Rick Dowling III knows he’ll have to do some rearranging in one glass-doored cabinet in his condominium after recently winning his third Connecticut Amateur championship.
“It’s getting a little full,” he said.
The 30-year-old from Milford, Connecticut, wasn’t bragging, but rather stating his satisfaction of faring well against difficult opponents on difficult courses in a most-difficult game.
Dowling beamed while hoisting the permanent Connecticut Amateur Robert Pryde Trophy at the Country Club of Darien after his 2-and-1 victory over Cody Paladino, 34, in mid-June. Dowling will receive his commemorative championship trophy at the Connecticut State Golf Association banquet at the end of the year.
“I love the CSGA’s tradition and competition and always look forward to testing my game against the best players in the state,” he said.
Dowling’s triumph over Paladino, the 2013 winner and finalist in 2020 and ’21, was the latest example. Dowling, who lost in the final match last year, never trailed Paladino to record his ninth CSGA victory. His others were the 2018, ’19 and ’21 Two Man Team Championship with Nick Taylor, the 2021 and ’22 Mid-Amateur, the 2020 Russell C. Palmer Cup and the two prior Connecticut Am wins, in 2017 and ’19.
Dowling is tied for third place with three total Connecticut Amateur victories. Dick Siderowf (five) and Fred Kask (four) are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
Dowling won his latest title after a frustrating start to his 2023 season. In May, he tied for eighth with Taylor in the Two Man Team Championship and tied for 34th in the Russell C. Palmer Cup. “My driving, which usually is a strength, was off – not snap hooks, just lower trajectory and 10 to 15 yards left,” said Dowling, who plays out of the Golf Performance Center in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Aided by coaches at the Golf Performance Center, Dowling got himself straightened out – literally. “Hard work, and my driving peaked at the state amateur,” he said.
His irons were significant assets, too. Dowling’s most memorable one came from 135 yards out at the par-5 15th (the 33rd hole in the final).
“I’ve learned in big matches I sometimes overcooked irons because I was too amped up,” he said. “So, I didn’t hit 9; I hit that pitching wedge perfectly.” He made the ensuing 5-foot birdie putt to go 3-up with three holes remaining.
That Dowling’s prioritized sport is golf is somewhat surprising because his top sports growing up were baseball (as a pitcher) and basketball (point guard). He started for St. James-Stratford, which won two New England Catholic Youth Organization (grades 5-8) basketball titles.
Dowling said he “cut his teeth competitively” and enjoyed team sports. Nevertheless, golf soon ascended. There were no umpires or officials to criticize, nor were there teammates, coaches or opponents to question. Golf’s individual quest to succeed was more appealing to him.
His grandfather, Ed Gemza, who lived in a 55-and-older community in Stratford, was an early golf advocate. “I was 7 or 8, and one day he brought me over where he lived to a mat with a net and some old clubs,” Dowling said. “He cut down a club for me, and that was my start.”
Dowling’s father, Richard Dowling II, often took his son to the course. But sometimes the younger Dowling’s temper appeared after a bad shot or another mishap during play.
“My dad always has been a huge supporter of me and been there throughout,” Dowling said. “I had success in other sports, but golf at the start wasn’t as easy. My dad told me I had to conduct myself appropriately or I wouldn’t play anymore.”
He listened to his father.
“I also credit my grandma, after my grandfather had died [in 2004],” Dowling said. “She helped keep me in the game, as my grandfather would have wanted. At Cape Cod, where they had a summer home, she’d drop me off at Woodbriar, a nine-hole course in Falmouth [Massachusetts].”
Countless shots later resulted in improvement in his game and course maturity.
When Dowling plays, he strives to focus on preparation and execution of every shot and to keep his emotions in check – basically to be more like a Brooks Koepka than a Tyrrell Hatton. It is little wonder that Dowling’s favorite golfer is the late Ben Hogan. “A Hall of Famer who from all the books and his sayings I’ve read, his focus to work and to figure it out were great,” he said. “That’s what I try to do.”
In line with that, the mental aspect of the game is one of the “5 Elements of Success” philosophy at the Golf Performance Center, where Dowling is general manager of its Junior Golf Hub. This is an educational resource and online community for junior golfers, parents and college coaches. The four other “elements” are desire, physical, coaching and equipment. Competing at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, Connecticut, and at Fairfield University in 2011-15 provided Dowling with meaningful experiences and perspectives of the scholastic and college golf arenas.
Like many Junior Golf Hub online visitors, Dowling has more golf aspirations. One of his career goals is to qualify for a few more United States Golf Association events. His U.S. Amateur 2022 player badge is displayed in his glass-doored cabinet in Milford.
“I’d like to get another chance to punch at the ceiling, at the next level,” he said.
Next on his Connecticut schedule are a U.S. Amateur qualifier on July 17 at the Golf Club of Avon and a U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier on July 31 at Madison CC. Then it’s back to CSGA play. He’ll seek his third consecutive Connecticut Mid-Amateur title August 29-30 at the Country Club of Farmington.
“I love playing golf that really matters in great tournaments against great players,” he said.
He may need to do a little more rearranging in that trophy cabinet.
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Top: Richard Dowling (left) wins a clash of titans against Cody Paladino, 2 and 1, in 121st Connecticut Amateur.
Courtesy connecticut state golf association