{"id":704115,"date":"2026-06-14T19:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T19:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/704115\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T19:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T19:55:16","slug":"dom-amores-sunday-read-ct-golfer-has-a-passion-for-public-courses-support-for-tony-reno-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/704115\/","title":{"rendered":"Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: CT golfer has a passion for public courses; Support for Tony Reno, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hamden\u2019s Andy Taddei Jr. <\/a>may not be a blue blood, a pro or a scratch golfer, but that doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t get as much enjoyment as anyone from a day or two, or maybe a couple of hundred days, on the courses of Connecticut.<\/a>
He has, matter of fact, crisscrossed our fair state for years on a quest to play every public golf course within these borders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got hooked on golf about 25 years ago; fell in love with it and the idea just came to me,\u201d Taddei said during a morning chat at the 19th hole at The Vue, formerly Laurel View<\/a> in Hamden, where he plays in a league. \u201cI thought, \u2018That would be a really neat thing, to try to play every public course in Connecticut, if possible. Why not give it a try?\u2019 So for the last 25 years, I\u2019ve sort of hacked away at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One tee time at a time, Taddei reports he has crossed 97 public courses off his list, some of which no longer exist, with one to go:\u00a0Griffith E. Harris GC, \u201cThe Griff,\u201d in Greenwich<\/a>. And he plans to get there later this month to complete the mission. Including private courses, Taddei estimates he\u2019s played on 126 different layouts in Connecticut, with a number of private courses he has not been able to get onto. After \u201cThe Griff\u201d the game and adventure will go on for this \u201cEveryman of The Links,\u201d a self-taught wandering weekend warrior who now, as a retired high school teacher and basketball coach, he has weekdays free, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s anybody else who can say he played every public course in Connecticut,\u201d said Taddei, who has a bag full of scorecards and two-page list of courses played. \u201c\u2026 Not that it\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA man and his scorecards. Hamden’s Andy Taddei Jr. has been on a 25-year quest to play every public golf course in Connecticut. He played 97, with one to go. (Dom Amore\/Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

Well, if there are others who have done it, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be getting email all week.<\/p>\n

So what makes a good course?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be in at least decent shape and have a good feel to it,\u201d he said. \u201cTake Fenwick in Old Saybrook (the state\u2019s oldest public course),<\/a> it just lifts your spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take the tour with Taddei. His favorite public courses include, in no particular order:<\/p>\n

Lake of Isles at Foxwoods, (\u201cEvery hole is its own experience.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Richter Park in Danbury, Wintonbury Hills in Bloomfield, (\u201cYou feel like you\u2019re in New Hampshire.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Mohegan GC in Baltic; Topstone in South Windsor, (\u201cIt\u2019s got tobacco sheds on some of the fairways, a nice atmosphere.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s a wild card,\u201d he said. \u201cRolling Meadows in Ellington<\/a> is a hidden gem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simsbury Farms, Great River in Milford (\u201cOne of the tou,gher courses you\u2019ll play in Connecticut.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Connecticut National in Putnam: (\u201cBefore you get there, you\u2019re going through cornfields and you\u2019re wondering, \u2018Where is this place?\u2019 It\u2019s a little quirky, but I played particularly well there, so I\u2019m partial toward it.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Whitney Farms in Monroe, Cedar Knob in Somers, Yale in New Haven, (\u201cIconic holes on that course.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s another one,\u201d Taddei said. \u201cLongshore in Westport. You drive in and the whole place is a park, people are walking their dogs and some of the holes are near the water. It\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some are only nine holes like Sleeping Giant in Hamden<\/a>, where he started, or Indian Springs in Middlefield, among his favorites. Some are just great values, like Airways in Suffield. \u201cWe played 18 there once for $39 a piece,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The fastest greens he\u2019s ever played? New Haven CC.<\/p>\n

Taddei, 60, played baseball at Hamden High, and for a short time at ECSU. He worked with his father, a carpenter, then taught social studies in the tech school system for 35 years, and coached boys basketball at Platt Tech-Milford, Watertown and Bullard-Havens in Bridgeport.<\/p>\n

Before retiring from Wilcox Tech in Meriden last August, Taddei played his golf when school was out, a few new courses a summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the COVID year 2020, when all you could do was golf, I think I played 27 new courses that year,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd me and my friends took rides all over and tracked down these obscure parks, nine-hole courses.\u201d<\/p>\n

He never took a golf lesson, which he sort of regrets, and it took years to make his old baseball swing into a golf swing. Now Taddei says he is a 9-handicap, and he\u2019s got stories, like a hole in one on the 12th\u00a0 at The Vue on his first shot of a scramble tournament.<\/p>\n

Dom Amore: This \u2018legend\u2019 hasn\u2019t forgotten CT Sun\u2019s contribution to growing women\u2019s basketball<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI step up to the tee and think, \u2018Just get the ball on the green, you can\u2019t start a scramble with a bogey,\u201d he said. \u201cI flushed the 8-iron, lands by the pin, rolls back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s never broken a club in frustration, \u201cBut I\u2019ve had some rounds where everything goes wrong. At the championship last year at Grassy Hill (in Orange), one of the rounds I shot a 99. I walked away, I could not explain it. The next day, I went back to the same course and shot an 80.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best round he\u2019s ever played was in a league finals at The Farms in Wallingford, where he shot a 76 to help his team win the championship. Once, at Madison CC, he missed a lot of greens, but thanks to his short game, he said, he chipped in twice and putted only 21 times in 18 holes.<\/p>\n

His fantasy foursome would include Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Jordan Spieth,<\/a> and he would just watch and pick their brains, like he used to admonish his students to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cJordan Spieth seems like the kind of golfer we can all relate to. He analyzes himself, he\u2019s so transparent, the kind of golfer you root for,\u201d Taddei said.<\/p>\n

If Andy Taddei Jr. sounds like you or me on the links, that\u2019s our point this week. Golf belongs to everyone, anyone with the time and inclination to get out and hack away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so difficult, and so tough to master,\u201d Taddei said. \u201cYou never master it, and I think that\u2019s the draw. It\u2019s so difficult that when you do well, you feel that you\u2019ve accomplished something. I\u2019ve played everything in my life, baseball, softball, basketball, and there\u2019s no sport quite like it. \u2026 Golf is good for the soul. Real good for the soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

More for your Sunday Read:<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Winslow Townson \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Former Yale coach Tony Reno. (Photo By Winslow Townson\/Getty Images)
\nOn Character, Tony Reno<\/p>\n

The Yale Football Association shared this week<\/a> that former football coach Tony Reno has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)<\/a>, an extremely rare and fatal brain disease. A family trust has been established to help provide financial support for his round-the-clock care and ongoing needs. Those interested in helping can go Spotfund.com to find the Reno Family Support<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

For your summer reading list: \u201cOn Character: Choices That Define A Life,\u201d by retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, published in 2025, features segments on Reno. They met when the general taught at Yale in 2012, the year Reno arrived, and McChrystal spoke with the team.<\/p>\n

On occasion, McChrystal would invite rising seniors on a retreat to the Gettysburg Battlefield. In the chapter \u201cPatience in Pursuit of Greatness,\u201d the general details the things he learned and admired watching Reno coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis choice to focus on leadership is a poignant one,\u201d McChrystal writes, \u201cThe common denominator in most great leadership isn\u2019t superior recruiting, clever game plans or motivational slogans. It\u2019s about setting high standards and embodying them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth a read, especially now, as it would be impossible to imagine a greater example of courage and character for young people than Reno displayed last season, coaching Yale to the FCS playoffs. To read the general\u2019s thoughts on Reno, you can find \u201cOn Character\u201d on Amazon and all the places<\/a> books are sold.<\/p>\n

CT track standout is legally blind. How he has overcome the hurdles to become an All-American<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sunday short takes<\/p>\n

*Two faculty members of UConn\u2019s Korey Stringer Institute<\/a>, CEO Douglas Casa and Robert Huggins, chief research officer and president of athlete performance, joined a group of experts who sent an open letter to FIFA, urging officials to take steps to keep athletes safe from extreme heat during the World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respectfully urge FIFA to adopt heat-management protocols that align with contemporary exercise physiology, occupational health principles and duty of care standards expected in elite sport,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n

FIFA calls for three-minute breaks at the 30- and 75-minute marks when wetbulb globe temperatures,<\/a> which measures combined effect of heat, humidity, wind and sunlight, reach 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The letter signed by KSI officials asked FIFA to lower the WBGT standard to 78.8 degrees and call for six-minute breaks, while also increasing hydration and cooling opportunities. Games played in Miami, Houston and Atlanta are of particular concern.<\/p>\n

*UConn baseball lost Big East Pitcher of the Year Cayden Suchy, who hit the portal and committed to Florida State.<\/a><\/p>\n

*Josh Mooney,<\/a> junior from Stonington, repeated as an All-American for UConn track and field<\/a>, finishing eighth in the NCAA decathlon championships, four places higher than 2025.<\/p>\n

*The Connecticut Sun\u2019s celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Month, the Sun & Soul Fest, is happening Sunday,<\/a> featuring live music and entertainment, activities and games, raffles and giveaways on the Sun Patio outside the Mohegan Sun Arena. Admission is free and open to all ages, with donations to the Connecticut Sun Foundation encouraged. Go to the Sun\u2019s website for more info.<\/a><\/p>\n

*The Franciscan Sports Banquet brought a crowd of 650 to the Aqua Turf in Southington on June 2, where former Huskies great Emeka Okafor, called \u201cthe perfect college basketball player\u201d by his coach, Jim Calhoun, was among the honorees. Ever the conscientious student, \u2018Mek made a full study of St. Francis,<\/a> for whom the award he received was named.<\/p>\n

*It\u2019s always a sign of respect when programs poach your assistant coaches. UConn men\u2019s hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh lost one of his top lieutenants, Nick Peruzzi, to Wisconsin this week.<\/a><\/p>\n

*So we can no longer expect Bill Murray at UConn men\u2019s basketball games, but if Jon Gruden becomes a fixture at Rentschler<\/a> Field, that would work out just fine.<\/p>\n

\"JerryJerry Seinfeld watches during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the San Antonio Spurs and the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)
\nLast word<\/p>\n

Alex Jakubowski, 23, of West Hartford may have broken the internet this week. A die-hard fan of UConn, New York sports\u00a0 \u2014 and Seinfeld reruns \u2014 he posted a photo of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David at Madison Square Garden following the Knicks miracle comeback<\/a> in Game 4 of the NBA Finals and invoked the memorable rental-car counter scene f<\/a>rom Seinfeld\u2019s sitcom. \u201cThe Spurs know how to TAKE the lead, they just don\u2019t know how to HOLD the lead. And that\u2019s really the most important part of the lead. The holding.\u201d \u2026 The joke landed, and Jakubowski has been in the driver\u2019s seat of Jon Voight\u2019s Chrysler<\/a> ever since. The post on X (formerly Twitter) had been viewed by nearly nine million by Saturday morning, including David, who went on \u201cThe Rich Eisen Show\u201d<\/a> and gave the post a shoutout. \u201cNever in a million years did I expect this to happen,\u201d Jakubowski said in a follow-up post. Nine million viewers, a shoutout from Larry David and now the Sunday Read? The kid is clearly master of his domain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hamden\u2019s Andy Taddei Jr. may not be a blue blood, a pro or a scratch golfer, but that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[304258,2000,304257,33993,290451,304261,427,15862,44857,25169,304265,15820,983,168221,304263,5489,99,17654,304260,304262,304264,434,84938,304259],"class_list":["post-704115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-andy-taddei-jr","tag-connecticut","tag-connecticut-public-golf-course","tag-ct-sun","tag-ctnews","tag-general-stanley-mcchrystal","tag-golf","tag-hartford-courant","tag-jerry-seinfeld","tag-knicks","tag-korey-stringer-institute","tag-larry-david","tag-local-news","tag-max-image-preview","tag-mike-cavanaugh","tag-nba-finals","tag-sports","tag-spurs","tag-tony-reno","tag-uconn-hockey","tag-wisconsin-hockey","tag-wnba","tag-world-cup","tag-yale-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}