Joseph Girard III has added golf to his considerable athletic repertoire, and I had the pleasure of hitting Glens Falls Country Club with the Syracuse University point guard last week.
His father, Joe Girard, Jr., joined us along with Matt Montesi, the owner of North Country Janitorial and Joe Jr.’s boss.
JG3 just started playing, but has caught the bug. He’s all in, and he’s got plenty of game. We all know he has world-class hand-eye coordination. We also know he’s hyper-competitive, never settling.
Those traits were in full view on this sunny late afternoon.
Many know the opening tee shot at GFCC is no picnic. You have to drive over a sliver of Round Pond, up a hill to a plateau that then takes you doglegging to the first green. The first hole is a beast, and has brought many a golfer to his or her knees. I’m among them.
So, a few nerves would be expected, right?
Well, JG3 has Girard ice-water careening through his veins. He’s played in front of 30,000 people at the Dome. He’s stared down the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron. He’s made the North Carolina Tarheels look silly. A little bomb over some water wasn’t about to bother him!
He stepped up and crushed a drive to the top of the hill, with a nice fade. In other words, perfect. You couldn’t place the ball in the better place. Oh, to be young and athletic again. I was once young, but never athletic, but you get the point.
I actually hit a decent drive as well, but was 50 yards behind JG3.
Joe Girard, Jr., Joseph Girard III, Matt Montesi, and Gordon Woodworth
On the par-4 second hole, one of the great golf holes in the region, Joseph cranked up the bomb machine again, roping a missile to the middle of the fairway. He had 110 yards in to the elevated green, meaning he hit his drive 260 yards or so. Not too shabby.
His approach found the right bunker, and a problematic lie. No problem. He asked me how he should play the shot. I suggested he hit three inches behind the ball, follow through and let the sand bring the ball onto the green. Easy, right?
He settled over the ball and knocked it on the green like he was Tiger Woods. Ho hum.
Meanwhile, Matt was cruising along, carding three straight pars to open the round. For his first time out, he was very impressive. The former state swimming champion from Queensbury is no slouch in the athlete department, and it showed. He finished with a smooth 39, three-over par. Bravo, sir!
Joseph and I ran into some trouble on the par-5 fourth. I struggled on the green. Joseph struggled getting to the green. He finished with an 11, his number at Glens Falls and at Syracuse.
After the fifth hole, we visited with Wendy Cimo at The Well. She’s the best! And she’s clearly a JG3 fan! Who isn’t?
The next hole was an adventure. Joseph drove right, I popped mine up. After hitting to the crest of the hill, I helped JG3 find his ball, and we both found our way onto the green and salvaged bogeys.
Matt finished out the day with a brilliant birdie on #9, just missing a hole-in-one. That would have been a first! In the 15 years I’ve been writing this column, there has never been a hole in one!
Joe Girard Jr. finished with a very solid 46, I posted a 52 and JG3 came in with a 57. We went over the round during dinner in the dining room, and had a few laughs.
Now Joseph is off to Syracuse, getting ready for what he hopes to be his sophomore season with the Orange.
I’ll keep working on my game, and we’ll tee it up again soon!
In the meantime, GO ORANGE!
