Rare rounds of golf are hard to turn down.
Rounds of golf at a at a club you’re not a member of with the Class 4A Western Boys Golf Regional champions? Nigh impossible.
And so, I found myself riding shotgun Thursday at Glacier Club with Durango High School golf coach Kirk Rawles as part of a foursome that included DHS seniors Trevor Bogus and Bo Ward. The group ahead of us was made up of assistant coach Kermitt Barrett and Durango’s other two state tournament participants, Cameron Barnhardt and Cory Gillespie.
The Demons stopped in for their second practice round of the week because Glacier Club’s Cliffs course supposedly plays incredibly similar to Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, home of the Class 4A state tournament, which begins Monday.
The hypothesis seemed to bear itself out in the fact that state qualifier Jakob Rudosky of Montezuma-Cortez ended up in a group behind us, prompting Rawles to say “great minds think alike, huh?” Rudosky agreed.
For Rawles, Thursday was a welcome birthday present. The head coach turned 53 and got to celebrate with a rare round instead of just watching and instructing.
For me, I was just hoping not to embarrass myself too much. In the interest of full disclosure, I am awful at golf. Playing only two or three times a year doesn’t help. I spent most of Thursday afternoon losing the few golf balls I had on me. But despite the obvious skill difference between myself and my playing partners, I couldn’t in good conscience pass up nine holes on a course as gorgeous as I anticipated.
As expected, my first tee shot went way right, while the other three mustered better efforts. To their credit, my playing partners were incredibly patient with the hack they were saddled with, helping me find balls in tall grass and not laughing outwardly when I hit any of several shots with a sand wedge – my mortal enemy – either way past the hole or terribly short.
Rawles, meanwhile, gave me pointers like I was a Demon under his tutelage, pointers I desperately needed. Get your posture set before you swing. Chip like your wrists are in a cast.
The typically affable head coach seemed to be enjoying the round more than anybody. And he’s really looking forward to taking a full team to state for the first time in his five-year tenure as head coach.
“I’m just ecstatic. I’m really happy for these guys,” Rawles said. “They’ve worked hard. They put their time in, starting last spring, even before the season started. And it’s paying off.”
Of course, both Bogus and Ward are excited for the opportunity, as well. Ward and Gillespie made the state trip last year, and Ward said he’s glad the whole team gets to go as regional champions in his and Bogus’ senior year.
“I think it’s going to be more fun because it was just me and Cory last year. Me and Trevor are seniors, and it’s our last year, so I’m proud we get to go again,” Ward said. Ward is the son of Dug Ward and DeeDee Kendall.
Winning a regional title as a senior isn’t a bad way to go, either, with the possibility for an even greater accomplishment coming up Monday and Tuesday.
“It’s pretty exciting that we are all able to go, just like winning regionals was a great experience for us, giving us confidence going into state,” said Bogus, son of Mike and Wendi Bogus.
As expected, Cliffs provided a stiff test for the state-bound seniors. Both handled it well at times, with Bogus getting up and down nicely to save par on a couple of holes and Ward with his share of quality shots. But the course also elicited its fair share of moans and groans and under-your-breath muttering – the kind the Demons will look to avoid this week as they gun for championships of both an individual and team variety.
Courses such as Cliffs and Hiwan do that to even the most skilled players, and as a very underskilled player, I wasn’t immune, although I had nothing to prepare for and no pressure. Cliffs had me muttering under my breath more than I anticipated, seeing as I had no expectations of success going in. And I was right – I finished with a 61, 25-over par on the course’s nine holes.
But there was plenty of fun to be had, too. And at the end, as Rawles dropped me at my car, he posited with a smile that maybe I’d be writing down the line that I played a round with the eventual state championship-winning team.
You never know. He just may be right.
rowens@durangoherald.com
