Four Tips for Lowering Your Golf Handicap

Independent real estate developer Michael Intoccia possesses more than thirty years of experience and formerly operated as one of the largest private home builders in Massachusetts. Beyond his current residential and resort construction projects, Michael Intoccia enjoys golfing. Effective practice can enable golfers to lower their handicap, and the following tips can help them achieve this goal.

- Practice at the range. Practicing your shotmaking at the range allows you to develop a repetitive swing and keep your skills sharp. Aim for a specific target on each shot and carefully prepare for the shot as if playing a real round of golf. Your scores on the course will likely reflect your efforts. 

- Hone your short game. Sharpening your short game gives you the chance to experiment with different shots and try new approaches, ultimately enhancing your skills. One Columbia University professor found that golfers who shoot 90-plus make only 67 percent of their four-footers, so give this distance particular attention. Commit to at least 15 minutes of putting and chipping practice before and after every round. 

- Try new courses. Avoid restricting your practice sessions to your home course and seek out new courses with different elevations, vegetation, obstacles, and grass varieties. Playing on unfamiliar courses expands your experience and broadens your comfort zone, increasing your ability to adapt to new course challenges.

- In addition to the practice tips above, it pays to replace worn equipment. Using worn clubs can interfere with your game, so check your equipment for signs of wear like worn clubface grooves, deteriorating grips, and damaged shafts. When replacing your clubs, make sure to have them fitted by a professional. Equipment that matches your body and swing can also lower your handicap.

The 2017 WEEI Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament

Born and raised in Massachusetts, real estate developer Michael Intoccia has designed and built several residential communities throughout the state. After the 2008 recession, Michael Intoccia switched gears and became involved in golf course redevelopment projects. In 2017, he opened The Cape Club of Sharon, which held the 2017 WEEI Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament.

The WEEI Sports Radio Network hosted the tournament to raise money to help teen cancer patients attend Boston Red Sox Spring Training. Entertainment at the tournament included golf with WEEI radio personalities, food, drinks, and prizes.

The tournament was dedicated to Miles Goldberg, who passed from cancer when he was 13 years old. Miles loved sports and the Kirk & Callahan Show that aired weekday mornings on WEEI. One of Miles’ last trips was on a private jet to the Boston Red Sox Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida.

Amenities at the Cape Club of Sharon

As a real estate developer, Michael Intoccia has spearheaded the development of over 1,000 homes in Massachusetts communities such as Canton, North Attleboro, and Walpole. In addition to residential real estate, Michael Intoccia is passionate about acquiring and redeveloping golf course properties. Along with another investor, he purchased the Spring Valley Country Club in 2016 and reopened it the following year as the Cape Club of Sharon.

Phase 1 of the redesign project included improvements to the dining areas, the conference room, and the members' lounge area. Beyond the modernization of those areas, the club offers its visitors a variety of amenities. 

Multiple indoor dining options are available, though guests can also take in gorgeous views of the ninth and 18th holes as they eat lunch or enjoy an evening cocktail on the Sun Deck. Additionally, the Poolside Cafe offers an assortment of appetizers as well as burgers and sandwiches for members enjoying the club's heated oversized swimming pool. 

Beyond golfing and swimming, the club has four Har-Tru tennis courts and hosts regular clinics led by resident USPTA New England-ranked tennis pro Chad Bright-Reason. Finally, the club operates a golf and tennis pro shop stocked with apparel and equipment.

The New Cape Club in East Falmouth, Massachusetts

With over 30 years of experience as a real estate developer, Michael Intoccia has overseen various successful development projects in Massachusetts. Michael Intoccia recently managed the construction of the Cape Club golf course in East Falmouth, Massachusetts.It has been named one of the best new courses in New Engalnd..

Under new ownership, the Cape Club has undergone an extensive transformation of its golf course, clubhouse, and amenities, with more updates projected for the near future. Weddings and other special occasions can be held in the newly renovated clubhouse. Additionally, tourists and locals can enjoy a challenging round of golf on the championship course, featuring fairways that have been widened and re-contoured, and experience fine dining in the new Cape Grille. 

Ultimately, the fully renovated Cape Club Resort will include 28 single-family homes, 80 villas and cottages, and a resort pool with a bar and food services to attract both vacationers and home buyers.

The Jimmy Fund Golf Newsletter

Michael Intoccia is a residential real estate developer with 30 years of experience in the Sharon, Massachusetts, area. Michael Intoccia enjoys playing golf, particularly as a part of charitable tournaments hosted by organizations like the Jimmy Fund.

The Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament is the oldest and most comprehensive charity golf program in the United States. Through the program, individuals and groups can support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute simply by playing golf, whether it’s a single party playing 18 holes or a club-wide fundraising initiative. Jimmy Fund Golf provides a number of helpful tools and educational materials to help simplify the process of putting together a charity golf event, including From the Fairways, its newsletter.

The Jimmy Fund publishes From the Fairways quarterly, and then there is an annual year-in-review publication. The newsletter is a way for the Fund to communicate directly with the network of volunteers, corporate sponsors, and venues that comprise the Jimmy Fund Golf community. The newsletters share fundraising tips and announce upcoming events, while the annual publication celebrates the year’s charitable achievements and highlights the top golf fundraisers hosted by Jimmy Fund supporters.

To read the 2016 From the Fairways Year in Review, or to sign up for the Fairways e-newsletter, please visit www.jimmyfund.org.

Cape Club of Sharon Lets Public Play on Golf Course for One Day

Born and raised in Dedham, Massachusetts, Michael Intoccia works as a real estate developer in nearby Sharon. Known as a developer of residential projects in the area, he worked on property owned by Spring Valley Country Club in Sharon. Michael Intoccia secured an investor in May 2016 and began renovations on the clubhouse in January 2017, at which point the club was renamed the Cape Club of Sharon. 

During phase 1, which finished in March 2017, the dining areas, conference room, members’ lounge area, and bridal suite received renovations. In addition, the outside of the building underwent vast improvements. Phase 2, which involves the construction of new buildings, begins in late 2017. The construction process includes building 52 townhomes, a fitness facility, and a five-star restaurant. 

In addition to the above amenities, the Cape Club of Sharon features a private golf course. In August 2017, as part of the Massachusetts Golf Association’s Member Days program, the course welcomed nonmembers to play competitive rounds. To participate, golfers needed to carry a handicap from an MGA member course and pay $80, which included the cost of golf, range balls, and cart.

“Jimmy” Fund’s Original Patient Lived to Champion the Cause

A Massachusetts-based real estate developer, Michael Intoccia is responsible for the construction of residential properties throughout the state. Over his 30-year career in the field, he has established communities noted for high-quality building methods and luxurious extras in Foxboro, Canton, North Attleboro, and other cities. In addition, Michael Intoccia is a committed philanthropist whose support of the WEEI Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament has extended to opening up his golf club at The Cape Club of Sharon for the 2017 event.

The tournament is dedicated to sending teens with cancer to visit Fort Myers, Florida, to experience spring training with the Boston Red Sox. Named for its first “Jimmy,” Einar Gustafson, the charity continues to fight for more effective treatments and to enrich the lives of young people as they fight the disease.

In the 1940s, Dr. Sidney Farber introduced the plight of the then-12-year-old Gustafson to radio listeners, with the Boston Braves taking up the cause of making his life better. Dr. Farber called all his child patients “Jimmy” or “Jane,” and the name stuck, partly as a means of guarding Gustafson’s privacy. At one time, the people of Massachusetts assumed Gustafson had died in his youth.

However, Gustafson survived and went on to establish a career and family while still living in Massachusetts. “Rediscovered” as an older adult, he became a beloved champion of the fund that had helped save his life. The Red Sox have sponsored the charity since 1953, picking up where the Braves left off.