Barton County Source
GOLF
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Junior Golf thriving
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reat Bend continues to invest in the future with its youth golf program. Lake Barton Golf Course shares the spotlight for junior golf instruction with Great Bend’s Stoneridge County Club. Tandi Mai leads two dozen youngsters at Lake Barton while Travis McAtee headlines a high school group at Stoneridge Country Club. Doug Kaiser, Barton Community College golf coach, coordinates a summer-long golf program through the Great Bend Recreation Commission. Mai said she appreciates the support from Lake Barton that allows her to focus on instruction for players with experience and players learning the game once a week during the summer. “We feel blessed to offer a well-kept secret at Lake Barton, which is in excellent playing condition this summer,” Mai said. “The players have learned a lot.” Great Bend High School coach Travis McAtee had recent graduates Kelby Titus and Andrew Erb play golf at Barton Community College. Titus has assisted with instruction and also works with the grounds crew at the golf course. 5A state qualifiers Cole Streck and Brantley Baldwin are among the junior golfers McAtee assists several times a week at Stoneridge Country Club. “Our summer participation has been good. One of my goals was to see some of the better players compete in more summer golf events and they’ve done that,” McAtee said. “We’ve
seen more players compete during the summer. Anytime you compete in tournaments, they’ll be carry-over that will help them in the future.” Cal Dunekack, Cailee McMullen and Kaylee Reiser have been regular entrants during the summer tournaments sponsored by the Kansas Golf Association. Streck has placed runner-up and third in KGA-sponsored events, highlighted by a 68-73 (141) runner-up finish at Hutchinson’s Carey Park Golf Course. McAtee works once a week with the girls, once a week with the boys plus a combined session that features individual work with players. One new twist is McAtee has incorporated a phone swing application that allows players to see how their swing is improving. “Summertime is when you can break things down and create improvement,” McAtee said. “There is more than one way to get a goal accomplished and create a quality golf swing. Some players hit the golf ball right-to-left and others hit it left-to-right. That’s the challenge you face. You want every player to have fun and be successful.” McAtee’s goal is to develop a consistent swing plane. “Your goal is to eliminate one side of the golf course,” he said. “You get the most out of your instruction anytime you can work oneon-one and give a player undivided attention.” Stoneridge Country Club is part of the seven-club Western Central Kansas Golf League. Stoneridge sponsors a season-ending Fore The Kids Tournament. The season-ending tournaments pairs youngsters with golfers who have tournament experience. Stoneridge partners with the Great Bend
Recreation Center, which exposes golf to another group of youngsters. Some of the club’s funding purchases equipment. Extra equipment is donated to Great Bend High School’s golf program.
Stoneridge Country Club 1438 24th Street, Great Bend 620-792-4306; 620-792-4303 The 18-hole course plays to a par of 72 over 6,495 yards. The course features Penncross bentgrass greens and Bermuda tees and fairways. Lake Barton Golf Club 673 U.S. 281 North between Great Bend and Hoisington 620-653-4255 Offers an 18-hole public course designed by Harry Robb, Sr. in 1922. The par 70 course plays to 5,536 yards. Carts are $20 and daily prices are $16 and $21 for weekends and holidays. Wayne Woods serves as golf course superintendent and Joe Hipp is the club manager. Grove Park Golf Club 407 W. 3rd, Ellinwood 620-564-3123 A unique 9-hole par 32 course that features a premium on accuracy with several treelined fairways. Rodney Moss serves as golf course superintendent and Kurt Bressler works as the club manager. Daily rates are $15 and weekend prices are $20. Fred Wolf designed the course in 1933. Claflin Golf Course NE 150 Ave., Claflin, just off of K-156 2 miles east and 1/2-mile north of Claflin A 9-hole, par 34 public course.