John D. Mineck

"The people who took care of those yards had to live somewhere." John Mineck, on his birthplace, Byram

Golf Digest uses the thousands of round-by-round evaluations of 815 golfers, mostly single-digit players, to create it's 100 Greatest Course list. One of those raters was John D. Mineck, a self-made businessman who used the proceeds from the sale of his software business to co-found Boston Golf Club. Mineck died Thursday while working on that course at the age of 54. Ron Sirak of Golf World writes a tribute to Mineck, who joined the Golf Digest panel, he said in his application, to explore the "personalities" of golf courses because "I believe courses have personalities just like people do." Sirak recalls his round with Mineck at Boston Golf Club:

__As we played the remarkable Gil Hanse design carved out of the gently rolling terrain a mere 20 minutes from downtownn Boston, Mineck spoke with the unrestrained joy of a man completely in love with golf. But here was one key to understanding Mineck. When I asked where he grew up, John told me, "In Connecticut. Byram." He didn't say Greenwich. __

Byram is the other side of the tracks in Greenwich, the New York City suburb with more hedge-fund operators per square foot than any place on earth. It was especially the other side of the tracks when Mineck was young, a place of which he said, "The pople who take care of those yards had to live somewhere."

John, an accomplished woodworker, was President of the Society of Arts and Crafts. He also supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, among other causes.

From Robyn Patterson of Boston Golf Club comes these details on services:

For both funeral services and memorial, golf attire is welcomed:

Visitation

Wednesday, May 30, 2:00pm to 8:00pm

Pyne Keohane Funeral Home

21 Emerald Street (off Central)

Hingham

For directions and parking: www.keohane.com or 1-800-keohane

Memorial

Thursday, May 31, 2:00pm

Boston Golf Club (14th Fairway – comfortable shoes strongly advised, no heels please)

Please park at Pilgrim Skating Arena and shuttle buses will be provided to the golf course.

Golf lost one its best people in John Mineck. We will miss him.

—Bob Carney