Sleepy Hollow PGA Master Professional John Fiander retired from Cleveland Metroparks Golf today, and asked that Northern Ohio Golf publish the following letter:
To The Tournament Player of Northeast Ohio,
I wanted to write this open letter to the many players who have competed in events at Cleveland Metroparks over the years. As some of you know, my last day at Sleepy Hollow was January 31. I have had a great 37-year run as a golf professional and now it’s time to retire and move on to another phase of my life.
I first want to thank all of you for your interest and participation in the events we have here at Cleveland Metroparks. It is my belief that over the years we’ve created tournaments that mean something to all of you. I take great satisfaction in that when I came to Sleepy Hollow 30 years ago there was nothing. But through the efforts of many people, we have something that hopefully will go on for a long time to come.
All our events and especially the Greater Cleveland Amateur Championship (GCAC) were things I looked forward to every year. I love everything about running those events. Whether it was making the pairings, the pin sheets, posting scores, tracking Player of the Year points, awarding trophies and listening to the players after the round talk about their triumphs, tragedies or “what might have beens”.
In the end, it has been great to know all of you. I thank you for keeping the rules controversies to a very bare minimum! Going forward, I will continue to have some involvement in GCAC and I look forward to seeing everyone who makes to the finals at Sleepy Hollow this year.
John Fiander,
PGA Master Professional
