Rock on: The Smiths capture Father & Son (Middle) at Heidelberg

BERNVILLE, Pa. — A jubilant Cody Smith couldn’t hide his giddy grin. Can you blame the Philadelphia Publinks GA member after experiencing one of the best rounds — better yet golf moments — of his life?

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Smith, along with his father Gary, carded a 1-under-par 69 to capture the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son (Middle) at an overcast Heidelberg Country Club (par 70, 6,061 yards). The event’s format is selective drive/alternate shot.

The Smiths, who played in the morning, meandered throughout the clubhouse as a handful of teams in the afternoon threatened to tie, or to even overtake, their lead. When the victory became official, Cody’s grin returned. He and Gary shook hands and embraced.

“I can’t believe we did it, dad, I’ve wanted to win this with you for a long time,” Cody said.

“I’ve been lucky to play in a couple of U.S. Amateur Championships (1983, 1991) — college golf and a few neat things,” Gary, 58, said. “Two years ago, when we finished second in the (Pennsylvania Golf Association) Father & Son (Championship), that was the best day I had on the golf course. Today beats that. Playing golf with your son and having a good round is pretty special.”

Cody, 23, raised his game from tee to green en route to raising a trophy with dad.

“Every time I get to go out and play golf with my dad, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I just feel like when I play with him, I always play better. I want to show off for him.”

Cody showed off alright. He ensured safety off the tee and executed all three of the team’s birdie putts.

“He drove the ball well. He rolled the ball well,” Gary, a Pine Valley Golf Club member, said. “With the exception of one hole — he hit it out-of-bounds on No. 17 — he was in play all day. It’s nice that I can just get up there and swing. With the exception of two or three holes, we played his drive, which is why he was putting all day.”

“I’ve been hitting the ball well recently and I’ve lowered my scores, so I’m expecting my handicap to go down,” Cody said.

Starting on the back nine, the Smith team inked its first circle (birdie) on No. 12 (par 4, 365 yards). After Cody parted the trees accordingly, Gary hit a wedge 80 yards to eight feet. His son cleaned up the birdie putt. The Smith team immediately relinquished that stroke after failing to get up-and-down from the left fairway bunker on No. 13 (par 4, 380 yards). Cody returned to red by draining a 12-foot slider on No. 15 (par 4, 404 yards). Gary’s lob wedge from 135 yards set up the tense conversion.

“That wasn’t exactly an easy one. The green was sloping pretty hard there,” Cody said.

The undulating No. 6 (par 4, 412 yards) green wasn’t easy, either; the Huntingdon Valley, Pa. residents walked away with another bogey thanks to a three-putt from 45 feet. But the par 5, 481-yard No. 9 revealed that championship mettle exemplified throughout the day.

Standing 192 yards from the flagstick, Cody, in between clubs for a millisecond, forcefully retrieved his 5-iron, addressed his golf ball and swung without hesitation.

“I figured that I’d rather be middle and short of the green than long. I had confidence that I could get it on the green, and I ended up getting it on,” Cody, a senior at Bryn Athyn College majoring in business, said. “It took a very generous bounce forward and got much closer.”

Thirty feet, to be exact. Gary’s eagle attempt drifted three feet left of the jar. Cody, again demonstrating a swagger a la Leonardo DiCaprio on the red carpet, deposited an ultimately triumphant birdie.

Credit a new putter — a red Odyssey mallet — and an altered stance for Cody’s awakening on the greens of late.

“I spent a lot more time working on my putting,” he said. “I believe I tended to stand too far from the ball. I just tried to make sure I got my head over the ball when I putted. I use to have nine three-putts a round. Now I have one or two, sometimes none.”

“I think that in the past in this event, we tended to shoot in the mid-70s and always had a few three-putts or a double bogey on one hole or something bad happens,” Gary, who also let smirks slip post-round, added. “Today we just both seemed to be in a good frame. We stepped up and hit shots with confidence.”

The Smiths hope it’s a light of confidence that never goes out.

The Father & Son (Middle) tournament is for those father and son teams with sons 18 to 29 years old. The event was conceived in 2008 because of the high demand for participation in both the Father & Son (Younger), which celebrates its 61st anniversary this year, and the Older tournament — an event in its 107th year.

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.