Thomas P. Vaughn Memorial Golf Tournament

5 weeks away!!
It is a mere five weeks away so time to get serious about who is planning to play.

Details are:
Friday June 21st
Quarry Ridge Golf Course - Portland, CT
Shotgun start at 1 pm and lunch provided starting at 12 pm.

All proceeds go to a scholarship fund in honor of my father who died 34 years ago this summer.
$160 per person, you can wait until that Friday to pay but if you are antsy to pay or donating and not playing feel free to message for pay ahead details

Let Matt know if you have questions want to sign up for a foursome or a single, double or whatever.

SAVE THE DATE
TOM 2023
June 23rd 2023
at Quarry Ridge Golf Course

Great turnout 2022 CT!

Thank you to all who came out Friday to support 26 years! Special thanks to Joe Reilly and Jason Goddard for making it all happen this year.

Happy Birthday TPV! We love and miss you!

What better food than this to celebrate TOM?

Don't forget to TOM in your own way today! Zoom at 08:30 PM Eastern Time Check email for details or message me here.

First off we hope everyone on this list and their loved ones are healthy and safe at this current time, I've been thinking a lot about all of you during these last two and a half months.
I figured the last thing on most people's mind was whether or not the 24th annual TOM will be happening or not, though I have started to get a few inquiries of late so given that it is exactly one month until the proposed date I thought this was a good time to send out an update on where we stand.
The good news:
1) golf courses are currently open in all 50 states and it appears to be one of the few things universally open (with restrictions of course, but overall I have found it not bad) for everyone in the US.
2) Our 'home' course Quarry Ridge is indeed open following guidelines set forth by the state of Connecticut.
3) I plan on having some form of the TOM this year no matter what as I know people need things to look forward to and am committed to that. More on that in a little bit.
The bad news:
1) The best part of the TOM is having a "stress-free" day where everyone can relax, hang out with friends, and enjoy a long day together. When your biggest worries are "Am I going to run out of beer before the beverage cart gets to me again." Or "Should we use a mulligan after four people just missed a three-foot birdie putt." That's a pretty good day. Unfortunately, I don't think we can have that kind of day (Obvious I know) this year at Quarry Ridge. We have people from so many states and areas that participate in the TOM, and many of them are in different phases of re-opening that it doesn't seem like forcing a gathering is the right thing to do right now or even in the near future. Let's not create any stress.
2) The economy has affected pretty much everyone in a negative way in some way or another and for me to ask you to fork over $150 a person and ask for mulligans, raffle tickets, etc.. isn't the best way to go either.
3) I looked into moving the date back to late July as a way to buy time, but I think we all know that another month doesn't guarantee anything in this day and age and even if things are better than it still won't be ideal is my guess. I pushed the TOM-Midwest event I hold here in Illinois from mid-May to October but not sure how much of a difference that will make.
So here is the plan for the 24th TOM after discussing it with a few people.
1) On June 26th (the original date) I ask/encourage/hope that you and your friends go out and play a round of golf wherever you are located. I will be in Massachusetts (ironically the last state to open their courses) and plan on playing even if it is solo. Take the day, have a beverage or two, play a scramble, play 2 v 2 best ball (wagering up to you), play your own ball, play 9, play 18, play early AM (easy on the beverages then...) play at our usual time 1 PM, play late day (my favorite), you decide. If the weather doesn't cooperate in your area (Tom usually takes care of it, asking him to do it in 15-20 different regions might be tough even for him) then go out the next day or day before if you have to. Send videos pictures, whatever you want to do in order to document it, and send it my way when you can.
Side note: If you want to play at Quarry Ridge for those of you in the Hartford area please let me know, I will reach out to them and secure a few tee times as I would like to support them in some way if at all possible.
2) The evening of June 26th- perhaps around 7 PM Eastern time (details as we get closer)- I will be having a Zoom call (I think all are familiar with this by now) and invite all of you to jump on (even if you didn't play golf that day) and we can do a toast to TOM from afar and share our memories of the day and just have a few laughs (Pandemic style). I promise to keep it short and sweet for once- I will send you a link to how to access it a few days prior.
3) If you would like to still donate to the cause of providing educational scholarship money for young students at Tom's college, high school, and my sister and I's high school, feel free to do so, but that is purely secondary to simply having a good time that day. I will put that info below for anyone who would like to- obviously there will be even more need for this type of assistance come the fall and into next year, so any amount is hugely appreciated.

The 24th TOM will be held, definitely not in a traditional way, but hopefully, many of you can help our family make sure that we remember Tom this year and that all of you can remember how to have some much-needed fun.

I promise that The 25th TOM will be epic if we can get back to some sense of normalcy by next June!

All the best to all of you and continued good health and safety as we continue to navigate through these choppy waters.

Sincerely,
Matt Vaughn and the Vaughn Family

24th Annual TOM - June 26, 2020

2nd Annual Midwest TOM

ONE WEEK TO GO!

TOM 23 - you are warned.