Top-20 for TJ, Gedak makes collegiate debut
Estevan’s Chase Gedak made his college golf debut this week for Arkansas – Monticello in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 20-year-old has had his college career delayed due to an injury but was finally able to compete on Monday and Tuesday alongside TJ Baker of Prince Albert at the Hardscrabble Invitational.
Gedak put rounds together of 77, 82, and 83 for a 54-hole total of 242. The 20-year-old placed in a tie for 53rd at 32-over par.
Baker tied for 16th overall at 15-over par. Baker shot 73, 75, and 77 at the Hardscrabble Country Club.
As a team the Weevils were seventh out of 13 schools. Their next action is March 20 to 22 in El Dorado, Arkansas hosted by SAU.
Roman Timmerman tied for 25th at plus-9 at his event in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Saskatoon born senior at Southern Arkansas University (SAU) was competing in the Broncho Invitational at the Gaillardia Country Club.
Timmerman, 23, shot rounds of 76 and 77 in the 36-hole event on Monday and Tuesday this week. As a team the Muleriders didn’t have their best week finishing in 12th place of 14 schools. Next up for SAU is the Oak Tree Invitational, also in Oklahoma City.
Regina product Jacob Kydd was back in action for the first time this spring as well. The Indiana Wesleyan University senior was 50-over at the Skyhawk Invitational in Pine Mountain, Georgia this week.
Kydd shot 84 and back-to-back 91’s at Callaway Gardens – Mountain View on Monday and Tuesday. He placed 84th. The Wildcats team was 14th in the field. Their next event is the GARN Championship in Nicholasville, Kentucky on March 28 and 29.
On March 5, Alex Schmidt and the Lewis-Clark State Warriors competed in a one-day match-play event against Whitworth and Whitman. Schmidt tied both her matches that the Warriors did win.
Their next tournament is the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate in Henderson, Nevada on March 15 and 16.
Saskatoon product Symone Ripley also got her spring season underway for the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat. She shot rounds of 92 and 90 to finish in a tie for 29th at the UVic Vikes Canada West Spring Shootout in Victoria.
The Heat will travel to Las Vegas and compete in the Rocky Mountain College Invitational on March 14.
Kutcher hunts down college commitment
Regina’s Hunter Kutcher has decided to stay in Canada to play college golf and get an education.
The 17-year-old Royal Regina junior will be a part of the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat starting in the fall. Kutcher said he’s excited to have his golf and education future confirmed.
“I’m pretty happy about it,” Kutcher told Golf Saskatchewan. “It’s been a process for quite a while now. Initially I was looking at the States but once UBCO reached out to me and I started looking into their school, it got me really excited, so I am glad to make it official.”
Kutcher said the “comfort” of staying in Canada was a factor for him in his decision. He added that playing time was also important in his college choice. The 2021 Saskatchewan junior champion said there was life outside golf that played a part as well.
“I just feel if I were to go down to Florida, snowmobiling and skiing is a huge part of my life outside of golf obviously. Staying in Canada it just makes it easier for that to stay in my life and that was a huge factor as well,” Kutcher said.
Kutcher will transfer to Kelowna around the middle of August and prepare to settle into college life. He will join Saskatoon’s Symone Ripley who competes for the women’s golf team at UBCO. Kutcher said to prepare for the next level he’s competing in the top amateur events in the province this year.
“I will be playing in the Scotia Wealth [in Nipawin] for the first time, obviously men’s amateur, junior provincials, the bigger tournaments like that. That will help me for sure just getting used to a bigger stage. Hopefully when I head out to Kelowna, I will be well prepared to get going with my first season,” he said.
In the classroom Kutcher plans to study Sustainability.
You can hear more from Kutcher in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.
Golf Saskatchewan pays tribute to Past President
Golf Saskatchewan is paying tribute to a long-time sports volunteer and one of their former presidents.
Don Kunkel passed away peacefully at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on Feb. 25.
Current Golf Saskatchewan President Larry Wagman said he will be missed.
“The golf community in Saskatchewan and particularly in Yorkton is saddened with the announcement of the passing of Don Kunkel. He was a strong voice for golf through his volunteer time with Golf Saskatchewan particularly leading the organization through the first year of COVID as president. He will be missed by his fellow board members, family and community. Rest In Peace.”
Golf Saskatchewan Executive Director Brian Lee has known Kunkel for years, he said Kunkel has always had a passion for golf, and people.
“Don Kunkel was a long time golf enthusiast and supporter of golf in Saskatchewan. Whether it was his competitive drive as a young player trying to make the provincial teams, winning the Saskatoon High School Championship, or competing for an elusive Waskesiu Lobstick title, Don loved the sport. Don brought his knowledge and experiences to our organization as a volunteer on the board of directors and eventually being elected the Association President in 2020. Don will be missed but his legacy and friendship to many will not be forgotten. Until we meet again, rest in peace.”
Kunkel’s obituary can be seen here.
Kunkel’s longtime friend Dick Deryk in Yorkton has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to plant some trees at Deer Park Municipal Golf Course in his memory.
A look at the Stealth driver lineup
On Feb. 4 TaylorMade released the Stealth lineup of drivers to the world with rave reviews.
Golf Saskatchewan joined TaylorMade Territory Sales and Marketing Manager for Saskatchewan Mike Langin at the Ramada Golf Dome to showcase the Stealth Plus, Stealth, and Stealth HD drivers.
To book a custom fitting in your area visit TaylorMade’s website.
Schmidt starts final spring season with top-4 finish, Istace in action again
The final spring season of Alex Schmidt’s collegiate golf career got off on the right foot this week.
The Lewis-Clark State College Warrior senior shot rounds of 80, 82, and 77 for a 54-hole total of 239, plus-23 at the Ottawa University Arizona Sterling Grove Shootout in Surprise, Arizona on Monday and Tuesday.
The Regina products performance led her team to a third-place finish in the tea competition while Schmidt tied for fourth, just 10 strokes back of the winner. Warriors Head Coach Brady Campbell said on the Lewis-Clark website that Schmidt continues to play great golf for the school.
“It was great to see the girls come back today and forget yesterday,” Campbell said. “Alex continued to do what she has done all year with another top 5. Deana and Kyla gave us some solid rounds”.
The Warriors will be in Henderson, Nevada from March 15 and 16 for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate event for the teams next competition.
Kindersley’s Brody Istace was in action again this week for his second event of the spring with the Columbia International University (CIU) Rams.
The 36-hole CIU Invitational was held at the Columbia Country Club in Blythewood, South Carolina on Feb. 21 and 22. Istace tied for 13th with a two-round score of 158 (80, 78). The winner was plus-6.
As a team the Rams finished second behind Spartanburg Methodist College.
The school’s next event is the Truett McConnell Golden Tiger Invitational on March 13 in Gainesville, Georgia.
Back-to-back rounds produce life-long memories
The odds of hitting a hole-in-one is 12,500 to one, 14 percent of golfers will hit another ace in their playing career, but what about the odds of putting a one on your card in back-to-back days?
Numbers weren’t readily available to break down the timeline percentages for two aces in a two round or day span but add Warman’s Dan Hesje to the list of who has accomplished the incredible feat.
Hesje, a member at The Legends Golf Course in Warman dropped his tee shot on hole 15 (93 yards) at Harbor Golf Club & Resort on July 17, 2021. The 37-year-old was playing in Elbow with his father. The next day at The Legends, Hesje hit the “perfect” drive on the 343-yard par four eighth hole for his second hole-in-one while playing with a group of good friends.
Both days provided some fantastic moments for the lifetime player and has fueled his fire to take the game more seriously once again.
Hesje spoke with Golf Saskatchewan to relive the memories from two amazing days in July at two marquee courses.
Istace starts spring season
Kindersley’s Brody Istace has begun the spring season of his senior year at Columbia International University.
The Rams men’s golf team was in action this week at The Golf Club at Sanctuary in Waverly, Georgia for the Coastal Georgia Men’s Winter Invitational. Istace shot rounds of 85, 81, and 82 to finish in a tie for 68th place at plus-32, 248.
As a team the Rams finished in 10th place out of 15 schools.
Istace and the Rams will now prepare for their home event in Columbia, South Carolina for the CIU Invitational from Feb. 20 to 22.
More and more Saskatchewan student-athletes will begin their seasons in the days ahead including:
- Roman Timmerman (Southern Arkansas University) | Feb. 28 *Timmerman began his season last week
- Will Danielson (Milsaps College) | Feb. 28
- Alex Schmidt (Lewis-Clark State College) | Feb. 21
- Autumn Neiszner (Keiser University) | Feb. 21
West heading south to further golf career
Wawota’s Theoren West has committed to play college golf at Bellevue University in Nebraska beginning this spring.
West, 18, graduated last June and has been working steady since but on advice from his parents he was encouraged to pursue a post-secondary education. West put together a Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) account and he said the process to commit to Bellevue was swift.
“After golf season I was just working and dad told me I have to ‘get off my butt’ and find a place to go to school,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan. “I made an account on NCSA and within an hour of being on it the coach called me and asked if I wanted to come down. I went down, I liked it, so I committed.”
The Bellevue Bruins compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and have seen a god amount of success so far in the 2021-22 season. The team has six wins already this year out of 11 events dating between September and October of last year. The school also enters many events under coach Rob Brown. West said the winning culture and size of the campus were key factors in his quick decision.
“Number one is how small the school is, there is only 500 people on campus and that’s more comfortable for me because that’s where I come from. They play a lot really good courses like Whistling Straights and TPC Deere Run, and courses like that so that made me excited. They have a really good team and do a lot of winning so I like that too,” West added.
West plans to study business at the school, but he admitted that could change.
The turnaround is quick for the Golf Kenosee member as well. He will leave home on Feb. 25 and hopes to compete in the schools first event of 2022 at the Friends University in Wichita, Kansas on March 7 – 8.
You can hear more from West in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.
City of Yorkton brass excited for clubhouse construction
The city of Yorkton is committing $7.6 million to construct a new clubhouse for Deer Park Municipal Golf Course.
At the city’s Jan. 31 council meeting the group voted to move ahead with the project that should be completed in time for the 2023 golf season.
Golf Saskatchewan sat down with Yorkton Mayor Mitch Hippsley and Director of Recreation and Community Darcy McLeod to discuss the construction and the excitement of replacing the current building that dates back 60 years.
Luseland Bells Acres seeing “unreal” support in recent upgrades
A younger, committed, driven group of Luseland area residents with assistance from a lot of know-how are revitalizing Luseland Bells Acres Golf and Country Club.
Curtis Reschny farms the land near the nine-hole course and lives in the community of 600 people on with a view of the course that opened in 1963. He told Golf Saskatchewan that the recent conversion of their sand greens to synthetic grass has lit a spark among the town and area.
“After seeing the enthusiasm from the people in the area and from the community after we did the greens its really motivated us to carry on and keep doing what we’re doing,” Reschny said.
Talks of transitioning the greens to synthetic grass began with thoughts of replacing just a few at a time over a longer period, but on the advice of secretary-treasure Ryley Magnus who has a financial background suggested the club fundraise and replace them all. The funds raised before construction began and the project was paid off with monumental support according to Reschny.
“We have had fantastic support from the community and surrounding area, it’s been unreal,” he beamed. “The support has been phenomenal; people are happy to see things going on.”
Next on the club’s wish list is an upgrade to the irrigation system that the group hopes will build more momemtun coming off their busiest season ever. With upgrades to the watering system the club will also touch up around the greens.
“We’re doing hydro-grass seeding around the new greens, same as any construction site, they had their skid-steers digging out the old sand greens. Around the greens is not the way it should be so this spring we have a contractor company lined up to hydro-seed some nice grass and get around the greens cleaned up,” he said.
Last year the club also put some care into the clubhouse with fresh paint, flooring, some appliances and other minor upgrades. This year the plan is to construction new washrooms to accommodate the growing crowds for men’s night and everyday play.
The course purchased two carts for rentals that were very popular. More carts are eventually planned according to Reschny.
In the past the club has hosted a ‘Bosses Night Out’ event that Reschny described as a community Christmas party. Due to COVID-19 the event is on a two-year hiatus. An online auction is currently underway on Facebook that features over 100 donated items. The auction closes Saturday night at midnight. It’s expected to raise over $30,000, well above their goal. Overall, the future is bright at Bells Acres and Reschny is confident the club will continue to be a vibrant, key meeting place for the town and region.
“This little community is getting more young people sticking around so they’ve joined the committee and they are eager. These young people are ambitions, they want to improve it, it’s been really good. I’m not taking anything away from what anybody, but the young blood has been really great.”