Golf Association of Philadelphia

ORDS STAGGERED

through tears as Chip Lutz accepts a ninth-straight Senior Player of the Year Award.

The meaning of such an unprecedented achievement undoubtedly weighed on his mind. The thought of his late brother Wedge, who died suddenly in June at the age of 64, tipped the scales.

“We grew up playing the game together. He
was a very special person with a great faith,”
Lutz, 63, of Reading, Pa., said. “It’s his great
faith that carried me through the rest of the
season and allowed me to compete at the level
I was able to. It is in his name and in his memo-
Driven by family loss throughout a reduced
competitive schedule, Lutz stockpiled 538
points – 91.75 clear of Lu Lu Country Club’s
Glenn Smeraglio – to sustain Senior supremacy.
Unexpected in a line of unexpected.

Wedge, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., died June 1 from post-surgery complications to replace a defective mitral valve.

“It was just really shocking. It was tragic and unexpected,” Lutz, born a year apart on the same day as his brother, said. “Wedge was always a good stick. He would frequently hit it by me and had a great game. For some reason,

Losing him was really hard.”

Two weeks after Wedge’s passing, Lutz
lost his mother-in-law, Betty Spatz, who died
after a prolonged illness at the age of 88. Golf
naturally gave way to grief. Lutz scrapped
events in May and June. Only four events – the
Brewer Cup presented by Callaway Golf, British
Senior Open, R&A Seniors Amateur Champi-
onship and U.S. Senior Amateur – occupied his
schedule.

“It was a year where I was turning up for
events and playing. I was drawing on experi-
ence from years past. I was still reeling from all
of the stuff personally,” Lutz, a LedgeRock Golf
Club member, said. “I wasn’t really commit-
ted to golf. I was playing in the honor and
memory of my brother, trying to let that carry
me through. Normally I like practicing. I like to
be prepared going into these events. This year
was different. It was more purposeful in some
respects. I was appreciative of whatever came
my way.”
Unforgettable experiences came his way.

Although Lutz missed the cut in the British Senior Open at St. Andrews, he made memories with family and friends ( 18 to be exact) at golf’s mecca.

“It was a celebration,” Lutz, who carded
rounds of 69 and 83, said. “I had a sense this
was going to be my last hurrah out there. I’ve
had exemptions for six years and running. It’s
been a tremendous run. I was actually on the
leaderboard after the first nine holes, which
was kind of cool. The second round I’d rather
not remember, but I do. I made the turn, then
the wind picked up and was at us on the way
home. I got into two really bad bunkers on the
14th hole and made a 9 on a par 5. I knew I
was off the cut line.

“It was such a great experience, walking over
the bridge at the end. What a great place to go
out.”
Lutz then traveled to Royal Porthcawl for
the R&A Seniors Amateur Championship,
where he tied for fourth. He also reached the
semifinals in the both the Brewer Cup at Old
York Road Country Club and the U.S. Senior
Amateur at Eugene Country Club in Eugene,
Ore. A pair of eventual champions in Raymond
Thompson and Jeff Wilson cut those runs,
unexpected of course, short.

But another run continues.

“It’s almost hard to believe this is my ninth
year [in the Senior Division]. I keep pinching
myself, realizing that I’m 63 and I’ll be 64 in
January. It’s a rather sobering thought,” Lutz
said. “The accomplishment [of earning another
Senior Player of the Year Award] is great, but
the reality is challenging: to realize there is only
so much runway left. Who knows where it
goes from here? I’m so thankful to the Golf As-
sociation of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia
golf community. To be recognized in such a
competitive area for having achieved that kind
of a record is pretty spectacular, pretty special.”
Lutz’s golf bag bears a blue handkerchief,
a Wedge staple since his days operating Lutz
Masonry. Wedge sold the business to his
employees before moving to Arizona. It went
bankrupt three years ago. A barn used for Lutz
Masonry storage went up for sale.