This site is dedicated to sharing memories of Mark Garvey, a man who touched all of our lives. Please post anecdotes or stories of how Mark has made an impact on your life. If you have any problem using the site or see something that needs to be removed or fixed, contact Ben Garvey.
Summer Rules
Most of you know my Dad as a jokester, but there was one thing he was dead serious about: Playing by the rules in golf.
He didn't beat you up if you took a mulligan on any random day, but if you were playing for something you had better follow the rules for lost balls, provisional shots, out of bounds, bad lies, movable obstructions, waste areas vs sand traps, and summer vs winter rules.
Since you can play golf through some of the winter months in NJ they have something called winter rules. Basically this means the course can't keep the grass nice enough in the winter so if you're in the fairway and your ball gets stuck in a bare spot or a divot you can move it to a slightly better spot. If you're in the rough you play it the same.
Way back before Dad had joined Pine Hill or Little Mill before that we were members of a small public course near our house in Winslow called Pinelands. Like any club they had a championship in the summer and Dad signed up to play.
He played the first match against a nice guy and won. During his second match he noticed his opponent moving a ball off of a bare spot. Dad asked him what he was doing and he said the championship was played using winter rules instead of summer rules. This presented my Dad with the problem of whether to play by winter or summer rules. He informed the guy he would finish the match under summer rules. Dad won the match and word got around about the winter rules dispute. A lot of the members felt like Dad was exhibiting a holier than thou attitude about the rules, but it was obvious my Dad was a more serious player than most of them. They informed him the championship was played using winter rules.
So who won the club championship?
If you visit Pinelands Golf Course in Winslow Twp, NJ there is a plaque listing all the past club champions, except one year that is blank.
It's from the year that my Dad beat everyone there using summer rules.
He didn't beat you up if you took a mulligan on any random day, but if you were playing for something you had better follow the rules for lost balls, provisional shots, out of bounds, bad lies, movable obstructions, waste areas vs sand traps, and summer vs winter rules.
Since you can play golf through some of the winter months in NJ they have something called winter rules. Basically this means the course can't keep the grass nice enough in the winter so if you're in the fairway and your ball gets stuck in a bare spot or a divot you can move it to a slightly better spot. If you're in the rough you play it the same.
Way back before Dad had joined Pine Hill or Little Mill before that we were members of a small public course near our house in Winslow called Pinelands. Like any club they had a championship in the summer and Dad signed up to play.
He played the first match against a nice guy and won. During his second match he noticed his opponent moving a ball off of a bare spot. Dad asked him what he was doing and he said the championship was played using winter rules instead of summer rules. This presented my Dad with the problem of whether to play by winter or summer rules. He informed the guy he would finish the match under summer rules. Dad won the match and word got around about the winter rules dispute. A lot of the members felt like Dad was exhibiting a holier than thou attitude about the rules, but it was obvious my Dad was a more serious player than most of them. They informed him the championship was played using winter rules.
So who won the club championship?
If you visit Pinelands Golf Course in Winslow Twp, NJ there is a plaque listing all the past club champions, except one year that is blank.
It's from the year that my Dad beat everyone there using summer rules.
That story is awesome. Jake that's something you would end doing to me when we play golf. You always got a set of rules I don't know about until I've given you my money...then you tell me.
Chris and I lived in Winslow Township from 1989 until 1994. We became good friends with Mark & Rita and our children also became good friends.
Ever the kidder, that is how I remember Mark. Test this: One night Mark and Rita invite Chris and I over to their home for dinner. We get there, have a glass (or two) of wine, but notice that there is not anything cooking - anywhere. No grill heating up, no stove oven working. Then all of a sudden, we hear a bell, and Mark announces "dinners on, let's eat".
Lo and behold, the only appliance that was working was the "dishwasher". That's when Chris and I have our first "Dishwasher Trout by Vincent Price experience. It was pretty good too!
This was just one of our great get togethers. I'll miss you Mark - Love, Joe & Chris