ELK CITY BOYS WIN LOCAL INVITATIONAL

Berek Dyson stares his
tee shot on #14

Berek Dyson, once more, showed that to end up with a good score, you need more than good shots: you need patience, determination, confidence and a way to enjoy the moment.  Berek was the only one among the Elks who managed to finish under par, with a round of 70.

Berek was followed by Joby Gray, who shot 72, Logan Gore had a 75 (with a triple on the last hole). Talented Brock Walker, who is coming off an injury, had a 76 and Carter Muncrief had a bad day with a 91. In the J.V. team, Cameron Marcum had a solid 73.

Brock Walker, despite little
practice, scratched out a 76

Elk City's team won the "big school" and overall tournament with a score of 293. Weatherford was next at 301 and Clinton next at 311.

In the "small school", the winner was Hinton with 343, and in second place was Burns Flat D.C. with 360.

In the individual standings, Garrison Mendoza from Clinton came in first place with a 68, he was followed by Quade Cummins with a 69, Berek Dyson with a 70 and Joby Gray with a 72.

Joby Gray admitted that it was
not a good day on the greens. 

In the small school, the winner was Elk City Golf & C.C. member, and Sayre resident, Mike Robinson who shot a 73. He was followed by Brian Wenninger with a 78 (Burns Flat) and Mark Fink (Hinton) who shot an 83.

The tournament was delayed one day due to weather conditions, and then delayed three more hours to 11:30 a.m. Thursday until the temperature reached a cold, but somewhat comfortable 40 degrees for the players, which with the breeze, was still a pretty cold day if you were not dressed appropriately and a tough day to play and concentrate, particularly when you can your breath when you are about to hit a shot.

Good natured Carter Muncrief, "Can you 
believe I had  bad hole on #17 again?" 
(yes, you were thinking about it before
the round!)

Elk City will host the Western Regional tournaments this year, both for boys and girls as well for 4-A schools, the girls regional will be played on April 23 and the boys regional will be played on April 29.... come and cheer for our teams!!!

A special thanks to Interbank for providing the meal for all participants, both, for the girls on the 8th and the boys on the 11th!

I will finish by mentioning Tiger Woods. I thank him for giving golf a much needed boost in the 90's and 2000's, but our young generation needs to learn a little (or much) about the game's history and learn not to act up on the course when things are not going their way.

Logan Gore walking down#14. Got
to keep that concentration to the end!

You have no idea how many kids I have seen in the last few years who idolize Tiger, truly admire his skills (in this area, I do too). Now that Rory is part of Nike, some of this kids wear every Nike outfit that they can think of, ask about how are Tiger and Rory  doing in every tournament they plays in -and of course, many have asked, "do you think Tiger will win The Masters?" (no, I don't think so). I really like that many of these kids took up golf because of Tiger, but remember that Tiger took up the game because of one Jack Nicklaus and that is his record he wants to beat. That is the same reason I took up the game, by watching Nicklaus,  Palmer and Player get at it together. But I also heard a lot of history of the game, and read a lot, and heard about Hogan, Nelson, Jones, Sarazen and Hagen.

Michael Robinson, had a
73, won the small school
individual and placed 5th
overall. Good going!

But what I don't like of many in the new generation is that they act as if they were players (Tiger Woods?) who should never miss a shot, ever. Please realize that Tiger and Rory and the pros play a different game than we do, but they DO miss shots, even if less frequently, if they didn't, they would hit every green, and make every putt and the game would be dull.

Garrison Mendoza from 
Clinton, is proving to be
a very good player and
difficult to beat under
any conditions.

So, to this young generation who think that missing a shot or having a bad round is "the end of the world" or think that we are going to think less of them because of it. Think twice. Golf is something you do, not who you are.Golf is a game and it is a privilege you have to be playing it. Golf will not help you build character unless you really pay attention to its roots, learn its history, and about the players who preceded Tiger. And, while golf does not build character without your help, golf and the way you approach the game WILL ALWAYS REVEAL YOUR CHARACTER, because it is a game of much honesty, of undeniable pleasure, that requires as much physical skill as it requires patience, determination and mental endurance. Never feel that you should get mad because a shot is not perfect, there are many things that you cannot control. You can't control the weather, a bad bounce, other players, not even your swing (if Tiger could control his swing, he would never miss a green or a putt). You can only control how you approach the game, your emotions, your reactions.

Think of this 14 year old kid who not only qualified for The Masters, and made the cut, but the way he handled the one shot penalty that could have cost him making the cut. Think about how Tiger got a really bad break on #15 by hitting what you would say a perfect shot, only to hit the flagstick sending his ball to the watery grave, a birdie turned into a bogey. But he did not slam clubs. IN SHORT, WATCH AND LEARN, AND LEARN WHAT YOU SHOULD IMITATE AND WHAT YOU SHOULD FORGET.