Nassau CC hosts a tournament of history

Chances are, no one in the international field at the Nassau Invitational starting tomorrow will get anyone else's goat. These are very considerate golfers. Still, chances are, they will hear the story about the phrase "getting their goat," which was popularized at Nassau Country Club a century ago.

It is a slang phrase that means annoying someone to the point of distraction. It originated in horse racing, Nassau Country Club historian Doug Fletcher said, but it grew in circulation after a 1910 intra-club tournament at the Glen Cove facility. Each Nassau member was issued a medallion made up by Charles Tiffany, a fellow member. One side of the coin bore the member's name, on the other side was a picture of a goat.

The winner of the match got to take the opponent's medallion, thus "getting his goat." Whoever had the most "goats" at the end of the season was the winner. One of those medallions is still on display at the clubhouse and will be visible to defending Nassau Invitational champion Joe Saladino of Huntington and the rest of a strong field in an event that dates to 1896.

Alan Dunbar, a member of the victorious Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team last month in Scotland, will be competing. The Walker Cup is the prestigious Ryder Cup-style biennial amateur match between the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy have played in it. The next Walker Cup will be in 2013 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton.

Here are some other news and notes from Long Island golf, which still is running hot in the fall:

Darrell Kestner, director of golf at Deepdale Golf Club, finished third at the Senior PGA Professional National Championship Sunday in Aldie, Va. His 4-under-par 68 was the best in the field on the final day. He is exempt for the Senior PGA in Michigan next May. Kestner also was inducted into the Long Island Senior Golf Association Hall of Fame last week.

John Hines, head pro at the Baiting Hollow Club and a member of a military family, was named the PGA of America's 2011 Patriot Award. Hines was cited for his fundraising work for veterans and their families on Patriot Golf Day. He will be honored during a national ceremony in Orlando Jan. 26.

Tom Whelan, a junior at Smithtown West, won the boys 15-19 division of the International Junior Golf Tour event in Oxford, Pa. He made no worse than bogey in the 36-hole tournament.

Alan Golus' foursome scored a perfect 10 recently on the 179-yard 11th hole at the Village Club of Lake Success. Golus made a hole-in-one, Henry Tucker made a birdie 2, Archie Abrams had a 3 and Jay Chudnoff had a 4.

Middle Bay Country Club general manager Ed Closs reports that the course has fully overcome the damage from Tropical Storm Irene, and that the club has renewed its property lease through 2026 . . . Brookville CC, which has added members despite the tough economy, is redoing all of its bunkers. Glen Head CC is doing the same. Rockville Links is completing a major course restoration . . . Floral Park High School Booster Club will have its outing Oct. 20 at Harbor Links in Port Washington. Call 917-912-3074.

A recent search turned up this gem from legendary golf writer Herbert Warren Wind in then-fledgling Sports Illustrated, Oct. 31, 1955. He had just played the new Meadow Brook Club in Jericho and wrote, "To my tastes, it is the finest golf course that has been built in this country since Bob Jones and Dr. Alister McKenzie produced the Augusta National back in 1931."