Baldwin, Marie crowned champs in Spring Net at Coatesville

June 7, 2018

COATESVILLE, Pa.- Five Ponds Golf Club’s Jason Marie played a competitive-best nine holes Thursday at Coatesville Country Club (par 71, 5,822 yards). As a Golf Association of Philadelphia net championship veteran, he made sure to take advantage of it.

| Scorecards | History |

Making the turn with a gross score of 1-over 36 – good enough for 25 Stableford Net points – Marie glided to the overall title in the Tee It Forward — Spring Net Championship. That self-record, paired with a back nine of 8-over 44, translated into 43 overall Stableford Net points and the hardware. He topped a field of 52 net players.

  Philadelphia Country Club’s Marybeth Baldwin, playing in her first GAP event, took home the Women’s Division title with 38 Stableford Net points.

  Marie’s winning round was sparked by what was deemed by the champion a “great bogey” on No. 1 (par 5, 454 yards). After a perfect drive down the center, Marie chunked back-to-back shots in the fairway. He then punched a 5-iron near greenside and chipped up for a relieving tap-in 6.

  A scintillating string of six straight up-and-downs for par on Nos. 3 thru 8 helped the scorecard out. However, that feat would be one-upped when Marie’s lone red number arrived on No. 9 (par 4, 359 yards). He bombed a drive nearly 300 yards, leaving him with a short wedge from 60 yards out that he tossed within inches of the cup.

   “Everything was clicking for me on the front. It was an incredible stretch there just getting up-and-down for some good pars,” said the 40-year-old. “I’ve been playing in GAP net events since 2010, so I had a feeling of where that score stood making the turn. My mindset on the back nine was to keep everything simple and not have any blow-up holes.”

  The champ stayed calm, cool and collected on Coatesville’s back, jarring two gross pars in the final four holes to claim his first GAP victory.

   “Every single year, I religiously follow the net-event schedules. Those are the first things I circle on my calendar,” said Marie. “It’s nice to finally win one.”

  At Coatesville, Marie played as a 16 handicap. It’s the Maple Glen, Pa. resident’s dream to one day get down to a 7 handicap. The logic behind that isn’t just becoming a better golfer.

  It’s becoming a Golf Association of Philadelphia Major competitor.

   “I would really love to play in a GAP Major. It’s definitely a goal of mine and been on my radar for a while now,” said Marie, a believer in course analytics who keeps detailed stats during his rounds. “But until then, the GAP Net events are my majors.”

  In the third year of the Women’s’ Division, Baldwin took home the title in her GAP debut powered by a gross score of 91.

  The Villanova, Pa. resident, playing to a course handicap of 20, utilized five gross pars and a birdie on No. 2 (par 3, 132 yards) en route to the winner’s circle.

   “I’ve never played Coatesville before, so it was a challenge but a nice one, even though I almost got lost pulling in here today,” said Baldwin, 54. “It’s a hilly course but I navigated well. I stayed on track and stayed focused.”

  The former Women’s Golf Chairman at Philadelphia Country enjoys casual golf but is always looking to get better competitively. She took a major step of progress at Coatesville with the title win.

   “It was really fun – I’ll definitely be back to play in more [GAP events],” she said.

  The Spring Net Championship, formerly known as the First Handicap Tournament, is open to players 18 years of age and older with handicap index less than 36.0. The event began in 1946. The Association adopted the Tee It Forward parameters in 2012. It also changed the scoring format to net stableford.

  The Tee It Forward initiative encourages golfers to play the course at a length that is aligned with their average driving distance.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 260 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.