Golf Committee

The Rio Vista Mahwah 2024 Golf Open

The Tuxedo Club – Tuxedo Park, NY

Submitted by Mark Arduino, Committee Chair

The Rio Vista Mahwah 2024 Golf Open was held on Sept 19, 2024, at The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, NY.  The Club was founded in 1886 and makes it one of the oldest in the US behind The Country Club in Brookline, MA.  While the course is largely equidistant from RVM as measured against other local area courses (Hackensack, Ridgewood, North Jersey and White Beeches) it categorically is considered to be ‘off the beaten track’, up Rt 17 North.  RVM Golf Historians will recall we played Tuxedo in 2007 sponsored by Bruce Andrews and David Martin.

The day was spectacular and yielded the following results:

2024 Rio Vista Mahwah Open Champion – Dinesh Jaiswal (net 73)

• John Terrano (net 75)

• Joe Hallak / Mark Arduino (tie net 76)

• Herb Schlesinger (net 78)

• Jeff Song (net 82)

The weather leading up to the day is always a dicey proposition.  You book your date weeks in advance with limited options for the course that is able to host on a particular day(s).  Then you play the waiting and weather watch game to see if it will all come together.  This year leading up the forecast was consistently predicted to be rainy.  Miraculously just a day prior the forecast shifted with a storm headed over Tuxedo Park splitting itself with half going northwest and the other half moving directionally well northeast.  We were delighted to have a mostly sunny / partly cloudy day which made all golfers more upbeat as they arrived by 11:00am at 42 Stuart Terrace.

The more recent Rio Vista Open courses were formidable in their own right as we strive to keep the rotation fresh and challenging while gaining exposure to new courses:

2019 – Garrison GC

2020 – Bowling Green GC

2021 – Hackensack GC

2022 – Patriot Hills GC

2023 – Mansion Ridge GC

We quickly assembled outside the Clubhouse & Driving Range and made our way to the Tuxedo Golf Clubhouse outdoor patio for a quick lunch prior to teeing off.  With a small and manageable group, we were able to dine together at the same table.  As the waiter took our order it became clear that The Lobster Roll was the big group hit with almost all making it their entrée selection.  Unsweetened iced tea complimented it all for proper pre-round hydration.

The round itself was very challenging for all golfers whether you were familiar with the course or not.  Tuxedo has a lot of high fescue grass to steer clear of.  If you hit a wayward shot and are fortunate to find your ball, often you are lucky to be able to simply chop at the ball to advance it enough to get it back in the fairway.  One quickly learns to not be a hero on any one hole or golf shot to stay in the hunt for top finisher.

The other major impediment to low scoring that rears its ugly head, is water.  Tuxedo boasts water hazards on 8 of the 18 holes.  You really never escape it, and it forces you to really have a well thought out strategy whether you’re teeing off near water or navigating it on your approach shot.  It all looks somewhat harmless as Tuxedo isn’t considered a long course yardage-wise, but small mistakes add up quickly.

Overall, Dinesh Jaiswal acquitted himself well on this day shooting mostly error-free golf and posting a gross 90.  This performance stood up well to preserve a 2-shot victory down the stretch.  Coupled with his win at Mansion Ridge last year, Jaiswal joins the list of 2-time RV Open winners and will strive to become the first three-peat winner in 2025!

We enjoyed some post golf drinks and appetizers back out on the main patio.  The post Open celebration was a bit more muted than 2023 at Rhode’s North Tavern since most golfers had to be somewhere for dinner or special family event (John Terrano had Anniversary dinner to be home for!). Each year scheduling is a challenge with several Rio Vista regulars reporting September conflicts that included (Domestic or International Travel, Work Conflicts, Golf Injuries to Mend and the classic conflict of ‘…Unable to play due to playing in another golf outing that day’),

Regardless we had a thoroughly enjoyable round with one another, shared Rio Vista history stories with Herb Schlesinger and welcomed another new Rio Vista Golfer to the fold – Joe Hallak.  Joe fit right in with his amiable personality and chatty demeanor.  We look forward to having Joe join us in future events with our core group of Rio Vista golf fanatics!

20th Rio Vista Mahwah Open – Sept 8, 2023 – Mansion Ridge Golf Club

Submitted by Mark Arduino, Committee Chair

Congratulations to Dinesh Jaiswal, the 2023 Rio Vista Open Champion!  Dinesh led the way from start to finish with relentless, fairway splitting drives to fend off the charge from Rio Vista Mahwah newcomer Matt Benedict and RVM legend John Terrano to take top honors in the annual event.

Rio Vista Mahwah Open = Top 5

1. Dinesh Jaiswal – 2023 Rio Vista Mahwah – Champion Golfer

2. Matt Benedict

3. John Terrano

4. Mark Arduino

5. David Bagatelle

Each year the RVM Open course selection takes into consideration top area layouts that the group is interested in playing.  It varies from amongst well regarded everyday public courses to premium access courses and private clubs.  This year’s Open was the 20th in the series and begged to give exhaustive consideration.  The courses reviewed by the selection committee included:  Wild Turkey (our first event in 2004), Wallkill GC, The Tuxedo Club, North Jersey CC, Darlington GC and Spook Rock.

Initially we landed on Spook Rock in Montebello, NY given its rich history as one of the top public courses in the country.  That status has waned somewhat over the years, but it still made sense to have it host one of our annual events.  When we went to discuss details, Spook Rock informed us that they had recently come under new ownership and no longer wished to attract “small outings.”  It forced us to pivot, and Mansion Ridge (MR) emerged as the top choice.

We had actually played the Rio Vista Mahwah Open at Mansion Ridge in 2014 (won by Phil Lipper).  The combination of the course being a Jack Nicklaus design, availability for 12 golfers, $95 per golfer fee and only 30 minutes away, quickly put it on the radar.  When we spoke to Tom Albertie who schedules all MR outings, he was very interested and highly flexible to land Rio Vista Mahwah’s Golf business!  On Friday Sept 8th we were booked and confirmed for 3 foursomes starting at 12pm.

Getting to any outing can be somewhat of an adventure as most golfers will tell you.  There are a multitude of traffic scenarios that materialize unexpectedly and turn a 30-minute drive into a 90-minute fiasco.  This was no different.  About 90 minutes before our first tee time, we heard from Tom Limberg (in transit) that a tractor trailer had once again flipped near the Rt 17/287/87 and The Sheraton Crossroads interchange– virtually shutting down the primary travel artery, North to Mansion Ridge.  Thanks to Tom’s well-placed and timely call we were all able to redirect through 202 Suffern to make it on time!

The weather was of course the other major tournament day concern.  However, the week leading up to the event simply called for a 30% chance of showers starting at 6pm.  With our 12-12:30pm series of tee times we started the day thinking this is great, we have a 6-hour window to complete our rounds and head off to post golf awards.  The weather gods had other ideas.  Halfway through our first 9-holes it started to rain.  We all checked our real-time weather apps and definitively concluded “…this will blow over in 10 minutes.” We were slightly off the mark since the rain just kept coming and coming for several hours.

We all lucked out sheltering in place.  Two groups were stuck at the halfway house waiting out what we expected to be a quick reprieve.  Boy, were we wrong and very scared – truth be told.  Thunderous booms and lightning were relentless and then came the hail!  To quote David Bagatelle, “…these are tornado-like conditions!” 

The other foursome was fortunate to have completed the 9th hole and they wisely made their way to the clubhouse bar and grille where they comfortably sheltered in place.  We all eventually ended up there and couldn’t leave once the course was closed due to the relentless pounding nature of the rain.  None of us could get to our cars 100 yards away!  Then the power went out and we made a break for it after we each collected our 9-hole rain checks.

Some had had enough and went straight home from there, but the majority of the group stopped in at Rhodes Tavern, for some post golf food, drinks, and awards.  If you’ve been to Rhodes, then you know how good it is with its eclectic menu and friendly staff/service.  This didn’t disappoint as we settled into the main bar area with assorted appetizers, pizza, drinks, and awards presentation.

We tallied the scores and announced that Dinesh Jaiswal was the Champion golfer.  Tom Limberg commented that “…Dinesh didn’t miss a fairway all day” with his sharp shooting accuracy.  Dinesh himself shared that his recent hard work and lessons had paid off with the driver which carried him to a 3 shot victory!   Dinesh was a recent Open newcomer and was always in the running the first several years he played, but this year he put it all together to claim the title!

The full roster of competitors included:  Dinesh Jaiswal, Jeff Song, David Bagatelle (former Champion), Steve Subick, Mark Arduino (former Champion), Tom Limberg, Jonathan Ninnis, Robert Jackson (former Champion), David McCaleb, Matt Benedict, John Terrano and Herb Schlesinger (RVM Founding Member).

Despite our waterlogged 9-hole event we all universally enjoyed the day, given we had all met or played with new RVM residents, longstanding regulars and/or former champions.  You never know how the foursome pairings will work out, doing the best you can to match up the right players and personalities so that all can have an enjoyable experience.

Golfers tend to be an amiable bunch and our day evidenced that experience of enjoyment and Rio Vista Mahwah community pride.  To show that pride & thankfulness on the 20-year Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Tourney Anniversary, we gave a waterlogged Herb Schlesinger a bottle of champagne to commemorate the milestone and thank him for his vision of community back in 1980.  See you all next year!

Rio Vista Mahwah Open – 2022

Sept 13, 2022 – Patriot Hills Golf Club / Stony Point, NY

Submitted by Mark Arduino, Committee Chair

Rio Vista Mahwah held its 19th Annual Golf Open on Sept 13, 2022, at Patriot Hills Golf Course in Stony Point, NY.  Patriot Hills is arguably the most popular public golf course amongst RVMHA Residents over the years.  It didn’t matter that we played prestigious local private clubs or some of the best municipal courses when the Open Championship officially started back in 2004.  RVMHA residents time and again would ask, “…when are we going back to play Patriot Hills?”

Patriot Hills is a former rock quarry with tremendous elevation changes.  When you initially drive into the property you see a series of approximately a dozen old, abandoned buildings with slate roofs that look like they could be refurbished into a new luxury development with Patriot Hills Golf at the center of it all.  The last few years there has been on and off speculation that some or all of the property would be sold off to a developer, which is a continuing trend given the location, quality, and value of the land.

Nonetheless we proceeded to book the venue in Stony Point, NY and meet for lunch prior to teeing off.  Patriot Hills promotes their Tee Time Tuesday’s by bundling lunch with 18 holes of golf for $85.  This is really a hard value to pass up, beyond the fact that the course stands on its own.  Throw a pub-like lunch into the mix as part of the fee and you have Tri-State golfers beating a path to your door!

The RVMHA golf lineup consisted of Jonathan Ninnis, Dinesh Jaiswal, John Zervas, 2-time Champion Robert Jackson, John Terrano, Fred Klenk, Bill Rahal, and Mark Arduino.   There was the usual pre-Open gyration of participants signing up (and backing off) as work, family and other priorities were juggled and resulted in finally solidifying the field.  Others had golf conflicts arise that get in the way of…golf.  We were finally on our way from Seminary Drive to Stony Point, NY.

The weather this year was a big part of the story.  We had a very wet Spring season followed by a severe drought for over 2 months.  Many area courses were at wits end to keep the courses hydrated until Mother Nature cooperated.  Numerous stories abounded with Northeast area golf course superintendents watering fairways and greens by hand as ponds, lakes and tributaries halted to a trickle.  In the grill room prior to the Open, the ownership of Patriot Hills quipped that their August water bill alone was $34K!

Serendipitously, we were fortunate to have a couple heavy rainstorms prior to the open which helped green up the course and provide for the ability to fire at the pins during our round.  Superb course drainage is the order of the day at Patriot Hills and there was little to no standing water.  The other stroke of good luck was that Patriot Hills was scheduled to aerate the course the week before we played.  With the unexpected heavy (& welcome) rains, aeration was put off for another month which meant immaculate conditions for our outing.

Cigar Night is another popular ad hoc evening of camaraderie that RVMHA golfers have really taken to quite quickly.  This added perk was started by the dynamic newcomer duo of Jonathan Ninnis and Mark Newman.  Everyone is asked to bring something to eat or drink to the festivities.  In recent years John Terrano has hosted a cigar night and displayed his prolific outdoor pizza making prowess.  John has perfected RVM backyard pizza on the grill and is now even sharing his award-winning pizza recipe preparation secrets with others.  Jonathan Ninnis capitalized on that theme this year and hosted his own pizza and cigar back yard get together.

We had two prior Rio Vista Mahwah Open Champions in the field this year – 2-time winners Robert Jackson and Mark Arduino.  Arduino was seeking to become a three-peat RVM Open Champion after prior victories in 2020/2021 at Bowling Green Golf Club and Hackensack Golf Club.  Patriot Hills is a course where a couple of unexpected bad holes can make the difference in taking home the RVM title.

Over the years we have played some exceptional local area venues and even traveled out of state to Milford, Connecticut to get out of our comfort zone and play a completely unknown course such as Great River Golf Club.  In addition to Great River, we have played Wild Turkey, Ballyowen (3pm bagpipes), Apple Ridge (now homes), Tuxedo Club, North Jersey, Garrison (recently closed), Ridgewood, Hackensack, Architects, Centennial, Mansion Ridge and Arcola.  Not a bad roster of courses for a bunch of duffers.

The Rio Vista Mahwah Open at Patriot Hills was a fitting addition to the list of Open Championship sites.  We scored the event based upon full handicaps and rewarded those golfers who attained the following finishes:

• 1st Low Net / Rio Vista Mahwah Champion – Robert Jackson (71)

• 2nd Low Net – Mark Arduino (72)

• 3rd Low Net – Fred Klenk (75)

• Low Gross – Bill Rahal (87)

• Closest to the Pin – Robert Jackson (27 feet)

• Long Drive – Bill Rahal (265+ yards)

Congratulations to Robert Jackson – 2022 Rio Vista Mahwah Open Champion!

In addition to the on-course awards we held a raffle at the post golf drinks.  Some nice prizes were handed out that included gift cards for:  L’Arte (Ramsey), Willow & Whisk (Wyckoff), Allendale Steakhouse, Pro Shop Credit, Market Basket (Franklin Lakes), Bottle King and Pazza (Franklin Lakes).

Next year will mark the 20th Anniversary of the Rio Vista Mahwah Open and already speculation has begun about where we will hold this historic tournament given the importance of it to the RVM golf community.  We welcome new golfers each year (Bill Rahal & John Zervas were new additions in 2022).

We see the event has the ability to bring together residents from all over Rio Vista Mahwah in a way that transcends simply knowing those on your street or block.  It continues to be one of the most valuable ways to bring RVMHA residents together to develop lasting community relationships.  In many ways, that is much more important that the golf itself.

Rio Vista Mahwah Open – 2021

The 2021 Rio Vista Mahwah Open was held on Wednesday Oct 27th at the historic Hackensack Golf Club (1899) in Oradell, NJ.   This was the 3rd time in the illustrious history of the RVM Open that the Championship was held at 880 Soldier Hill Rd (Marc Abel-2011 and John Wolfe-2016 – previous HGC Champions).

Over the course of the 18-year history of the Open we have held the event at Public Courses 9 times and Private Courses 8 times.  This was the first time we had played a course a 3rd time in the overall rotation.  It comes however as no surprise.  Since the inaugural event in 2004 Hackensack Golf Club has quickly become the RVM Resident’s top choice.  It’s relatively close to our community, (20 mins) as are many of the top area courses.

The Charles Bank’s layout is very traditional and appealing to most types of players.  The staff at the Club is very accommodating and friendly towards visitors and playing guests.  Your initial stop in the locker room will result in a 10–15-minute conversation with the locker room attendant Jose, who is genuinely happy to see you and hear how you’ve been through the pandemic.  Graziano the maître d’ treats you as if you are in his home.  Dennis the Starter keeps a tight but energetic “Caddyshack” to insure items get to where they should be (ie 1st Tee) on a timely basis.

The weather for the crisp autumn day was to be in the high 50’s which is pretty much as seasonal as it goes.  However, the big story related to the weather was the 4” of rain that fell on Northern NJ the night before which really ended in the early morning hours the day of the event.  There was quite a bit of texting going on the day prior with the Nor’easter’ barreling down on the Garden State.  Most RVM Golf pundits really were expecting the course to be closed for day given the saturation event taking place and the fact that the water tables were already at record high levels.  HGC however has invested a lot over the years relative to drainage and it paid off.  They opened the course late morning, and we were able to make our tee time.

In reality, we weren’t supposed to be at HGC in the first place.  RVM Golf Commissioner Dan Morley had worked his PGA-level contacts at the area Clubs to land us a spot – late September at Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, NJ.  It was a great opportunity to play a course most residents had not played prior.  The only issue is the threat of severe rain on that September day forced us to execute a precautionary postponement.  Dan backchanneled to his contacts to select a new date but ran into some scheduling friction which caused Dan to say, “…hey, why don’t we just hold it at Hackensack?”  and the rest is history.

The day’s plan typically is 11:30am arrival, 12noon lunch and 1pm tee off.  The weather, limited sunlight and work demands threw a monkey wrench into the best laid golf scheduling plans on this day.  Most of the RVM golfers had work commitments such as: Zoom calls, emails and other snafus that simply caused almost everyone to pull into the parking lot on two wheels, get their clubs out and head to the first tee area.  It was going to be one of those days which has become the norm for the Rio Vista Mahwah Open.  Over the years one can recall David Martin (since moved to FL) reaching the 1st tee with one minute to spare, saying a quick hello and off he went.  Then at the conclusion of the round, family commitments required Dave to high tail it from the course to get to a soccer field where he coached.  It was merely life happening before, during and after the Rio Vista Mahwah Open.  Somehow it all works.

Attendance at the RVM Open has vacillated from a high of 20 golfers to occasionally just a foursome.  When I look at the pictures of past events, I see many RVM outing participants have either moved away or are injured and working to rehab to be 100%.  There is in fact quite a bit of turnover in the Rio Vista Mahwah Community with people moving both out and into the community.  As a result of the RVMHA email blast we do get a handful of new golfers year to year which no surprise are new residents to Rio Vista Mahwah.  Jonathan Ninnis and Mark Newman are excellent examples of that.  They bring a fresh, new perspective and energy to the group and offer up welcome new ideas to grow our golf community by suggesting new events such as the Golf Cigar Night.

Two years ago Jonathan Ninnis hosted the 1st Golf-Cigar Night.  Those playing in the Open could also get together and take advantage of some fine hospitality, beverages, and cigars in a relaxed setting where we are not rushed to make a tee time.  The idea was instantly embraced, and this year Jonathan suggested we hold it again.  This time John Terrano stepped up to host Cigar Night in his beautiful Crocker Mansion back yard.  It was a picture-perfect night with about 10 regulars and John and Sue were the penultimate hosts with a variety of Italian appetizers that carry John’s secret formula and twist.  Toward the end of the evening Mark Gregorek stood up and advised the International Space Station was scheduled to fly over the Terrano House within minutes – and he was right.  We all watched it sail over the top of the Terrano’s house!

The Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Open did finally commence in earnest after a series of scheduling delays, but we were a determined bunch.  We did do a quick photo session prior to heading to the first tee since it was noted by Mark Arduino that we never seem to get many good pictures from the day either on or off the course.  On this day then a concerted effort was made to capture a few snapshots in time to commemorate our day.  Smiles were plentiful and why not, we were about to have 4 uninterrupted hours of golf enjoyment on a course that was named the NJ – 2017 Course of the Year!

We finally made it to the first tee and much to our surprise there were only two other groups on the entire course.  The previous day’s Nor’easter left most golfers scurrying, canceling their plans, and working.  Fortunately for us we stayed the course and we essentially had it all to ourselves which never happens.  The first nine holes were mostly getting a feel for the course which was soaked but drained well.  The only standing water was in about a dozen of the bunkers.  We simply agreed to do lift, clean and place.

There were a lot of initial holes that presented opportunity that was executed upon or resulted in some brief cringes at what might have been – a bogey instead of a likely par or a double bogey because of 3-putting, which was more frequent than normal given how slow the greens were from the rain.  It took a long time for the golfers to figure out the speed of the greens.

At the turn after 9-holes the guys were famished from not really eating anything.  We teed off on the 10th Hole and HGC Member David Ni called in an “Air Strike!”   Basically, it’s the ability to order food from an app while on the course and have it delivered by cart within 10-15 minutes.  It was a beautiful sight to see the HGC Golf Food Service Cart come screaming over the horizon with our hot dogs and drinks as we putted out on the 10th green.  Way to go David Ni!

The back 9 was somewhat similar to the front nine in many respects.  The sand traps played a major role in the tournament partially because of how wet they were but more importantly that most of us kept landing in them.  The traps at HGC were all redone not long ago so they are generally in top shape.  However, if you short side yourself on a tight pin placement at HGC, you can see your chances at victory quickly get dashed.  Big drives certainly were required as we chose as a group to play the Blue Tees and HGC will punish wayward approach shots or those that hit the green, above the hole.

Throughout the day you expected certain themes to play out.  Certainly, on paper Tom Limberg and David Ni had to be the odds-on favorites to take home the RVM hardware.  Tom is widely known as one of the top Rio golfers with his trademark tee to green consistency.  David Ni has just worked tirelessly to make himself into a fine golfer.  He has spent the time improving his game and it clearly shows.  Bob Jackson, a two-time Rio Vista rookie winner, back-to-back was in the field and was striking his Titleist TP3 irons so well that the others in the group made a point of stopping and watching Bob’s approach shots that were all Top Tracer Technology lasers that repeatedly hit green after green in regulation.  Not bad for a guy who is getting married soon and just renovated a house! Congrats Bob!

At the end somewhat surprisingly, it was Mark Arduino who played with unexpected consistency.  Length off the tee has never been an issue but to be honest, the nickname “hands of stone” is there for a reason.  Short game troubles have plagued the one-time frequent player.  On this day however wedges were hitting greens and standard fare three putts became two putts with an occasional one putt sprinkled in.  In the final analysis Arduino fought off the field the last several holes to take a 5 shot victory and become a repeat Rio Vista Mahwah Champion, after taking home his first title in 17 years, last year at Bowling Green.

Top 4 Results

• Mark Arduino – 1st Low Net – Rio Vista Mahwah Champion

• David Ni – Low Gross

• Robert Jackson – 2nd Low Net

• Tom Limberg – 3rd Low Net

Rio Vista Mahwah Open – 2020

Rio Vista Mahwah’s Annual Golf Outing – Results

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Bowling Green Golf Club

53 Schoolhouse Road, Oak Ridge, NJ  07438

Submitted by: Mark Arduino, RVMHA Annual Golf Outing Chairperson

Each year there is lengthy discussion of where to hold the Rio Vista Mahwah Annual Golf Outing.  Golfers who participate have diverse views and strong opinions regarding courses that should be considered, whether they be Public, Private or Semi-Private.   Certainly, the Public courses offer the easiest and most efficient access for scheduling a series of tee times for groups to play.  Many courses are trying to encourage more outings given golf play has generally been on a slow and steady decline since the 2008 economic downturn.  There is, of course, always the allure of playing the top area Private Clubs and RVM Golf has certainly been able to take advantage of homeowner club memberships to play and be a ‘member for a day’ with Ridgewood CC, Arcola, Tuxedo and Hackensack being prime examples.

The 2020 Rio Vista Mahwah Open venue at Bowling Green Golf Club was selected largely due to positive feedback from several golfers who had played there – most recently as last year.  The course, built in 1967 is a Geoffrey Cornish design located at 53 Schoolhouse Rd in Oak Ridge, NJ.  From Rio Vista Mahwah, it’s a leisurely 37-minute drive down 287 South and Rt 23 North to the backroads of Oak Ridge.  When you pull into the Bowling Green Golf grounds it immediately has a New England autumnal feel to it based on the time of year but also the vast array of pine trees that line many of the fairways and outlying areas.  The course is very secluded, and you would be hard pressed to spot many houses, perimeter roads or hear anything other than mother nature at her finest.  It is simply quiet, rustic and the holes are all incredibly unique.

Bowling Green management terms their course as a “Classic Woodlands Golf Course” on their web site:

“Located in the heart of Northern New Jersey bordering Sussex, Passaic & Morris Counties, Bowling Green lies in a valley below the rugged terrain of Morris County’s Mahlon Dickerson Park and is the very definition of an Eastern woodlands landscape. Bowling Green’s front nine features narrow fairways lined with towering Red Pines or majestic Oaks. In the Spring our native Dogwoods create a white blossom under story to the bright spring green of taller trees. Later in the season, fall foliage is our signature feature. In the summer, our trees provide quite a bit of shade, keeping our temperatures several degrees lower than those of the surrounding Metropolitan area. Other classic features include doglegs, water hazards created by the bordering wetlands of the Rockaway River, nicely varying Par 3s, and recovery shots from the rough.”

Rio Vista Mahwah Golf – Pre-Tourney “Cigar Night”

One of the main reasons that there is an annual Rio Vista Mahwah Golf outing is due to the natural camaraderie shared among those who play the game.   Golfers run the gamut of personality types but whether one is inclined to be highly charismatic or more reserved, once most golfers step onto the 18-hole stage they tend to lighten up, relax and enjoy one another’s company.  This also holds true when there is a separate social event tied to the RVM Golf outing as was the case this year.

Jonathan Ninnis & Mark Newman lobbied their new group of Rio Vista Mahwah duffers to consider getting together a few weeks prior this year’s Open to partake in “RVM Golf Outing Cigar Night.”  Jonathan & Monika Ninnis opened their beautiful home and outdoor patio area to host a core group for an evening of stogies, banter, fine food and assorted beverages.   Monika Ninnis produced the hit of the evening with her homemade Stromboli.   By the end of the evening, John Terrano was placing “to go” orders.

Joining John on this post Labor Day patio get together were: Jonathan Ninnis, David Ni, Dan Morley, Dinesh Jaiswal, Mark Newman, Tom Limberg and Mark Arduino.  Former Rio Vista Open Champion David Bagatelle also wanted to join the evening’s festivities but had the first ever Rio Vista Mahwah cigar night conflict, caused by another previously scheduled cigar night.  Some things just were not meant to happen.

The much hoped for pleasant weather was challenged by a steady rain.  However, the Olympic-sized Ninnis outdoor umbrellas on the back patio kept all golfers fully protected, dry and able to forge ahead with cigars, a vast assortment munchies and great stories of how we all came to live in this historic community.  This included discussion of the former Nike Missile Base as well as how the actively utilized Campgaw Ski Area is for a multitude of purposes other than skiing.

Rio Vista Mahwah Golf History

Rio Vista Mahwah Golf is officially in its 17th successive year and appears to be in top form for the foreseeable future.  Former RVM resident, Bruce Andrews, actually got the pot stirred for a neighborhood event back in the late 1990’s.  Bruce held an initial Rio Vista Mahwah outing at the Tuxedo Club and created the energy push around it to become an annual event before he subsequently moved to Bluffton, SC.   The Rio Vista Mahwah “Hall of Open Champions” is adorned as follows:

Rio Vista Winners – 17 Year History

• 2004 – Walt Farley – Wild Turkey

• 2005 – David Bagatelle –Ballyowen GC

• 2006 – John Wolfe – Apple Ridge CC

• 2007 – Phil Lipper– The Tuxedo Club

• 2008 – Bill Compagnone – North Jersey CC

• 2009 – Mark Gregorek – Garrison GC

• 2010 – Phil Lipper – Ridgewood CC

• 2011 – Marc Abel – Hackensack GC

• 2012 – Bob McCahill– The Architects Club

• 2013 – Marc Abel – Centennial Golf Club

• 2014 – Phil Lipper – Mansion Ridge

• 2015 – Phil Lipper – Great River GC

• 2016 – John Wolfe – Hackensack GC

• 2017 – Mark Gregorek – Arcola CC

• 2018 – Robert Jackson –North Jersey CC

• 2019 – Robert Jackson – Garrison GC

2020 Rio Vista Open – On Course Competition

As in past outings, competition at this year’s Rio Vista Mahwah’s Golf Outing had a close margin for error. Only a shot or two separated the myriad golfers based on playing a Championship with Net Scores and full USGA handicaps.

• The Top 5 Net Scores at the end of a beautiful 80-degree day were as follows:

• 2020 Rio Vista Open Champion – Mark Arduino – 72

• 2ndLow Net – Tom Limberg – 73

• 3rdlow Net – Mark Miletti – 74

• 4thLow Net –– David Ni – 77

• 5thLow Net– Sean Cunningham – 79

Mark Arduino played in the same group with Tom Limberg and Dinesh Jaiswal.  Limberg ironically had a testy 8-footer that would have given him a back nine 39 and tied him for overall tourney low net and a match of cards with Arduino.  Mark recovered from an early, disastrous 9 on the par 5 fourth hole to post a 42 on the back nine, to eke out a one stroke victory in a field that also included 2018 and 2019 winner Robert Jackson.

• We had two Closest to the Pin Awardsand one Long Drive Award as follows:

• Closest to the Pin-1 /Hole #3 (196 yards) – David Ni – 13′ 4 “

• Closest to the Pin-2/ Hole #11 (160 yards) – Dinesh Jaiswal – 4′ 4”

• Long Drive/ Hole #14 (491 yards-Par5) – Tom Limberg – 280 yards

David Ni’s early pin accuracy stood up as he was in the first group to go through.  Jaiswal was among a group that peppered the 11th hole flag stick with many RVM golf balls in the 10-15-foot flagstick range.  Limberg’s blast on #14 came as John Terrano unloaded his drive to lead position that held up until Limberg hit his trademark soft draw that rolled about 8 feet past Terrano’s effort.  There was some sense of pride reclaimed by Limberg who lost last year’s Long Drive competition by 2 yards.  Ni, Jaiswal and Limberg each collected a boxed dozen Titleist Pro V-1sfor their efforts.  Meanwhile Arduino, Limberg and Miletti each received low net trophies for their top 3 finishes.  Limberg also added the Low Net award to his haul with an 82.

Post Round Awards Drinks

As tradition goes, we held our post golf drinks and appetizers session right at the Bowling Green Grill Room which was set up as a tent structure and grilling area during COVID, not far from the putting green and first tee.  It held about 50 people total, but we were asked to respect social distancing guidelines as our group tallied up the results and enjoyed the fine selection of craft beers.

We all were able to relax quite comfortably after the round given it only took us about 4 hours to complete all 18 holes.  The tee times were spaced out 16 minutes apart which is about double the normal tee time cushion.  This allowed each group to tee off and play virtually the entire round without groups coming up from behind or being so fast as to continually catch the group in front and wait.  It made it extremely relaxed and enjoyable.

Newcomers

Each year as the families living in Rio Vista Mahwah move in or out of the community we try to encourage as many new residents to give the Open a try.  Last year we had the pleasure of welcoming Jonathan Ninnis and Mark Newman to the group.  This year it was Dinesh Jaiswal and Mark Miletti who reached out based on the RVMHA Golf email resident blast email to secure a spot in the 2020 event.   Frequently I will hear a newcomer say that they have seen the Open event publicized for many years and finally decide to join the other RVM golfers for a fun filled day of friendly banter and on course competition.

Next year we look forward to many other Rio Vista Mahwah residents joining us.  Initial views into 2021 Open course consideration include Spook Rock, Patriot Hills and perhaps another Private Club. Congrats to all who came out this year and we look forward to next year’s 18th Annual Rio Vista Mahwah Open!

Mark Arduino, 2020 RVMHA Golf Outing Champion!

Rio Vista Mahwah Open – 2018

On Tuesday, September 25, 2018, the Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Committee held its

15th Annual Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Open

Submitted by, Mark Arduino – Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Committee

Mother Nature holds the upper hand when it comes to the weather needed for an optimal early fall golf outing.  Tuesday Sept 25th turned out to be monsoon-like weather for the 15th Annual Rio Vista Golf Outing, which forced us to move the proceedings two days, to Thurs Sept 25th.  We were rewarded for our patience with a balmy 70 degree day.

The Rio Vista contingent arrived at North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, NJ at lunch time and kicked off with an outdoor greenside patio lunch and drinks.  Special thanks goes to Tom Limberg for sponsoring Rio Vista at historic North Jersey that traces its beginnings back to 1895 – one of the oldest and tradition steeped courses in the Bergen County surrounding area, with a Walter Travis course design.

We have played the RV Open at a cornucopia of courses throughout the years.  This was actually the second time North Jersey was the host course.  In 2008 NJCC was the venue that saw member Bill Compagnone take home the Rio title in familiar surroundings.  The other Open courses throughout the years include:  Wild Turkey, Ballyowen, Apple Ridge, Tuxedo Club, Garrison GC, Ridgewood CC, Hackensack GC, Architects GC, Centennial GC, Great River (CT), Mansion Ridge and Arcola CC.

Walt Farley won the inaugural Open in 2004 at Wild Turkey and last year’s defending Champion Mark Gregorek was the survivor at Arcola CC.  Some hold the distinction of winning the Open more than once.  Two time RV Open winners include John Wolfe (Apple Ridge & Hackensack), Mark Gregorek (Garrison & Arcola), Marc Abel (Hackensack & Centennial), with Phil Lipper the sole four-time RV Champion (Tuxedo, Ridgewood, Mansion Ridge and Great River).  Phil earned RV ‘Golfer of the Decade’ during this time.

North Jersey is 18 holes where you take what the course gives you.  You can attack off the tees but attack wisely you must.  The Rio Vista group teed off at 130pmon #10 as there was another outing the same day.  The greens were running slow due to the heavy rains all week and the fact the NJCC was setting up the course for a major Club tournament over the upcoming weekend.  Many in the group were not expecting such slow conditions and it took a full front 9 holes to get used to it.  Tom Limberg set the opening nine pace with a 43 to lead the pack halfway through with Mark Arduino (49), and Bob Jackson & Phil Lipper notching 50 each.

It was a day where you kept waiting for someone to break out of the pack.  There were a handful of pars among the golfers but then NJCC would strike back and deliver chunked wedge shots, veal cutlet divots and 3 putts that kept the group off balance for most of the day.  Without a doubt the counsel & local knowledge of Tom Limberg kept the group scores within reason.

On the back nine the fortunes were reversed and Bob Jackson delivered a 43 with consistent ball striking that kept his drives and approach shots around the flag.  Limberg, Arduino and Lipper got things going a little too late on the back nine. This led to a surging Jackson coming from behind to take a one shot victory over Tom Limberg in a closely contested match.  Ironically Limberg parred #18 and Jackson triple bogeyed but Bob’s back nine cushion proved to be enough.  The match was essentially decided on the last hole.

Bob Jackson was a Rio Vista Golf rookie in 2017 at Arcola but this year came prepared to play well, play consistently and ball strike his way to Rio Vista champion Golfer honors.  Congrats to Bob on the big win.  Tom Limberg took Low Gross honors for seemingly the 10th time. Second low net went to Arduino & 3rd low net was awarded to Lipper.

Looking ahead to 2019 there was discussion of the next Open site with Patriot Hills receiving most interest.

Rio Vista Mahwah Open – 2016

Congratulations to the 2016 Rio Vista Open Champion John Wolfe!

Submitted by, Mark Arduino – Rio Vista Mahwah Golf Committee

On Tuesday, Sept 27th, Rio Vista held its annual RV Open at Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell. Over the years Rio Vista golfers have proven themselves to be both a resilient and fickle bunch. They know good golf, good friends and what constitutes a highly desirable venue to play The Open.

Last year we took the tourney on the road to Milford, CT’s Great River Golf Club. The core of the group that made the 90 minute Saturday morning trek were pleasantly surprised by the little known course gem, a reasonable distance from the Tappan Zee Bridge. When prompted for the 2016 event the response was overwhelmingly unanimous – Hackensack Golf Club.

Dan Morley stepped up to organize the HGC date and all key details for the day. The only question was which day? It turns out that the Sept 27th date was prescient. Advance warnings of washout type rain came to pass and we were treated to pristine fall golf conditions. Rio Vista residents who participated were: David Martin, Dan Morley, Howard Miller, Sean Cunningham, David Ni, Tom Limberg, John Terrano, Phil Lipper, John Wolfe and Mark Arduino. RV Golf stalwarts missing with conflicts were: Ned Lipes, Marc Abel, Mark Gregorek, Bob McCahill, Dave Nelson & Bill Compagnone.

The day started with a late morning arrival to get locker assignments from Romero and grab a back patio lunch before heading out for a 1pm start. A handful hit the driving range, some the putting green, others the caught up with those they hadn’t seen in a while around Dennis the starter’s “caddy shack” area. It was great to see John Terrano return to RV golf form by bringing his A-game and ever enthusiastic personality. There was lots of catching up to do.

The 18 holes went onward without a hitch with each of the foursomes teeing off on the first hole in succession.   Each foursome had its own unique side story. Group 1 included Phil Lipper who was bidding to become the first “three peat” RV golf champion. Group 2 had Tom Limberg who is always a top pick to win it. David Ni quickly has become the most improved and feared golfer by adding distance to his drives and pinpoint accuracy with his irons. Group 3 had the sage veteran Dan Morley who knows every HGC green like the back of his hand and David Martin, who attacks the golf ball like no other.

When the round concluded we adjourned ourselves to the HGC patio area for a few drinks & appetizers. With the HGC scoring super computers crunching the final results, the group relaxed until the smoke rose from the Vatican. In the history of The Open there has never been as close of a finish as we had this year. The HGC Pro, Mike Dezic, emerged to have a word with Dan Morley. The results were so close that up to 4 golfers were tied for the Champion honors. Commissioner Morley adjudicated and the choice was a match of cards vs taking the group back out to contest a 3-hole playoff.

The match of cards led to crowning out 2016 Rio Vista Open Champion, John Wolfe. Congratulations John ! John became a 2-time winner after having edged out Bob McCahill by a stroke at Apple Ridge CC 10 years ago. John’s status to play was somewhat unknown as he had to deal with a family matter in the Midwest the week prior but he did confirm, “I’m playing” a couple days beforehand. John was last to arrive and had zero warm up time.

Playing in the same group I watched John strike the ball off the tee with an intense consistency like never before.   You knew his day and round might be different after only a few holes. His fairway game was also exceedingly exceptional and served to enhance his scoring by getting to where he really excels: reading HGC’s greens and knocking down putt after putt. His day was a model of consistency.

Tom Limberg had never played HGC before but his round didn’t reflect that. He fired a group best 88 on a day when seemingly everyone was in contention. Tom’s game and trademark course management fit the HGC Banks layout to a “tee” and he matriculated around course with purpose to go on to stake his claim to be the 2016 Low Gross Winner!

Closest to the Pin went to David Ni on the 6th hole, par 3, by sticking his tee shot to 9 feet 1 inch. Ni almost took Long Drive honors as well on the 11th tee box but was barely edged (5 yards) by Mark Arduino (Phil Lipper served as judge since visually, it was very close). Look for more of David Ni in these annual summaries as his hard work in refining his game has his handicap plummeting.

Early talk of the 2017 Rio Vista Open led to speculation that Arcola Country Club in Paramus may be the next host for our event.