Ocean State Golf Remembers
Rhode Island Golfer and Cofounder, David Adamonis

Rhode Island Golf:
David Adamonis, Cofounder of Ocean State Golf Dies at 63.

On October tenth Dave Adamonis, Sr. died after a four year struggle with cancer. He was the cofounder and the person who conceived of this publication called Ocean State Golf. In 1989 Dave approached me about partnering with him to start a golf magazine. "You have started a small golf business and have an MBA, and I know everyone in the golf industry and teach English," said Adamonis in my classroom at Johnston High School where we have both been teachers for almost twenty years.

I came to find out that, indeed, he really did know just about everyone in the golf industry, and he went out of his way to introduce me to them. Golf course superintendents (he was a member, having worked part-time for Old Fox selling products needed by superintendents throughout southern New England), club pros (he played with and against most of them in his fine amateur career), Tour players (many had already graduated from his successful U.S. Challenge Cup program and were progressing up the pro ladder.)

It didn't stop there. We joined the Golf Writers Assn. of America and in a short time he knew most all the writers. We joined the International Network of Golf and the same thing happened. I met so many people and most said, "Oh, you're Dave Adamonis' partner." I really felt like the little kid brother as he opened so many doors for us with Ocean State Golf.

Junior golf was his passion, and we always made sure that we covered as much junior golf action as would fit in the paper. "You know the reason I wanted to start this was because I could never get any coverage for the junior players," he said many times. His son, Brad, used to play against Tiger Woods before they were teenagers.

His son, Dave Jr., is the executive director of the Challenge Cup organization developed by his father in 1980, and he writes two pages of junior golf coverage in Ocean State Golf every issue and will always have the space available to him.

Dave always had the junior golfers at heart and did everything he could to make them successful. This applied to his coaching as well.

In 2000 he was offered the position of golf director and coach at Johnson and Wales University in Miami. It didn't take him long to make this new program a national contender. It was this move to Florida that caused him to leave Ocean State Golf. "I guess I can't do it from 1,500 miles away," he said.

I was playing golf with three writers last week when word came that Dave, who had been dealing with many forms of cancer, had only a few days to live. "I wouldn't have known any of you if it weren't for Dave," I told them.

Since that moment I've been thinking of how many wonderful people I have met and great places and courses that I have traveled to in the past 20 years because of Ocean State Golf. It really wasn't because of the paper. It was because of Dave and his wonderful idea. He was a great idea person. Sixty-three is much too young to die, but he accomplished so much in his lifetime. He really made life better for so many people.

My deepest condolences to his wife, Roberta, and his three children, Kim, David and Brad. Rest in peace.

Please read the excellent article that was written by Jim McCabe of Golfweek with this link.

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