By Stephen Hanjack
shanjack@massgolf.org
SPRINGFIELD/LUDLOW, Massachusetts (May 21, 2025) – Cold weather is nothing new for Massachusetts golf courses in mid-May, but with temperatures hanging in the 40s for most of the day, the Final Round of the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship became a test of both skill and grit.
As the championship neared its conclusion, competition intensified at Veterans Memorial Golf Course and Ludlow Country Club, but those playing their Final Round at Veterans provided the fireworks, and ultimately determined both sets of Champions.
Two players with already decorated careers can now add a new Mass Golf trophy to their collection. Frank Vana (Marlborough CC) + Jack Kearney (Westover GC) birdied their final hole to post a two-day total of 10-under-par, which was enough for a one shot victory.
In the Super Senior Division Keith Smith (Franklin CC) + Steven Tasho (Thorny Lea GC) took home the title in a playoff.
The Senior Four-Ball is comprised of two-person teams of amateur golfers aged 55+, with a combined Handicap Index® not exceeding 12.0. The Super Senior Division is open to golfers in the field aged 65+.
At the end of day 1, a crowded leaderboard made it tough to predict who would put together the necessary run of birdies on Wednesday to take home the Senior Four-Ball title.
Entering the day three shots back, defending Champions Dean Godek (Agawam Municipal GC) + Ed Garbacik (Westover GC) were a good bet.
Last year the two made their charge on day 1, building a three-stroke lead and cruising to victory in the Final Round. This year, they saved the excitement for the Final Round. After an opening par, they ripped off four birdies over the next five holes, taking the lead at 7-under-par.
A closing birdie gave the Godek and Garbacik the clubhouse lead at 9-under-par. That number would stand until 4:51 p.m. when Frank Vana dripped in a birdie putt from 3-feet on his final hole (no. 9). The putt vaulted Vana and Jack Kearney to 10-under-par, which held as the winning score.
“You know, sometimes you see the line, sometimes you don’t,” said Vana about his winning birdie putt. “Honestly, I saw the line. It’s cold out there. You feel your hands are different, but you know, somehow (I) scraped it in.”
The birdie capped off a rollercoaster of a round for Vana and Kearney, who after playing a clean round on Tuesday, were forced to overcome not one, but two bogeys in Wednesday’s Final Round.
“We bogeyed the second hole, which (was) our first bogey of the tournament,” recalled Kearney. “And Big Ragu here eagles the next hole. So that was the down, then the back up.”
To cap off the victory, Vana added a touching tribute. “We are in Western Mass, and I’m in the Senior Four-Ball with (Kearney). His partner, Billy Barry, passed a few years ago, and we talked about dedicating this tournament to him, if we ever won it. And so this one is a little extra special.”
Also finishing just a shot behind the champions was the team of Doug Clapp (Old Sandwich GC) and John Hadges (Thorny Lea GC). What appeared to be a great day of ball-striking was betrayed by the flat sticks, leading to a T2 finish.
Even with the lack of success on the greens, Clapp and Hadges found themselves greenside in two on their final hole (no. 9, par 5), with a chance to tie Vana and Kearney. Needing an eagle, Clapp chipped first, hitting a near-perfect flop shot that landed a few paces short of the hole before releasing and catching the edge before coming to rest a few inches away.
Hadges played next and, from the bunker, also nearly holed it. His shot floated softly onto the green and started tracking for the hole, before curling around the edge, coming to rest just a foot away.
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For much of the afternoon, the team of Mark Dennish + Vincent Bucci (Old Sandwich GC) appeared to have control of the Division, playing with a two-stroke lead for most of their round. However, a late string of bogeys saw them slowly drift out of contention, finishing one shot behind a group of three teams at 4-under-par.
The tie at -4 called for a playoff, which quickly went from three, to two teams after Joe Walker + Kevin Carey (Dennis Pines GC) were unable to report due to travel conflicts.
In the playoff, Ralph Dastoli (Berkshire Hills CC) + Robert Linn (Franconia/Veterans GC) survived a near birdie on the first hole (no. 7) by Steven Tasho. On the next hole (no. 8), Keith Smith stepped up and delivered, draining a 20-foot birdie putt, which was enough for the win after Dastoli’s birdie bid slid by.
“We’ve been sitting around for a while and it’s cold and it’s dark and your depth perception is hard to see,” said Smith about the playoff win. “You know exactly what’s going on. But yeah, it was. It’s always exciting. It’s always exciting.”
“We hadn’t seen the courses, so we’re playing both courses blind. So that was, that’s kind of little disadvantage,” added Tasho. “This time we were lucky to, you know, squeeze it out.”
This marks Tasho and Smith’s first win in the Super Senior Division, but not the first at this event. In 2021, they took home the Championship title at Foxborough Country Club.
The two host venues this week, Veterans Memorial Golf Course and Ludlow Country Club, both played to a par of 72 at a yardage of approximately 6,200. The two courses sport a pair of par 3s and par 5s on each 9. Interestingly, each course has a unique routing with Ludlow featuring a par 3 opener, and Veterans using a par 3 as the finisher.
While the par 3s did not surrender many birdies to the field, the par 5s certainly did. At the conclusion of two days of play, the easiest hole at each course was a par 5. At Ludlow, 67 birdies and 3 eagles were made at 2nd hole, while at Veterans, the 3rd hole saw 75 birdies and 3 eagles.
Investments continue to be made at Veterans Memorial Golf Course, with the most recent improvements coming in the clubhouse and restaurant area. After several months of work, the clubhouse facility reopened one week prior to the event.
Ludlow Country Club has a new golf course superintendent, Tom Bergoli, who has been on the job for a few months now. His work and efforts were well-received by the field of 324 players this week.
