Group encourages more players on Delmarva

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Anthony Colicchio, playing out of Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club, about his third-year golf league program, and I am proud to devote this week’s column to promote his Eastern Shore Inter-Club Golf Association, which encourages more players on Delmarva to play golf.

The membership of 10 Eastern Shore golf clubs will be participating in the Eastern Shore Inter-Club Golf Association for the 2021 season. The purpose of this competition is to enhance the golfing experience by expanding our universe of players, meeting new competitors, and playing an expansive number of exciting golf courses.

The concept of these inter-club matches was conceived by Colicchio with help from Glen Reid and Brian Trout, both of Cripple Creek. In 2018, Colicchio approached the club professionals at more than a dozen courses on the Eastern Shore. He was seeking their assistance to identify their club members who would engage in the concept to start a competitive golf league.

By the spring of 2019, dozens of phone calls, text messages, emails and a few face-to-face meetings resulted in the exchange of ideas, and concepts became rules, and blank calendars became home and away dates. The club professionals were generous in accommodating tee times, and their guidance has been an essential element in the early success of this competition. The clubs from Ocean City and Bear Trap competed in a playoff, resulting in Bear Trap being the inaugural 2019 cup winner.

Colicchio said, “Regardless of age, this inter-club play taps into the competitive instincts of all its players. It’s been years since they hung up their baseball cleats, football pads and basketball Chuck Taylors. The ‘thrill of victory and the agony of defeat’ are never forgotten, and now each week they can once again take measure of their personal as well as their team’s performance.”

Currently, members from Bear Trap Dunes, Cripple Creek, Plantation Lakes, Heritage Shores, Mulligan’s Pointe, Wild Quail, Maple Dale, Bayside, Glen Riddle, and Ocean City have a weekly competition with play scheduled Monday thru Thursday. Each club consists of eight players playing per week from the first week of May thru August.

The format is match play, combining both individual and a four-ball match. Altogether, 36 points are available for each competitive experience. We will tally up the results for the outcome of the front, the back and the match, for the individual matches as well as the four ball, with 9 points at risk for each 4-player match. 

After the final matches have been played, the four clubs with the most points earned will have a playoff to determine the champion.  The winning club will have the honor of displaying the Eastern Shore trophy until the next season.

Note: In the event of a tie, a comparison of the head-to-head matches between the clubs will be calculated, and the club with the most points will advance to the playoffs.

Minimum requirements to join our league: Captain, co-captain and at least 16 members from your club with a GHIN index of less than 15.9.

What’s a GHIN?

GHIN stands for Golf Handicap and Information Network, and it is the service established by the U.S. Golf Association to provide handicaps for players who belong to golf clubs affiliated with their regional golf association. For example, if you join a USGA-affiliated golf club, one of the benefits you’ll receive as a member is a GHIN number. This is the unique ID provided to you to keep your handicap index. GHIN is the most widely accepted handicap index, and is often the only handicap index you can use to enter specific golf tournaments or events.

Fees: Each club may make an individual determination if participants pay a fee. The courses have agreed to an all-inclusive fee of $30 per player. By general agreement, the host club participants will provide the visiting club with light refreshments. 

The Eastern Shore Inter-Club Golf Association welcomes participation from all clubs on the Eastern Shore.

For more information, contact Anthony Colicchio at 302-598-6766 or ajcolicchio@gmail.com.

19th Hole Trivia

Bear Trap Dunes has three separate nine-holes named Black Bear, Grizzly Bear and Kodiak Bear.

Bear Trap Dunes is Anthony Colicchio’s home course.