Headline: Longtime Cape Cod Standout Kevin Carey Draws Praise From National Media... Recognized as one of GolfWeek's Local Legends
For Immediate Release: May 3, 2010
Norton, MA — When one thinks of the top golfers in the state, the name of Kevin Carey always seems
to come to mind.
Whether it has been his stellar play at MGA Championships (he is a two-time Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Champion), in Regional Events (he is a two-time Norfolk County Classic and three-time Southeastern Amateur winner) or just a mainstay in Cape Cod circles (he has won an astonishing six Seagulls Fourball championships) Carey's name is synonymous with greatness both on the course and — perhaps more importantly — off the course.
His humbling and unique story has been told often here in Massachusetts, but former Boston Globe writer Jim McCabe brought this inspiring tale to the nation by honoring Carey as one GolfWeek's Local Legends.
The following is a copy of an article that appeared in the April 30, 2010 issue of GolfWeek.
Congratulations to Kevin... and thank you to Jim for all of his great work!
COMPLETE PACKAGE
By Jim McCabe
Cape Cod's Kevin Carey delivers a big game with little ego
A legend can grow in the warm glow of the highest levels of amateur golf. But it flourishes more flavorfully in the elements, when only the most passionate play on. Or on weekend mornings at the local muni when every step of the way is owed to the game's purity. That is the framework in which Kevin Carey always has enjoyed his golf, his competitive spirit and uncanny skills always having been matched by his unique persona.
"Generous with his time, generous with his game," said longtime friend and competitor Jim Horvath. "He's a legend for the way he plays, yes, but more for the way he handles himself."
If it can be debated that the best golf in Massachusetts is played out on the cozy confines of Cape Cod, there is not even a whisper of dissent as to who is the class of that area. It is Carey, who, as he nears age 55, owns a resume that includes eight Cape Cod Amateur titles, two state mid-amateurs, more than 30 club championships, a pile of other individual crowns and an endless line of wins of the four-ball variety. All the while, mind you, with a smile on his face and a passion in his heart.
"I just love the people you play golf with," said Carey, a powerful left-hander who plays to a plus-2 handicap. "I love the competition. Don't care about my tee time; I want to know, ‘Who am I with?' That's a big part of it."
The bigger part is the recipe that makes up his legend:
A dash of youthful adventure
Admittedly "not the school type," he left his Dennis home on the Cape for club jobs in warmer climates, including Grenelefe Golf & Tennis Resort in Haines City, Fla., where he played often with Andy Bean. At 24, Carey chose to attend Alexander City State Junior College in Alabama (now Central Alabama CC).
"He was like a big brother to us," said seven-time PGA Tour winner John Huston, whose first year at Alexander City was Carey's second. "One of the last times I remember being with him, he said he was going home to get married. ‘I'm going to be a mailman,' he told us."
Mix in a cup of blue-collar
Carey started as a driver with United Parcel Service and 30 years later is a supervisor. Not the sort of life conducive to those who long to be "professional amateurs," but no worries.
"It's important to me to shoot a good number," Carey said. "But it's also important to have a good job, a good family (wife Pat, son Matt) and all the other stuff. I mean, I show up, I play golf."
But not at the State Amateur, not when it's mid-July and prime vacation time that's tough to get. He played once, in 1996. At the vaunted Myopia Hunt Club, Carey had future PGA Tour member James Driscoll 1 down through 17 holes in the semifinals, only to lose in 20. Most players would have turned and gone home. But Carey shook hands, smiled, then returned the next day to watch Driscoll win. Four summers later, Driscoll was in another final, the one for the U.S. Amateur. Carey drove from Cape Cod to New Jersey to walk those holes, too.
Sprinkle in some Bahamas
That is where the 1989 National Long Drive Championship was held, and Carey, bowing to friends' encouragement, qualified. Carey had a great time, met the legendary Evan "Big Cat" Williams and paid for his trip in three days of side games with his fellow competitors.
"Most of them couldn't play a lick," Carey said. He slammed four drives center cut, each 307-309 yards, but it wasn't good enough. The next year, he pounded a 342-yard drive and didn't qualify.
"I'm done," he said afterward. "I'm going back to real golf."
And a touch of Ireland
In 2001, Carey visited relatives in the old country, including an 87-year-old uncle who walked along during a round at Ballybunion.
As Carey striped shot after shot and sank putt after putt, his uncle smiled. When Carey drained a 30-foot putt at the 18th, the old man nearly leaped out of his shoes.
It was an amateur course-record 65, a card that Carey still has, signed by the club secretary.
Then frost with substantial local flavor
Treated to tournaments at the best courses Massachusetts has to offer, Carey feels blessed. But it's a public course, Dennis Pines, that is home.
"They will bury me at the Pines," he said.
A great walk over sandy soil and soft pines, the Pines meanders left, then sways right. It demands exquisite course-management skills but rewards generously in lasting friendships. Indeed, if "Cheers" had used a golf course and not a pub as stage, it would have been filmed at Dennis Pines, with Carey in a starring role.
"He's always sitting at a table with six to eight people," Horvath said.
Usually after having won or having played the best, but somehow, that's always beside the point with Carey, who recently shot 63 at his favorite domestic getaway, Kiva Dunes in Alabama. Then he teamed with Joe Walker for their seventh Seagulls Fourball title at the Hyannisport Club on a day of cold rain and wide smiles.
Golf for the sake of golf is what matters.