. Roth 37.0

4. T. Ditmar & N. Rusin 34.0

5. H. Kerhley & J. Rhupert 33.0

6. T. Merklin & S. Austin 30.0

7. D. Luczyski & M. Garigliano 28.0

8. J. Franke & R. Franke 25.5

8. D. Byrne & T. Byrne 25.5

9. K. Torrens & M. Lagatutta 25.0

Tuesday Night Eagle Division

1. N. Bell & M. Freaney 42.0

2. J. Tanous & J. Wilhelm 37.0

3. P. Fanning & A. Marciano 35.0

4. M. Diehl & A. Bradley 33.0

5. J. Finn & J. Russell 31.0

5. P. Donovan & K. Scheibe 31.0

6. N. Huggler & M. Murphy 30.0

7. B. Strong & P. Umphries 26.0

8. W. Herzog & K. Clifford 25.5

9. Todd & Taylor VanKeuren 24.0

Tuesday Night Par Division

1. J. Rusin & R. Ellison 40.0

2. C. Hicks & B. Garber 37.0

3. J. Van Keuren & T. Nieman 36.0

4. K. Wheeler & S. Hamlin 34.5

5. E. O'Malley & T. Ellison 34.0

6. M. Williams & D. Divita 30.0

6. T. Gallo & T. McCausland 30.0

7. P. Clifford & A. Hauser 28.5

8. J. Merklin & O. Trask 23.0

9. C. Schadt & W. Mall 22.0

Wednesday Night League

1. M. Brand & E. Stratton 17.0

1. L. McAllister & R. Lennon 17.0

2. B. Orr & D. Tanous 13.5

3. J. Fink & J. Graham 12.0

3. D. Kuebler & R. O'Mara 12.0

4. F. Stabbert & T. Krantz 10.5

4. D. Hoskings & R. Esposito 10.5

5. R. Schmidt & H. Russell 9.0

5. F. Barrett & D. Hendrickson 9.0

6. D. Immoor & H. Tighe 7.5

7. J. Hinkley & P. Alden 4.0

7. M. Kovsh & C. Rodriguez 4.0

Tennanah Lake

Thursday Travel League

1. Thomas & Husson 39.5

2. Bacigalupo & Mitchell 32.0

2. Schmidt & Ackerly 32.0

4. Gilmore & Bernstein 31.5

5. Collura & Fisher 31.0

6. Martinez & Sherman 27.5

7. Jardine & Stanley 25.5

8. Hutchins & Mack 22.5

9. Coney & Mace 22.0

10. Benzenberg & Benzenberg 19.5

11. Winters & Petraglia 17.5

12. Cawley & Todora 15.5

13. Poli & Cunningham 14.5

14. Stevens & Snihura 14.0

15. Lubniewski & Martin 13.5

Ed Townsend is a Public Relations Consultant to the sport of golf and brings over 60-years of sports journalism experience in writing and compiling the information for this column. When leagues and courses are fully in operation send your league or tournament information to Ed at 845-439-8177, email to bghtnews@aol.com or fax to 845-205-4474. View this column and Ed's photos at http://bght.blogspot.com We are also on Facebook and Twitter.