JOHN STEINBREDER
RUMFORD, RHODE ISLAND |
Many of the
biggest names in amateur golf arrived
here last week for the 49th playing of the
Northeast Amateur. Held on the superb
Donald Ross course at the Wannamoi-
sett Country Club, it has long served as
a competitive proving ground for touring
pro hopefuls.
That ability to seek out and then draw
such talented players is the primary
reason why the Northeast is held in such
high regard. And it is the spindly, un-
derstated tournament chairman named
Denny Glass who brings them in.
The 66-year-old Glass has run the
Northeast Amateur for 17 years, and the
retired printing company owner with the
thin, gray-white mustache is not only
the most important person as far as the
success of that event is concerned but
also one of the most important people in
amateur golf today.
“Denny Glass is one of the game’s
unsung heroes,” says Wally Uihlein,
father of Peter and chief executive officer
of the Acushnet Co., maker of Titleist and
FootJoy products.
“He is a golf guy versus someone who
just plays the game. If not for guys like
Denny, guys who work 12 months a year
preparing for an event that runs for one
week, an event that becomes a spring-
board and résumé-builder for the next
generation of golfers, a lot of today’s pro-
fessionals would not have had an oppor-
tunity to experience that rite of passage
every competitive sport must provide.”
A longtime member of Wannamoisett
and a recreational player who sports a six
handicap, Glass doesn’t see himself in
such exalted light. But that is born more
of his innate modesty than the reality of
the situation.
His work as only the fourth chairman
in the history of the Northeast speaks
volumes to the veracity of Uihlein’s state-
ment, and to Glass’ commitment and care
for amateur golf. And so do his efforts as
chairman of the Terra Cotta Invitational,
played each April at the prestigious
Naples National Golf Club in Florida,
to which he also belongs. Once a low-
key regional event, it has evolved into a
heralded national competition under his
leadership.
So, why does he do it?
“I just like being involved in amateur
golf,” says Glass, who also sits on the
selection committee for the Ben Hogan
Award that goes each year to the top
collegiate golfer as well as on the board
of the Rhode Island Golf Association.
“It’s the purest form of the sport. I like
how it builds character as it teaches
etiquette, discipline and integrity. It’s
good being around the mid-ams, too,
and I really respect how they are able
to play elite golf even as they hold down
full-time jobs.
“I also enjoy getting to know the kids,”
he adds. “I like following the players
through the year, seeing who is doing
well and then doing the invitations. It is
the most work, but also the most fun.”
It is fun for the players, too. Mention the
Northeast Amateur to those who have ever
played it, and you’ll get a knowing smile.
Denny Glass, 66, shown with his wife, Tanya,
and their puppy, Tommie Toodles, has run the
Northeast Amateur for 17 years.
designed and well-conditioned golf
course, certainly one of the finest in the
Northeast United States.
They’ll recall the hospitable way in
which players were treated by the club,
which was founded in 1898, and how
member families put them up in their
homes.
They’ll never forget the fierce com-
petition of each tournament, a 72-hole
event held over four days, and the formi-
dable fields it always brought in.
And if they played the Northeast Ama-
teur at any time during the past 17 years,
they will no doubt remember Denny Glass.
He is, as Wally Uihlein suggests, one
of golf’s unsung heroes. l
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