While high school sports won’t officially include postseason tournaments this fall, golfers throughout Western Mass. will still have a chance to prove their skills against the best in the area later this month.
Country Club of Greenfield Head Professional Kevin Piecuch is running the Western Mass. Invitational Tournament on Oct. 24, and the event is open to Western Mass. high school golfers from all three divisions. It won’t be an MIAA-sanctioned event, but with no championship tournaments originally set for the end of the golf season, it’s a suitable replacement during the time of COVID-19.
“We’re just trying to get a little normalcy for the kids,” offered Piecuch. “The club is offering the venue at no charge, and I was willing to run the event.”
The field for the 18-hole stroke play format currently sits around 25 golfers, with more expected to join the mix by the time next weekend rolls around. Piecuch is requiring golfers to have a 40 scoring average or better in competition this fall. Prizes, which are being donated by Gilmore & Farrell Insurance, will be awarded to the top individual golfer in each of the three Western Mass. divisions.
“It really has nothing to do with the schools, we’re pretty much just putting on a junior event using the parameters of the high school season for invitation purposes,” Piecuch said. “It’s also open to players from schools who elected not to play golf this year. In those cases, we’ll base the scoring on last year.”
The event is free of charge for players, and will begin with tee times at 10 a.m. The Country Club of Greenfield features 6,337 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72.
Greenfield High School plays its home matches out of the club, and Piecuch said there have been no issues hosting high school golf there in 2020.
“I believe we can have a well-run event in a socially-distanced fashion,” he offered. “We’ll have all COVID guidelines in place — masks on your way in, masks on all practice facilities.”
One big reason Piecuch said he was hosting the event stems from high school golfers not having as many chances to showcase their abilities on a larger stage in hopes of impressing college coaches.
“I’m hoping this gives another opportunity for a kid to give a score to a college golf coach,” he explained. “This gives them the opportunity to say I played against 35 of my peers and shot this score. It could help in the recruiting process.”