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Coach of the year thanks the community

| July 19, 2006 11:00 PM

Coach says thanks

Winning the National Coach of the Year award for golf is really an honor that I take great pride in receiving. However, I know that you never win anything like this by your own efforts alone.

The list of people that have helped would include all the players, parents, volunteers, tournament workers, Whitefish Lake Golf Association board of directors, Norby Foundation board, Bulldog Open players and members at Whitefish Lake Golf Club.

I have had some great assistants over the years with people like Carroll Lilly, Mark Shafer, Sue and Jeff Jensen, Andy Anderson, Mike Dowaliby and all the golf professionals at Whitefish Lake Golf Club.

Parents who have gone above and beyond what you would normally expect, like Barb and Denny Foster, Phil Mitchell, Jim and Connie Alderson, Barb and Mike Jenson, Kim Krause, Tracy Holtet, Mary Ann and Gary Rodman, Teri Parker and numerous others all deserve a piece of this award.

Most of all, I wish to thank all the players who have participated in the golf program, many of whom have gone on to play or work in golf beyond high school. Without those dedicated players who won the 19 state titles, obviously I would never have been considered for this award.

The girls over the years have had a winning percentage of 98 percent, and the boys are at 95 percent against their opponents. Winning takes commitment and working harder than your opponent as well as someone giving you the opportunity to achieve your goals.

The Whitefish community in general and the Whitefish Lake Golf Club are remarkable supporters of all the programs in this great community, and my recognition is simply part of that tremendous heritage. Our players are granted basically unlimited access to the golf course, and that's what makes the opportunity so special.

Thank all of you for the support, and I share this award with all of you that have helped in even the quietest of ways.

Junior tour results

Four Whitefish junior golfers made the long trip to participate in the Junior Tour at Cabinet View Golf Course in Libby. Zac Wooten won the boys title, followed by Andre Groschupf in the older division.

Breanna Cameron easily captured the girls overall crown with a respectable score of 102 on the tough-to-score-on course. Ian Cameron won the 11-and-under division to complete the sweep by the Whitefish kids.

Cabinet View Golf Club is ready to seed their new nine-hole addition and expect the full 18 to be playable by mid-2007. The new nine is a great addition and will attract golfers from all over the region once it is in play.

Hole in ones

John Conners aced the difficult 15th hole on the South Course on July 3 with his five wood. Steve Ramsey hit his perfect shot for a hole-in-one on number four of the North Course with a seven iron from the blue tees.

Vivienne Nichols, of Grafton, Australia, aced hole number seven on the South, also with a hot seven iron, on July 7. Hole in ones are rare occurrences, and to have three in a course of one week is really phenomenal.

Fred Roetz also hit a hole-in-one on the 6th hole of the North Course last week. He used a seven iron on the 142-yard hole. The ace was witnessed by Carl Schriver and Don and Donna Randally.