Westwood author Rich Poggi didn’t set out to become a novelist.
Fairways and Greens, his debut work of fiction, began years ago as a screenplay he once hoped to pitch in the entertainment world. When the meeting fell through, the project went into a drawer—until life handed Poggi a moment that changed his direction.
He returned to the story after the death of his godson, William Magee Borgersen, a U.S. Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier. Borgersen was the best friend of Poggi’s son Matt — “a brother from another,” as Poggi writes — and a young man who “meant so much to so many.” Borgersen died at age 21. Poggi learned the news while standing on the third green at River Vale Country Club during his regular Friday two-ball with a close friend.
The loss left Poggi searching for a way to honor someone he loved while taking on a challenge that was “difficult and meaningful.” Writing a novel, he told us, became that challenge. “I wanted to complete a task that was very hard,” Poggi recalled. “And writing a book was difficult for me. That inspired me to do it.”
In the book’s acknowledgements, Poggi credits Borgersen — always “Will” to him — as the reason he dusted off the screenplay. He writes that Will’s spirit, “fully, fiercely, and without excuses,” pushed him through moments of fatigue, doubt, and creative block. Poggi keeps Will’s name tattooed on his right forearm, visible every time he types, grips a golf club, or raises a glass. “Will didn’t write this book,” Poggi writes, “but he made sure I did.”
Building the book
Transforming a screenplay — mostly dialogue — into a novel proved complicated. Poggi worked nights around a full-time job, expanding a 175-page draft into a fully formed book. He added new characters, broadened scenes, and built a narrative voice he describes as third-person limited.
He also leaned heavily on the discipline instilled by his former English professor at Pace University, Dr. Nicholas Catalano, who taught him a rule he has never let go of (and that we tell interns): the practice of writing is rewriting.
For editorial guidance, Poggi turned to longtime friend Peter D. Kramer, a veteran journalist with more than 37 years at The Journal News and the USA Today Network. Kramer has covered subjects from the PGA to the pope, and his long-form narratives have won national awards. Poggi told him to read the manuscript with complete honesty: “If it sucked, it sucked. If it was good, it was good.” Kramer answered that it was good — but needed work — and helped shape the final version line by line.
Poggi also acknowledges the influence of the “A New Breed of Golf” community — the group of golfers who walk with him, talk with him, and, in his words, have impacted his “life, game, and this book in ways I never expected.”
What the story is about
Fairways and Greens centers on Doug Parker, a former PGA hopeful turned club pro whose quiet routine is interrupted by a call from his past. Poggi describes it as “a redemption or rediscovery story,” with golf serving as moral compass and backdrop. Although set in the golf world, he estimates the book is “25% golf and 75% character-driven drama.”
Golf, Poggi says, is a tremendous metaphor for life: penalties, recoveries, second chances, the discipline to take the next shot even after a bad one.
Westwood, golf, and community
Poggi has lived in Westwood for 33 years with his wife, Maria, raising their children here. Though he graduated from Dumont High School in 1984, his kids attended Westwood Regional High School and played football under coach Vito Campanile, winning multiple state championships.
His local involvement runs deep. Poggi is:
- • Chair of the Vito Trause Memorial Charitable Trust
- • President emeritus of the Westwood Cardinals Touchdown Club
- • Former member of the Westwood Recreation Board
- • Past co-runner of the Home for the Holidays Parade
- • Former president of Westwood Baseball, where he fundraised for the Meadowbrook building
- • A past coach and trustee of Westwood Wolverine Football
A lifelong golfer, he plays multiple private clubs through work and friendships, but his home base is River Vale Country Club, where he gets in 10 to 15 rounds a year. He’s participated in the Skip Kelley Memorial Golf Outing nearly every year — winning it once — and calls Kelley (forever “Westwood’s Mayor” after 9/11) “a neighbor and friend, and a great man.”
His current index: 9.3.
In the end, the book plays in the same space Poggi clearly loves: the part of golf where character matters more than the scorecard — patience, discipline, missed shots, and the chance to take a better swing the next time.
The book is dedicated to his father, Richard A. Poggi, in part “for the life lessons, unforgettable experiences, and for handing me your set of Nicklaus MacGregors in 1977.”
Fairways and Greens is available at richpoggi.com and other booksellers.