WLGC celebrates Fourth of July tournament

Fourth Of July Tournament

This year’s Fourth of July provided some very close competition in all the flights and divisions with Ryggs Johnson of ASU, by way of Libby, proving to be the best of the field. As an old coach who started and ran what was called the Flathead Valley Junior Tour, along with Marlin Hansen, it was really enjoyable to see Ryggs who was only about 7 years old when he started playing in the junior tour, and even then you could see the potential developing. Teigan Avery, who finished second in the Ladies Championship, was also a youngster in the Flathead Valley Tour as she competed even then with Coral Schultz and some older girls each week for numerous summers. Teigan and Coral not only went on to play College Golf at University of Montana and Montana State University, respectively, but both became two of the nicest young ladies you could ever meet. I remember Ryggs Johnson having the fire even as a very young golfer and his mother sometimes worried he got too upset with bad results, but he has learn to balance the fire and control to near perfection, which is what is necessary to play at the level he performs. I strongly think Ryggs is the best Junior Golfer ever from Montana and his record demonstrates that accolade.

Congrats to Shawn Tucker for easily winning the men’s first flight by three shots over local Whitefish High School standout Cameron Kahle. Karen Jacobson had the lowest score for a Whitefish Lake Golf Club member in the Championship flight. Dow Powell finished sixth in the senior division after an even par start the first day on the South Course.

Our hats are off to the staff at Whitefish Lake Golf Club, under the direction of Head Professional, Tim Olson, for such a fantastic tournament. Doug Reed and his staff also conducted the food and beverage offerings fantastically even with the COVID golf guidelines in place. Just as a reminder to all, we continue to follow the BACK2Golf playbook guidelines published by the USGA and PGA for how to operate safely during the pandemic.

Tee time bookings

The limited online tee time offerings continue to be highly effective and appreciated by the members and some guests. The staff is aware of some issues with the phone system dropping calls, but that should be resolved as this article being published, if all goes as planned Tuesday morning when a new phone system will be installed and our provider replaced. We all appreciate your patience and understanding during the past couple of months as this process was actually started back in the winter.

Play to the big target

Want to improve your score, and who doesn’t? Aim at the middle of the green on all your approach shots unless you are a 6 or less handicap.