10 Reasons for RI Golfers to be Thankful in 2024
As we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, the Rhode Island golf community has plenty to be thankful for in 2024.
In 2024, we saw the U.S. Senior Open come to Newport Country Club, new golf courses open and some great golf.
Not to mention, everything and everybody else who played a role in making 2024 the year it was.
There are certainly a ton of reasons to be thankful in 2024, here are just ten.
See Slideshow Below
10: College Golf in RI: Slowly but surely, college golf is beginning to be a factor in the RI sports scene. Recently, Providence College announced they are re-adding a men’s golf team and adding a women’s golf team for the first time. RWU has won back-to-back conference championships and will return to the NCAA Tournament next spring. URI rattled off four wins during the fall season and will be contenders for their conference title in a few months. The Bryant men’s and women’s teams are continuing to build their programs.Not to mention all the kids playing college golf across the country. 
9. Indoor Golf: 2023 saw and explosion of indoor golf in the state. In 2024, places like V-Golf, Inside Links, Golf365RI, and Newport Indoor Golf continued to grow and provide a year-round service for golfers. Don’t want to take a winter off? Get involved, join a league, make your own league or play with friends. 
8. USGA Events – THE USGA continues to host events here in Rhode Island. Of course, this past summer we had the U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club, which was spectacular. There was also a U.S. Open local qualifier at Kirkbrae, a Mid-Am qualifier at Agawam Hunt and a Senior Open Qualifier just down the road at Franklin CC. Hopefully, RI can get another major event back in short order. 
7. Spargo Golf – When Rhode Islanders have problems with clubs or just need to be fitted, they go to Spargo Golf. Earlier this summer, we taped an episode of GNRI TV at Spargo and had Jon Pannone take us through a club fitting. What a fascinating process. Spargo is one of the best club fitters in the country and hopefully everyone takes advantage. 
6. First Tee RI: First Tee Rhode Island, based in Newport, is still relatively new and they are already making a big impact. GNRI had the opportunity to see Steve Heath and Orlando Peace in action earlier this summer while taping a TV episode with them. We were in a park in Newport and Orlando was setting up a little golf course for the kids to play. First Tee also takes players to an actual golf course – Green Valley – and has them work on simulators as well. First Tee RI launched in March of 2024 and as the organization grows, so will its impact. 
5. Steve Feinstein: If you ever want to have a smile, maybe a laugh or two, go stand on the first tee of a Junior Golf/Challenge Cup event with Steve Feinstein. The man known by most people as Foon knows every kids name that comes to the tee and every kid is excited to see Foon, no matter how good or bad they are playing. Steve has been working with Challenge Cup pretty much from the start and is a legend in the local junior golf scene 
4. Joe P – There remains nobody that represents RI golf better than the legendary Joe Pieranunzi. It has been a year for Joe P, both good and bad. He lost is brother around the time of the RI Amateur, he was battling and beat cancer, which he announced at the Tri-State Matches. But through it all, he has always been on the first tee waiting to announce the players at whatever tournament and all the players are happy to see him. It is always great to see Joe P I personally look forward to seeing him for years to come. PHOTO: RIGA 
3. Silver Spring Golf Course: There is a saying “for the love of the game,” and that is what I think about when I think of Silver Spring Golf Course in East Providence. Silver Spring is a mom & pop run golf course run by Lou Roccabello, James Alden and Scott Peters, the nicest group of guys that you could imagine who love golf. GNRI was there taping an episode of GNRI TV and was blown away by their hospitality, excitement and passion for what they do. Silver Spring welcomes everyone and anyone to go out and play for a very inexpensive price. Play in gym shorts, play in sweat pants, play in jeans, it doesn’t matter. Go play at Silver Spring. 
3. Challenge Cup Alum: This past July, Dave Adamonis and Challenge Cup held a one day tournament to benefit Connor Willett and Connor’s family following the passing of his father last year. Boy, did Challenge Cup Nation show up. Among those who came to play, Meghan Khang, Chris Francoeur, Alexa Pano, Davis Chatfield, Patrick Welch, Brad Adamonis and others. It was amazing to see all these players take time out of their schedules to come back and rally for a current Challenge Cupper. It was pretty cool, and helps underscore the role Challenge Cup has played over the years. 
1. New Golf Courses: Over the last year or so, Rhode Island has seen two new golf courses open. South Shore Village Golf Course opened at the end of 2023, but has really come into form this season. The layout is phenomenal, the holes are fun to play and you can play them any way you want as all have par-3 tees. It is one of the most unique nine hole golf courses certainly in the state, but in the region. It is an awesome place. Then this past June Met Links opened on the front nine of the old Metacomet property. Met Links is a challenging nine-hole course that forces you to hit great shots, just like Metacomet did. And if you are looking for Metacomet nostalgia, there is that too.