PLYMOUTH – After a series of near-misses as a member, and later as a guest, Jim Gorski broke through with his first Canasawacta Country Club men’s member-guest title Iin 2009.

Along with longtime friend and partner Lee Skillin, the long-ball-hitting duo led from start to finish to outdistance the next-best team by six strokes.

Always consistent ball strikers, a few more balls stroked with the flat stick on the greens made the difference. “We finally made the putts that we have not made in the past. Plain and simple,” Gorski said. “The fairways are wide and there is not a lot of tree trouble. It comes down to who makes the most putts, and we finally made our share.”

Gorski was a runner-up a couple of times in 2003 and 2004 playing with partner Craig Cleveland. In the two years leading up to their win, the Gorski-Skillin team contended in the championship flight with a pair of top-six finishes, but were not final-round threats to take the championship.