It’s been a busy week at Birch Ridge Golf Course! Our first tournament of the year, The Birch Ridge Junior Golf Championship, was held Thursday morning. Max Dye emerged victorious in the boys 18-and-under division, posting a very solid 39 to leave a slew of competitors in the dust.

Sam McElroy bested his cousin and the “Little Lefty” Cody Nye to win the boys 13-14 division. In the boys 12-and-under division, Hudson Jackson topped Shane Sundberg by a single stroke for a first-place finish.

In the girls 11-13 age group, Danica Schmidt narrowly edged Katelin Richards to claim top honors. Katelin’s little sister, Anika Richards, won the girls 10-and-under group with an impressive 52 strokes.

With both junior golf camps and the BRGC Junior Championship behind us, the kids will turn their attention to Alaska Junior Open preparation.

The Alaska Junior Golf Association event will be held on the Kenai Peninsula for the first time in the tournament’s history. The Soldotna golf community has done well to put itself in position to host one of the top events in the state. The Alaska Junior Open will be held July 21 and 22. We have high hopes our kids will net positive results.

The Alaska Golf Association Peninsula Jackpot will be held this upcoming weekend at both Kenai and Birch Ridge Golf Course. Birch Ridge will be business as usual on Saturday when Kenai Golf Course hosts the event. The tournament moves to Soldotna on Sunday which means tee times won’t be available during the morning. Play should open up on Sunday after 1 p.m.

Our grass aficionados are pretty excited about the course conditions we’re experiencing. The fairways have been slow to come in with the lack of precipitation we had this spring but the greens, surrounding areas and tee boxes are really starting to shine.

Golf enthusiasts can really look forward to where the course will be this July and August. We thought things were good last year, they’re shaping up to be even better this year. See you on the first tee or the bar counter!

Old Folks Golf

Darell “Cool Hand” Jelsma took the exact same amount of net strokes as Pat “Mack Daddy” McElroy on Monday morning. The dynamic duo took fewer strokes than any of their competitors, which led to a tie for first place.

Gary Davis hit a great golf shot at the sixth, which wound up earning closest-to honors. Ray “Rocket” Richel matched Davis’ feat at the eighth. Steve Hammarstrom rolled in the longest putt at the ninth green, which left a crowd of onlookers clamoring for more Hammarstrom magic as he strutted off the putting surface.

Tuesday Morning Ladies League

Louise “Rock the Cradle” Schadle paired with Leona Jackson and Vicki Hollingsworth to post the winning score Tuesday morning during another round of scintillating woman on woman golf action. Dee Richards, Shirley Johnsrud, Denise Cox and Cheryl Hammarstrom combined their talents for a runner-up finish. Sally “Sweet Thang” Tachick captured closest-to glory at the sixth. Vicki and Louise had the same number of putts.

Thursday Night Couples

The weather was a little frightful but the golf was sure delightful when the lovebirds were out Thursday evening at Birch Ridge. Dennis and Diane Simmons held off the fast-charging duo of Dan and Linda Murphy to claim the couple’s crown. Other competitors enjoyed their time immensely despite their failures on the golf course. I’m told the post-round beer had nothing to do with that.

Golf Joke of the Week

It was a sunny Sunday morning and Rudy was beginning his pre-shot routine, visualizing his upcoming shot, when a voice came over the clubhouse loudspeaker. “Would the gentleman on the ladies’ tee please back up to the men’s tee.”

Rudy remained in his routine, seemingly unfazed by the interruption.

A little louder: “Would the man on the women’s tee kindly back up to the men’s tee!”

Rudy raised up out of his stance, lowered his driver, and shouted, “Would the announcer in the clubhouse kindly shut up and let me play my second shot?!”