By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
MARLBOROUGH/HARVARD, Massachusetts (May 13, 2025) – With 176 teams spread across two courses, the opening round of the 44th Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship on Tuesday had the energy of a statewide tag team battle royal.
Between the hardwood forests and signature features at Shaker Hills Country Club (par-72, 6,738 yards) and the hillside suburban sprawl of Marlborough Country Club (par-71, 6,505 yards), duos traded hot streaks and haymakers (of the golf variety) in a format that requires equal parts chemistry and clutch play.
A steady breeze accompanied a full day of sunshine, as some partnerships found their rhythm early, climbing the leaderboard with ease, while others were left scrambling to keep pace.
Setting the early tone at Marlborough Country Club were Boston firefighters Andrew Donovan (Indian Pond Country Club) and Peter Eleey (South Shore Country Club), who became playing partners through the fire academy. Donovan, who only picked up the game seven years ago, and Eleey each poured in four birdies to post a team 67.
“It was apparent right away how good Andrew was and how he was a championship player, so it made it easy to be a partner,” said Peter when asked about forming their alliance.
Eleey got the team off to a solid start with four birdies on the back nine (their first nine), while Andrew matched him with four of his own on the front (their second nine), including their last on the par-5 8th, giving them the clubhouse lead through the morning wave. Their performance marks an enormous turnaround from the past two years, after failing to post an under-par round in each of the past two editions
“We really were a good team today,” Eleey said. “When someone was out of the hole, the other player picked it up, and it’s all you can ask for. It’s pretty good, it feels good. Obviously, there’s a lot of golf left, but we’re excited.”
Added Donovan: “I just try and follow this kid and try to help out here and there.”
Conor O’Brien (Thorny Lea Golf Club) and Rob Linehan (Agawam Municipal Golf Course) got the day started in style, as O’Brien holed out with his 58-degree wedge after burying his opening tee shot in the rough on the 10th at Marlborough. That eagle staked them to a share of second place at 5-under 66.
Not to be outdone, longtime friends and former Assumption University teammates Jack Hester and Sean Magarian, of Pleasant Valley Country Club, capped their round with an equally dramatic finish on the par-3 finisher at Marlborough. Despite struggling down the stretch to hit greens in regulation, Hester hit a solid lag putt to save par on the 17th. After pushing his shot left into the damp rough on the closing 18th, Hester was able to hit a chip on line, and it kept enough momentum to roll into the cup for a birdie to finish with a bogey-free 5-under.
“I wanted to make two, I said it right on the tee box,” Hester said of playing the 18th. “Even though I didn’t hit a great shot, it was just one of those that if I got it going, I could at least give it a chance, and it went in.”
“We just tried to give ourselves as many chances as possible and try to avoid making bogeys, and I think we did a good job,” added Magarian, now a graduate student at URI.
In addition to playing with a familiar partner, Hester and Magarian said the layout at Marlborough lends itself particularly well to four-ball competition.
“It’s a really cool place to play a four-ball event. There’s some safe lines you can hit off tees, and there’s some aggressive ones, and Sean does a really good job at hitting fairways, so he was able to hit a couple fairways where we weren’t sure what we were going to hit, and it freed me up to hit driver. It’s in very good shape.”
Over at Shaker Hills, three teams turned in scores of 5-under 67, including Ben Balter & Ben Knott, of Weston Golf Club; Christopher Barone and Michael Gelineau, of The Cape Club of Sharon; and Mark Turner & Colby Mitchell, of Bass Rocks Golf Club. Barone, who is competing in his 8th consecutive Four-Ball, shot 69 on his own ball, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 12th (395 yards).
Balter, who played in the U.S. Mid-Amateur last year, sank four birdies, including holes 1, 2, and 18, to keep his side in the hunt, while Turner and Mitchell had three birdies each to keep pace.
Fellow mid-amateur standouts Kyle Tibbetts (Framingham Country Club) & Mike Calef (Pine Oaks Golf Course) are among a long jam of six sides who finished 4-under. Calef won the 2019 title with 2024 co-champion Nick Maccario, while Tibbetts finished T4 in the 2022 Mass Mid-Amateur at Marlborough, where the pair will compete Wednesday.
Up Next: Round 2 will begin as scheduled at 7:30 a.m., with each side flipping courses. In the event of a tie for first place, a sudden-death playoff will begin following the close of competition at Marlborough Country Club.
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As Marlborough Country Club welcomes players for the 44th Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship, it does so amid a wave of change. Branded as “A New Marlborough,” the club is undergoing a full-scale revitalization in 2025.
These efforts began with a “thesis” crafted last fall by 28-year-old treasurer Jason Short, a 15-year member and multi-time club champion, whose personal story has helped shape a bold vision for MCC’s future. After peer-testing some ideas with members he trusted, he settled on a list of 15 targeted initiatives, from course renovations and updated irrigation to indoor simulators, redesigned practice facilities, and GPS-equipped golf carts. Hospitality is also getting a lift, with a Michelin-restaurant chef, Brett Crowe, now leading the culinary team, plus new lounge spaces, and even made-to-order cocktails at the halfway house.
According to club president Michael Amitrani, the initiatives aren’t a wishlist; they’re part of a deeper effort to uphold the pillars that have allowed Marlborough to serve its membership for over a century, while embracing a forward-thinking culture. The board’s median age of under 45 signals a generational handoff.
“Marlborough Country Club means so much to me because I grew up in Marlborough. My wife and I just bought a house five minutes from here. My family’s from here,” said Short after competing in Round 1 with fellow MCC member Jack Tobin. “I can say with confidence, I wouldn’t be where I am in life, in my career, in anything if it wasn’t for Marlborough Country Club, the things that it taught me growing up as a junior golfer, the opportunities that golf itself opened up were because of Marlborough. I can’t imagine a day where Marlborough Country Club isn’t a place where another group of junior golfers can come and play or another group of families can come and play.”
MCC’s identity has also been shaped by the appearance of some of the game’s legends, including Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, and Bob Goalby, all winners of the Masters. Palmer and Goalby both earned Senior Tour victories here in the 1980s. In honor of that legacy, the club recently introduced a new alternate logo: a rocking chair, modeled after the one awarded to Palmer when he won the 1982 Marlborough Classic, with a 1922 flag stick (founding year) resting on it. The symbol reflects the club’s renewed mission to be a laid-back, welcoming place where members can relax, recharge, and enjoy the game alongside friends and family.
While Marlborough has hosted about a dozen Mass Golf events over the past decade, Amitrani said hosting the Mass Four-Ball in the midst of its transformation was a welcome opportunity for members and a chance to showcase its lush green, hillside course to some of the state’s top players.
“Having the Four-Ball here at this time is just a perfect match,” Amitrani said. “To me, Marlborough is a classic test of golf, and I think it’s really a unique and awesome experience to see us host something as important as this event.
“There’s a lot of character here, and there’s so much potential here, and to be able to help drive that forward, this is a place that you should want to be,” added first-year head golf professional Tyler Corder, who has held previous positions at Essex County Club and Winchester Country Club. “I find it very exciting. It’s got good bones, and we hope to continue to build off of that.”
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