News from Goat Hill: Shelter Island Golf Club swinging away

It’s fitting that one of the last tasks of the town’s major renovation of the clubhouse porch was raising the Shelter Island Country Club banner and the American flag on a spanking new 30-foot flagpole. Sort of the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.

The white club banner features the club’s Goat Hill logo designed in 1981 by Louis Studer. Studer is the father of Linda Butler, who, with her husband, Dick, managed the club in the early 1980s. The banner was mothballed when the old flagpole was removed from the clubhouse roof because of leaks. The new flagpole was erected Tuesday by the Northville Flagpole Company in Riverhead.

Sign up for Tuesday Twosomes

Shelter Island Country Club’s new Tuesday Twosome 9-hole Summer League begins June 30 with a 5 p.m. shotgun start. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon. Send an email to the Golf Committee — Ann Beckwith and Karen Gibbs — at [email protected].

The league is open to members only. Golfers can form their own twosomes every week. Weekly league fee is $10 for members, $15 for members renting a cart. The cost covers prizes that will be awarded in September.

Shoutouts

A hearty thank you to Walter Ogar of Smith Street for donating a large number of balls, tees and gloves to the club. Ogar has been a loyal friend and supporter of Goat Hill for many years, and his generosity is much appreciated.

Wonders never cease

The beauty of playing Goat Hill can be largely attributed to its seven blind holes. Approach shots to the greens are often “Hail Marys.” The right bounce, roll and luck can leave your ball sitting pretty on the green. Or even better, if you are one Dave Diel.

Last September, Diel, playing with comrades from The Bridge golf club, crushed his drive off the tee on the 350-yard, par 4 No. 1 hole. The ball soared over the directional flag to roll neatly into the cup for a hole-in-one.

A similar feat — sort of — occurred on No. 5, a 162-yard par 3 called Devil’s Gulch.

No. 5 is not a blind hole, but its sloping green can be a devil to land. Just ask James Buckland, son of SICC Treasurer Jim Buckland. Saturday, he hit a nice shot off the tee. It looked nearly perfect. The pin that day was placed on the left side of the green near the No. 6 tee box. And so was a trash can … Bingo.

Earlier in the round, Jim Buckland chipped a blind approach shot on No. 1 that took a nice roll into the cup for a birdie.

Ladies scramble again

The Friday morning no-pressure Ladies Scramble is back after a short break. Women of all ages and abilities, members and non-members alike, are invited to play at 9 a.m. every Friday for a friendly game. No signup needed. Just come and have fun. Belle Lareau is the organizer. You can contact her at [email protected]

Practice range open

The practice range now features target flags at 50, 100 and 150 yards. One token for a small bucket of balls is $7. Tokens can be purchased at the pro shop. No drivers, please. Short irons only.

Pro shop hours

SICC’s remodeled pro shop is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Our staff — Laurie, Matt and Nicholas — are happy to assist you. Our summer sale continues with 50 % off select shirts.

From the archives

The date references for last week’s items got a little mixed up. So, to clarify: The notation from SICC board minutes relating to Mr. Strobel’s errant ways (he damaged several greens and flags when he decided to drive his car over them) was recorded on Aug. 17, 1935. Strobel subsequently paid $10 (about $187.15 in today’s dollars) in damages.

Permission to drink alcoholic beverages, albeit not in their original packaging and only from a member’s private stock, was recorded in the board minutes from the early 1920s.

The fee to use a caddy was 20 cents (worth $3.74 today) per every nine holes was listed on the back of a scorecard from the 1920s.

Mary Fran Gleason is a trustee on the SICC Board.