Father's Day golf tourney raises money for team
<p>From left to right: Assistant Golf Coach Barry Fowler and Carl Benson look on as Cole Benson drives the ball off the tee during a fundraiser for the PHS golf team on Father's Day Sunday.</p>
PLAINS- The Plains golf course played host to a Fathers Day golf tournament on Sunday. The tournament was a fundraiser for the Plains High School golf team coached by Rich Magera and Barry Fowler.
The event began with an auction including items like sporting attire, a brand new golf bag, certificates for 18 holes of golf in Missoula and other assorted prizes. Golfers bid on items before hearing the ground rules from Sean LaDeaux, manager of the golf course.
After brief instructions from LaDeaux, golfers loaded onto their carts or began the long trek toward their assigned holes. The team of father and son combo Carl and Cole Benson, Tyrel Allen and Barry Fowler started on the second hole.
The second hole on the Plains golf course provides a unique challenge to players in that one cannot see the hole from the tee. The fairway rises significantly toward the beginning of the green so golfers are forced to hit the ball up to avoid thick grass that slows the shot down.
Once the team was up on top of the hill, the greens proved much slower than anticipated. Typically the midday heat will dry out the grass and cause the greens to be “faster”. This was not the case on Sunday and put after put slowed down trying to get in the hole.
Hole three proved to be pretty straight-forward until the team reached the green.
The fairway was relatively clear of obstacles save for one sand-trap to the right of the green. While the obstacle was easily avoided by all four golfers the real challenge lay in the slope of the green.
The deceiving angle of the green proved tricky even for seasoned golfers like Fowler and Carl Benson. However none of the players required more than a two put to sink their ball and the group moved on to hole four.
One of the challenges of hole four was the distance. With a significantly longer fairway than some of the other holes and trees lining the right side, hole four proved a challenge. Cole Benson hit a nice drive straight down the fairway lining up an easy chip onto the green.
Fowler said the tournament was a resounding success for all involved.
“Things went very well. We raised almost $2000 which will hopefully support the team for the next season. We had great support from the community. Everyone shot well and had a great time. Since there were no winners or losers, the real winner today was the golf team,” said Fowler.