Adams wins The Edison Club club championship while balancing career change – The Daily Gazette

It’s an extremely rare occasion to spot affable Kyle Adams without a golf club in his hands. It’s part of his wardrobe. The 24-year-old, smooth-swinging Schenectady native plays his favorite sport just about every day at The Edison Club – often with twin brother Connor, who recently joined the City of Troy police department.

In fact, Kyle plans on joining his brother in law enforcement very soon, but he doesn’t foresee giving up his passion even after putting on the blue uniform and taking on new very important responsibilities.

“Connor gets out of work at 3:30 or 4 p.m. every day, and we play after work every day. It’s all about time management,” said the former criminal justice major at The College of Saint Rose.

Adams recently captured his fourth club championship at The Edison Club, where he and his family have been members for 14 years. He was a standout player in college, where he registered numerous top-five finishes in Northeast-10 Conference events. Last year, he won the Schoharie County Amateur Open title, and he finished second with partner Corey Purcell in the Shaker Invitational last weekend at Shaker Ridge Country Club. He’s also won numerous two-man titles at The Edison Club.

Adams, who owns a career best score of 67 and has registered three career holes-in-one, nearly picked up his first local major a year ago when he dueled with eventual winner Paul Pratico in the Schenectady Classic at Schenectady Municipal.

“I would say off the tee is the strength of my game,” said the Christian Brothers Academy product. “I could be a little longer, but my accuracy is pretty good. The thing I work on the most is the short game, especially my putting.”

Adams learned the game from his aunt, the late, longtime outstanding Saratoga Springs High School coach Brenda Adams, at the tender age of 4 years old. He later took lessons and tweaked his game from Mill Road Acres head pro Peter Gerard and Saint Rose head coach Scott Warren.

“I started playing with plastic clubs as just a little kid, and after about a year, I used some cut-down regular clubs,” he recalled. “My brothers and I were always really competitive growing up, and we all played every day, especially during the summers.”

His older brother, 30-year-old Seth, is also a fine player and is a former Gazette Newspaper in Education Junior champion.

Kyle’s talents on the links are matched by his sportsmanship and good manners, attributes that are noticed immediately to any observer. “Both my parents taught us that the first things to learn in life are respect and manners. They engraved those images in us as kids, and CBA pushed it even further on us. It’s always yes sir and no sir for us.”

While he’s in the process of taking his written exams and waiting on some calls for an opportunity to join a local police force, he’s also been working diligently on his golf game.

“My goals are just to play competitive local golf. I play in a lot of local events, but I’m also interested in qualifying for USGA and New York State events,” he said.

“Golf is very important in my family.”

CHIP SHOTS

Luke Morgenstein carded a 75 from the blue tees to win the Schoharie County Amateur Open last weekend at Cobleskill G&CC. Cooper LaBarge took the white tee championship with a 73, and Bruce Bartlett was the silver tee winner with a 77. All three men are members of the host club. Meanwhile, Oneonta CC member Tracy Ranieri shot a 90 to capture the women’s flight.

Thomas Fraser and Joey Harrigan combined for a 14-under-par total of 199 in the Shaker Ridge Invitational that included a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, along with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes in the first round, as well as an eagle on the seventh hole in the second round. Mike Wheeler and Jim Welch took the first division in a three-way playoff with Joe Marro-Todd Czepiel and Chris Rust-Trent Han tandems. Matt McGarvey and Tom Salmon won the senior division at 8-under-par, and Dale and Alan Dirk took the super senior division with a score of 4-under-par.

Heidi Harkins of Ballston Spa CC won the Peggy Enos NEWGA Senior Championships with a two-day gross total of 163 at Oneonta CC. Linda Kolnick of Canajoharie Golf & Country Club won her second straight Super Senior crown with a 181.

The second annual Links to Leadership Charity Golf Tournament, to benefit the Capital District Women’s Employment Resource Center, will be held Sept. 12 at Albany CC. Kay McMahon, the NENY PGA’s Teacher of the Year, and 11-year-old Maria Glavin of Van Schaick Island CC are the honorary chairs. There will be a four-hour clinic held simultaneously to the golf tournament. For more information, or to register, go to www.linkstoleadership.org.

Mohawk Golf Club hosts the ninth annual Golf with a Mission Tournament, in memory of Joe Lazzari Jr.,  on Sept. 12. Entry fee is $750 per foursome or $195 per individual, and includes golf, cart, lunch and dinner. There will be registration and lunch at 11 a.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start.  A fellowship hour, silent auction and dinner/awards presentation will follow at 5 p.m. For more information, go to citymission.com./golf/.

Amsterdam Municipal Golf Course will host the Tim and Ryan Andi Memorial Golf Tournament Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. Registration and lunch will be at noon. There will be a dinner at 6 p.m. Entry fee is $140 per player and proceeds benefit The Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital as well as the Ryan Andi Scholarship Fund at Colonie High School. To register, complete the form at [email protected].

Schenectady Municipal Golf Course is the site for the 14th annual Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame Golf Tournament Sept 18. The format will be a modified four-person scramble. Entry fee is $420 per foursome and includes golf, cart, buffet and prizes. This event is named after SCSD Hall of Fame member Pete Famiano. Call Bob Pezzano at 518-346-9297 for more information.

The Albany FireWolves’ “The Pack Gives Back” annual golf outing will be held Sept. 26 at Normanside CC. There will be a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start for the four-person scramble. Entry fee is $600 per foursome and includes breakfast, snacks on the course and a dinner/cocktail reception after golf. For more information, call 518-362-4900 or go to www.albanyfirewolves.com.

HOLES-IN-ONE

Both Chris Stopera and Mike Ryan recorded their second career hole-in-one on the ninth hole at Pinehaven CC last week. Ryan’s ace was accomplished with an 8-iron from 152 yards.

At Airway Meadows Golf Club, Bob Phelps hit a 5-wood for an ace on the 143-yard ninth hole.

EAGLES

At Schenectady Municipal Golf Course, Paul Toth holed out with a 6-iron from 167 yards for an eagle-2 on the 18th hole, while Lee Quivey, Dave Quivey and Jeff Flora each eagled the par-5 second hole this week.

Categories: Sports, Sports