A Real Pro: Lenny Zwick’s Pro-Am Raises $55,000

From the sounds of laughter and the jokes among golfers at the Fifth Annual Zwick Pro-Am last Wednesday, it became immediately apparent to any observer that Lenny Zwick had left behind an inspiring legacy. Held at the Farms Country Club in Wallingford, CT, the Pro-Am benefited PDF’s research programs with more than $55,000 and honored the late Mr. Zwick, who lived with Parkinson’s for 25 years.

Photo credit: http://farmsccsuperintendent.blogspot.com

The crowd included more than one hundred of the friends, family and fellow club members who knew him well. Club pro and close family friend, Jim Hanlon served as the master of ceremonies and evoked Mr. Zwick’s spirit to bring the crowd to its feet more than a few times. Mr. Zwick’s family, including daughter Stacey, wife Susan and granddaughter Bianca, were glowing with pride and gratitude during the Pro-Am.

Mrs. Zwick reminded everyone of just the kind of man her husband was, “Lenny was a fighter. Even when the Parkinson’s was really taking hold and he played a bad game he would come home and say 'Ah! It was that [darn] shot.' It was never ‘that [darn] Parkinson’s!'"

Mr. Hanlon acknowledged the dedicated team that helps put this successful Pro-Am together each year, including the Farms Country Club and Dave Melillo, remarking, “The most amazing thing has been that we only had to ask for help once and that was the first year…ever since then every year I get a call asking, ‘What can I do?’”

At PDF, we are grateful for this dedication. We often say that our Champions – grassroots fundraisers like this group of Zwick family members and friends – keep us inspired daily. There was no exception to this rule at the Pro-Am, which has now raised over $250,000 over the course of five years to support PDF’s research programs.

Read about other inspiring PDF Champions on our website. To find out how you can help by organizing your own Champions event, contact us at info@pdf.org.