ON THE FIRST TEE...
With Nick Dietzen
We have one more glorious week of summer until fall golf arrives, arguably my favorite time on Montana’s courses. As the MSGA’s Championship Season concludes at the Montana State Four-Ball Championships at Buffalo Hill next week, it’s close to that time of reflection on the year that was. One thing I’m grateful for is the renewed interest in the rules from members who have reached out throughout the season, some with questions, others with interest in gaining more knowledge. I spent some time on the couch this past Sunday watching the kickoff to the National Football League (NFL) – much like the first hole of golf – filled with optimism and usually for me dashed hopes for my favorite team (The Raiders).
The first week of NFL games got me thinking about the differences and my preference to how golf is “officiated” and the general decorum and sportsmanship that more times than not is highlighted during a round.
The first game of the year included the central storyline of a player spitting in an opponent’s face before the first snap of the game. This was an extreme event, one that incurred a disqualification and meaningful change to each team’s strategy.
Football and most team sports vary from golf not by the depth and breadth of the rulebook, but rather the beauty of golf being that it is largely self-governed. Players call penalties on themselves, keep their own scores, and are trusted to protect the integrity of the competition. That trust works only because the rules are understood, respected, and consistently applied.
It’s easy to think of the Rules of Golf as applying only at the highest level—PGA Tour rulings accentuated by television, the upcoming differences in match play that we see during the Walker Cup (Big Win for the U.S.A.) and upcoming Ryder Cup later this month. But every one of us benefits from a general understanding of the rules and the vast majority of us (myself included) have a lot to learn when it comes to the Rules of Golf.
Why is it important to know the rules? Well, more times than not, a good understanding of your options can help your golf game. The player who knows the rules will absolutely improve over time thanks to understanding procedures and options when the opportunity presents itself and of course, for most of us these opportunities are abundant thanks to wayward shots and unique playing conditions. For example, I encountered an embedded ball from a tee shot last week – it’s not common and certainly not expected, but knowing that I had free relief and would then
be able to confidently play my next shot over a water hazard was an easy determination for me. Some inexperienced players might think they must hit the shot and ruin what was a good drive and perhaps derail a round. Embedded ball on the green? Fix it. No free relief, but you’re able to fix the pitch mark and go about your putting routine. The differentiations between the “general area” where my drive landed vs. the putting green are simple enough, but important distinctions in understanding the rules.
This past offseason, the MSGA in conjunction with our fellow Pacific Northwest Golf Association members provided an online rules clinic over the course of several weeks.
The United States Golf Association offers Rules 101 a free resource to bone up on your knowledge.
Next time you tee it up, notice some of the unique situations in a casual round that you might approach differently in a competitive round. Were there situations in which you were not sure how to proceed? Unfortunately, your casual round won’t have rules officials roaming the course to offer assistance like in our MSGA Championships, but we’re always here to help educate. Have a situation you’d like to run by our team? Drop us a line support@msgagolf.org and we’ll get back to you and include some of our favorites in an upcoming issue.
Shanda Imlay, MSGA Rules Official, and Eric Powers, former Fairmont Hot Springs Head Golf Professional, overseeing the playoff at the 2025 Montana State Junior Championships.
Remember, if you’re interested in learning more, attending a workshop from the PNGA or USGA, we’re here to help point you in the right direction. Should you be looking to volunteer some and put that rules knowledge into practice, the MSGA will help you on your journey in a stress-free environment to see if officiating is something you might enjoy. We are always looking to build a base of volunteers in all aspects and the rules are no different. For associations like MSGA, rules education has ripple effects. Trained officials mean smoother championships. Informed players mean fewer disputes and faster rounds. And a community that values the integrity of the game ensures golf remains both welcoming and competitive.
A healthy understanding of the rules deepens our appreciation for the game. You learn not just what to do, but why the game is structured the way it is. Passing along rules knowledge also inspires younger players. When juniors see peers and parents applying the rules with confidence, they learn early that golf isn’t just about hitting shots—it’s about playing the game the right way.
The next time you see an advertisement or opportunity to attend a rules training, consider signing up. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor, a high school coach, or a weekend golfer, the knowledge you gain will pay dividends far beyond the rules classroom.
How you played isn’t just about what score you posted. Understanding the rules ensures you can always answer the basic question with pride.
If you haven’t already, make sure you have the USGA Rules App on your phone or a rules book in your bag and enjoy these last few weeks of golf season!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- OFFICERS
PRESIDENT................................................... Peter Benson
VICE PRESIDENT.................................. Ron Ramsbacher
TREASURER....................................................... Bill Dunn
PAST PRESIDENT......................................... Mary Bryson
EXEC COMMITTEE......................................... Karen Rice
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Brett Bennyhoff, Peter Benson, Carla Berg, Mary Bryson, Bill Dunn, Cheri Ellis, Lisa Forsberg, Marcia Hafner, Ron Ramsbacher, Karen Rice, Joe Rossman, Rod Stirling
MSGA STAFF
Executive Director......................................... Nick Dietzen
Tournament Director...................................... Tim Bakker
Membership Operations Director............... Emily Hulsey
Member Services Coordinator......................... Ian Hulsey
Communications & Tournament Manager.... Katie Fagg
Communcations Coordinator.......................... Ty Sparing
Partnerships & Business Development...... Nick Dietzen
USGA PJ Boatwright, Jr. Intern................ Dean Hendrix
USGA PJ Boatwright, Jr. Intern...................... Ella Prigge
USGA PJ Boatwright, Jr. Intern................ Stella Claridge
PARTNERSHIPS
Nick Dietzen.... ......................... 1 (800) 628-3752, ext. 6
406GOLF STAFF
Editor in Chief............................................... Nick Dietzen
Consulting Editor........................................ David Bataller
Senior Writer..................................................... Ty Sparing
Graphic Designer............................................... Katie Fagg
Contributing Writer......................................... Paul Johns
Contributing Writer........................................ Todd Lupke
Contributing Writer.................Logan Groeneveld-Meijer
Contributing Writer...................................Brandi Merrick
Montana State Golf Association P.O. Box 4306
Helena, MT 59604
1 (800) 628-3752
www.msgagolf.org
COURSE SPOTLIGHT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF OLD WORKS
BY TY SPARING MSGA COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
There aren’t too many golf courses in Montana with a story like the Old Works in Anaconda. In the 1880’s Old Works wasn’t thought of as a premier golf destination, but rather two sites (Upper Works and Lower Works) that at their height had a capacity to process 3,000 tons of ore daily, shipped in by rail from the nearby Butte mines. That all lasted until 1910 when the more modern Washoe Smelter was built, which resulted in the closure of Old Works.
Having been dismantled and abandoned, Old Works was reduced to a local garbage
dump site for decades. Only slowly did the area residents recognize the profound impact of the hazardous materials leaking into the surrounding environment, a toxic mix of arsenic, copper, lead, cadmium, and zinc. As a result, in 1983 the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in and designated the original Old Works site as a high priority superfund cleanup project.
Finally in the early 1990s the town of Anaconda decided to move forward with creating a new golf course where the Old Works used to run its operations. As part of a broader, costly cleanup process, ARCO the smelter operators committed around $20 million to the golf course. This enabled the small town of
View of the Washoe Smelter in the early 1900s, golfers can still view the smokestack from Old Works.
Anaconda to actively seek bids from some of the top golf course designers in the country, ultimately deciding to go with creating a Jack Nicklaus Signature Designed Course.
Nicklaus himself played an exhibition match in July of 1997 to celebrate the opening of Old Works Golf Course and on the bag that day was former MSGA Board Member and legendary Montana sportswriter, George Geise. With a gallery of around 3,000 fans cheering him on, as Geise wrote, Nicklaus “shot a course record 2-under-par 70.” Not a bad bar to set!
Since that original record set by the Golden Bear some of Montana’s more notable golfers have put their names in the mix as well. Laurel’s Tom Anderson tied Nicklaus’ record later that summer and in 1998 former Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Ballard took the record for himself after posting a -3 (69). Ballard even joked about breaking the record the day before to a group that included Tyler Erickson, Pat Miller and Ryan Malby. That was later matched by MSGA Hall of Famer Nathan Bailey in 1999 when he was playing in the State A Tournament for Lau-
Jack Nicklaus in 1995 examining the site that became Old Works.
rel High School. Then in 2013 former Korn Ferry golfer and fellow MSGA Hall of Famer, Brandon McIver, posted a -7 (65) at a U.S. Amateur Qualifying event back in 2013, a score that still stands today.
Since it’s opening, Old Works has remained one of the most well-known and sought-after golf courses in Montana. With it’s unique black sand traps, and remnants of the old mining days, it’s a bucket list type of destination for many golfers around the state and beyond. And while Old Works is regularly put on the shortlist of best courses in the Treasure State by publications like Golf Digest, GOLF, and Golfweek, within that cohort of “great courses” Old Works is easily the most accessible for your average Montanan. Whether it’s the public access, reasonable pricing, the history of the grounds, or the friendly Anaconda atmosphere, Old Works represents the beauty of
the Montana golf community, perhaps more than any other course in the state.
For the MSGA, Old Works has been one of our favorite partners to work with over the years. Along with regularly hosting MHSA events, they have graciously provided the venue for many of our Senior Tour events, U.S. Amateur Qualifiers, and even the Men’s State Amateur Championship back in 2023. This year in particular we’re excited to watch the PNGA Senior and Super Senior Amateur Championships that are at Old Works, SEPTEMBER 156-18. It will mark just the third time a PNGA event will be played on Montana soil, hopefully with many more down the road. With great playing conditions, amazing staff, delicious food and a beautifully remodeled clubhouse and patio area, it’s a great spot to hold such a high-level event.
1975 view of the smokestack from present day Old Works (Montana Historical Society).
INSIDERS VIEW: OLD WORKS
BY PAUL JOHNS HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL, OLD WORKS
Everybody loves the history of the Old Works Golf Course. The course is built on the site of a former copper smelter, incorporating the area’s mining heritage into the design. It went from being an active smelting site to essentially a dump after the smelter closed. Then in the 1990s Old Works became the first golf course to be built on a federal EPA superfund site, when Jack Nicklaus was able to turn it into the top public golf course in the state.
We’re a natural links style course with wide open fairways and big undulating greens. The course conditions are amazing. We’re probably most known for our black slag bunkers, however, those bunkers spotlight our historic setting. The black slag is an inert, harmless material left by the copper
smelting process.
Our front nine are some of the most unique holes in the state. It wraps throughout the old smelting facility where many of the ruins remain. Hole #7 for instance, which is featured on Bear’s Best in Las Vegas, is a long downhill par 3. The tee shot is from the top of a slag mountain, and the green is surrounded by a sea of black slag below. Yardages range from 121 to 238, often playing into the wind. The back nine on the other hand plays much more like a traditional course.
We are a 100% public course and along with being a fantastic golfing destination, we have Jack’s Grille on site, which is one of the best restaurants in town and features two trackman simulators and a beautiful indoor/outdoor patio with firepits that can be utilized year-round. We also recently built two pickleball courts that are free to use for anybody.
Scene from when Old Works hosted the 2023 Montana State Men's Amateur Championship.
1. Who introduced you to golf?
In 1980 my Dad took over a 9 hole course in Centralia Washington, we lived in an apartment attached to the clubhouse.
2. Who influenced you most in your golf life?
Working with other superintendents in Western Washington, too many to list but I
have so many friends.
3. What is your favorite part about your role as Superintendent and General Manager at Old Works? What is the hardest part?
Working with a great staff, great people who are pass holders and of course the town of Anaconda is small and in a beautiful setting.
It’s a lot of hours per day to juggle all of the hats, so thank goodness its seasonal.
Todd Lupkes (left) and Paul Johns (right) .
4. Outside of Old Works, what is your favorite course in Montana and why?
Yellowstone Club in big sky, got a hole in one on #11 and Tom Weiskopf sent a signed flag.
5. What is a dream golf course you’d like to play once?
Augusta National, been there five times.
6. What is your dream celebrity foursome (living or dead)? Why would you choose them?
I play golf with a group who comes to visit me at Old Works every June, I would take them over stars any day.
7. What’s your most memorable moment on a golf course?
Having my girls helping me in the eve -
nings when they were growing up.
8. If you could change one thing about the game of golf what would it be?
People need to be more responsible, the disregard for other people and etiquette seems to be gone.
9. What advice would you give to those looking to get into the profession of Golf Superintendent? General Manager?
The dual role is very challenging, time management is the hardest part, you never seem to get a break.
Bonus: Lay up or go for it?
Life is too short to lay up, where is the first tee and what’s the course record.
Todd Lupkes with helper Daisy.
REMEMBERING EDEAN ANDERSON IHLANDFELDT
MONTANA’S ONLY PNGA HALL OF FAMER
BY TY SPARING MSGA COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
Just a short while back on January 1, 2024, the MSGA proudly became the fifth PNGA member association, with Alaska being welcomed in the fold shortly after to make it six total. With regional similarities both geographically and culturally, it’s a natural fit being aligned with each other and there’s even a little history together that goes back well over a century. The Butte Country Club was in the mix in the early stages of the formation of the PNGA in 1899, and there’s been a couple tournaments over the years, but perhaps Montana’s greatest previous tie to the Pacific Northwest Golf Association was a person named Edean Anderson Ihlandfeldt, and she might be the best golfer our state has ever produced.
Born in Helena in 1930, Edean Anderson’s early childhood certainly didn’t portray a youngster destined for athletic stardom. At just five years of age the future golfing phenom contracted polio, an infectious disease that attacks the nervous system and oftentimes leads to paralysis. Polio epidemics were frequent throughout the first half of the 20th century until Jonas Salk created the first successful vaccine in the early 1950s. For many children of the era, sports dreams ended with a polio diagnosis, but not for Anderson as Golf Digest reported on the “young Montana star” in 1953:
“Winning a battle over polio should be a great enough achievement for one lifetime,
but to blonde, blue-eyed Edean Anderson, recovery from the effects of the disease has only spurred her on to countless victories in almost every competitive sport. The same persistency and determination that enabled her to overcome an early attack of shoulder and facial paralysis has brought her into the very select ranks of our foremost women amateur golfers.”
Influenced greatly by her father Carl’s own “playing knowledge of most sports,” young Edean’s use of athletics to help overcome the ravages of polio encompassed baseball, basketball, skiing, track, swimming, speed skating and of course golf, gaining an early sense of the game while caddying for her dad. Her brother Ralph even claimed that “she could throw a football better than a lot of the boys.”
It became clear early on Anderson had an innate talent with sports, and her first bit of athletic acclaim came in the form of marbles. In May 1942, just five months after the United States entered World War 2, twelve-year-old Edean became the Helena city marble champion and was one of two girls in Montana that qualified for the State Marble Tournament. Along with eleven-yearold Josephine Campbell from Missoula, the two “Annie Oakleys of Montana marbledom” were the first two females to ever compete at the state event. As her brother admitted to the Independent Record in 1986, “it was a little embarrassing,” for him and his friends when little sister showed up and beat all the boys at what they thought was their own game.
While Edean didn’t win the State Marble Tournament, she did take home a trophy for sportsmanship, which displayed another foundational aspect of her character. Along with having natural sporting abilities that helped her become one of the best athletes our state has ever produced, being extremely well-liked was another constant in the life of Edean Anderson.
The year after the marble tournament she was elected President of the Student
Council at Central School in Helena, and throughout her career was complimented by nearly everyone she came across for having such a pleasant demeanor. One North Carolina writer for the Rocky Mount Telegram summed it up well in 1953: “Miss Edean Anderson of Helena, Montana. The golfing lass with the friendly smile and very likeable personality.”
Her personality won her a lot of friends and admiration from fans over the years,
Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt in the early 1980s. One of the best golfers in the history of the Pacific Northwest.
Edean Anderson in the early days of her touring career. A rare photo of her not smiling (Seattle Times)
but it was Anderson’s prodigious ability on the golf course that truly propelled her to stardom. By 1944 when at age 14 she won three major state events in the same summer – 4th of July in Whitefish, the Montana State Amateur Championship, and the Labor Day Tournament in Kalispell – she had already developed a reputation as a golfing marvel. Even at such a young age, people in the state’s golf community recognized her unique talents and predicted great things for her future. For many, such an outcome seemed obvious, as the Cut Bank Pioneer Press boldly claimed, “you can look forward to the day when she will become one of the most outstanding lady golfers of the country and that time is not very far away.”
Her doting father Carl, an auto dealer, embraced Edean’s uncanny desire to golf at an early age, and made sure to provide her with whatever she needed in the way of clubs, lessons, or opportunities to play competitively. That’s how she came to meet another Montana golfing legend, “the Sage of Last Chance,” Bill Roberts, a man so beloved they named the course after him.
A quiet and wise old golf pro, Roberts took over Helena’s Last Chance Golf Course in 1940 after previously working at a few courses in the Billings area. A famously industrious individual known for his “customary 14 to 18-hour working day,” Roberts spent two decades doing pretty much everything for the municipal course that would one day bear his name. That included taking the young golfing phenom Edean Anderson under his wing and giving “her everything at his command in the way of instruction and moral support and helped her build a game that amazes the galleries.” As Anderson explained in a later 2004 interview with the Independent Record, her dad Carl would drop her off every weekday during the summer before work and pick her up when he was off. “I wore out the grass on the driving
tee and around the clubhouse, working on my short game,” she recalled fondly, “every year Bill Roberts had to plant new grass seed wherever I practiced.”
That magical 1944 season of golf was capped off with an invitation to Anderson’s first big-time tournament, the Portland Open, and it was her father Carl and Bill Roberts that accompanied her. While still just a youngster, it was an incredible opportunity to play against some big names in women’s golf, including among others Betty Hicks who was the 1941 U.S. Amateur Champion and later formed the WPGA, the first professional tour for women. Before long Anderson would be friends with much of these elite golfers.
Edean followed up the next year in 1945 with another Montana State Amateur title (winning by 18 strokes) and continued playing in big events throughout the United States. It wasn’t always easy though for the Sophomore at Helena High, like at the Vancouver Open when she was almost barred from the tournament for wearing slacks, which club officials had banned in favor of skirts, and then was later made to cry by an opponent during one of her rounds at the same tournament. Suffice it to say Anderson took her lumps in the early going, but with an indefatigable attitude developed in the early days of polio recovery, those instances were just minor speed bumps in what eventually became a glorious playing career.
And the wins kept piling up for the rising star. For the rest of the decade Edean Anderson won every tournament Montana offered, including the State Amateur which she won four more times to make it six straight, a record that has yet to be broken. It’s all the more remarkable considering she only played in the event six times. The reason the “young power-hitter” didn’t make it seven or more in a row was because her golfing exploits were creating bigger opportunities outside of the state.
One such opportunity was the Tedesco Women’s Invitational in Salt Lake City, which Anderson won in 1947 and was her first big tournament victory outside of Montana. As the Salt Lake Tribune reported at the time, “the classy young shotmaker from Helena…she’s a grand little golfer and popular wherever she plays.” Popular indeed, and as much as golf fans in the Treasure State loved watching her play, the writing was on the wall, Anderson would soon venture out of Montana on a golfing quest to prove herself as one of the best female golfers in the country.
After graduating high school in 1948, she eventually enrolled at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where Edean would take her career to another level. Keep in mind that this era was still two decades away from Title IX and the ensuing proliferation of female collegiate sports, so throughout college Edean used Corvallis as something of a launching point for her touring career.
It was also at Oregon State where she met her good friend and early touring partner,
Grace DeMoss who became a PNGA Hall of Famer as well. If Oregon State did happen to have a female golf team in those years, with Anderson and DeMoss on board, they most definitely would’ve been one of the top programs in the country. Nevertheless, the duo traveled throughout the U.S. like a golfing version of Thelma and Louise, leaving a wake of broken club records behind them. As the Independent Record detailed in 1949, “Roaring out of the Pacific Northwest in one of Ford’s newest models, these two youngsters reaped victory in California and Arizona tournaments and practically filled the back seat with trophies.”
19-year-old Edean kept getting better and better too and it showed in the results. In the same year she took home her final Montana State Amateur title, she emerged victorious at the Sacramento Valley Open, earned the Howell Team Trophy with partner Grace, and won her first of five PNGA Women’s Amateur Championships.
She kept it rolling at the turn of the year in 1950, along with pal Grace they drove
Edean Anderson won her sixth and final Montana State Women's Amateur Championship in 1949.
down to Florida for the winter to take part in the “Citrus Circuit.” For Edean the trip south culminated with a Florida East Coast Golf Championship victory and a special invitation to Augusta, Georgia to take part in the Women’s Titleholders Tournament, which consisted of competitors that “held at least one recognized championship.” She held her own too, in third place after the first two days before trailing off during the final two rounds. Winning that year’s Titleholder’s Tournament and creating a new course record at Augusta Country Club (*not to be confused with Augusta National) was none other than Babe Didrikson Zaharias who had a 72-hole score of 298.
For those who are unaware, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was declared the “Greatest Female Athlete of the first half of the 20th century” by the Associated Press, and ESPN later ranked her as the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the Century, tops among women. She broke records at
the 1932 Olympics, earning gold medals in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin, along with a silver for the high jump. She was an AAU All-American basketball player for three straight years and even pitched four total innings during three different Major League Baseball spring training games. And of course, Didrikson Zaharias was great at golf, winning the U.S. Open three times and over forty other LPGA events, many of which Edean Anderson competed in as well.
Edean and Babe’s most notable showdown came in 1952 at the International Mixed TwoBall Open Golf Championships at Pinehurst in North Carolina when Didrikson Zaharias and partner Al Besselink faced off in the final match against Anderson and Dick Chapman. A writer for the Orlando Evening Star gushed about the Helena native’s performance leading up to the final match, saying, “Miss Anderson put her far more famous golfing sisters almost in the piker class.” The world-famous Didrikson Zaharias likewise had her hands full with
Final match up of the 1952 International Mixed Two-Ball Competition. Babe Didrikson Zaharias and partner (left), Edean and partner (right).
her female counterpart that day too, as “it was birdie on top of birdie for Miss Anderson.” After mounting a valiant comeback from four down at one point, on the final hole Edean sunk a clutch 15-footer which would’ve put the match into extra holes except “The Babe had other ideas.”
Didrikson Zaharias, whose putt was about a foot longer than Edean’s, stepped up calmly and drilled it, sending the anticipatory crowd into a frenzy. For fans of one of the greatest athletes our country has ever produced, “it was a storybook finish, the kind you see in the movies.”
As you can imagine the two got along, and at one point George Zaharias – Babe’s well-known professional wrestler husband –commented to local reporters while visiting Helena that “Edean is certainly one of the top stars in women’s golf today,” and that she was a “great ambassador for Helena and the people with whom she lived and grew up.” Quite a compliment from somebody married to the biggest star of all.
While they faced off a number of times over the previous few years, sadly for Edean and for sports fans worldwide, the competitors best moments together were already behind them, as Babe was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953 and died three years later.
For Edean the ascent continued. Among other tournaments, she won major events like the Canadian Women’s Amateur in 1952 and the Women’s Trans-Mississippi Amateur in 1953. But golf wasn’t the only thing blossoming in Edean’s life. In 1953 she met a successful Seattle insurance man named Bob Ihlanfeldt at the Montana Open in Helena. Bob was also a pretty good golfer himself and was deeply involved with local clubs in Seattle, and after a brief courtship as Edean recalled later, “I made the best decision of my life. I got married.” The two remained each
other’s favorite playing partners until Bob’s death in 1993.
Soon after the Ihlanfeldt’s moved to Seattle where Edean “settled down to being a good little homemaker.” By the end of the decade Edean and Bob had two children, Steve and Sue, with Sue arriving on the fifth wedding anniversary of her parents in May of 1959.
While it’s true in these years Edean made the conscious decision to tone down the touring schedule and not go pro, she nevertheless made her presence felt at local events, winning the Seattle City golf title in 1955, 1956 and 1958. However, when examining Edean’s career, this roughly sixyear stretch found Edean focused on family more so than golf.
But she was back in a big way in the 1960s. She won the first of three straight and four total Washington State Women’s Amateur Championships in 1961, won her third PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship in 1962 and repeated again in 1963 and 1964. In 1962 alone she became the only woman ever have won the PNGA Women’s Amateur, the Washington State Women’s Amateur, and the Seattle Women’s Amateur Championships, all in the same year. She even won the Big Sky Open in 1969, a popular event in Montana that attracted some of the region’s top female golfers.
Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt’s career would take another distinct turn in the 1970s. She was still winning lots of tournaments, like the Washington Women’s State Amateur in 1975, but now in that same year at age 45, with a trophy room no doubt bursting at the seams, Edean accepted the very first head coaching job for the University of Washington golf team.
In true Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt fashion, she didn’t accept a salary, instead
directing the money back into the program. For eight years she coached the Huskies, and by 1978, as the Spokane Chronicle noted, “the Washington Huskies have one of the better women’s golf programs around, thanks to capable coach Edean Ihlanfeldt and a liberal share of talent.” One of those talented players Edean coached was Mary Lou Mulflur, a woman who became the women’s head golf coach at the University of Washington herself in 1983 and just re-
cently stepped down in 2024 after 42 years at the helm and having won the NCAA Championship in 2016 among other accolades.
When Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt died in 2020, Murflur told the Seattle Times, “I cannot begin to describe how larger than life Edean was…She displayed a passion for golf, people and laughter that was beyond measure. Oh, how we all loved her laughter! She was a mentor to me up until shortly before she passed away. The lessons she taught me
Oregon State pals, Edean Anderson and Grace DeMoss celebrating another victory. Both are now in the PNGA Hall of Fame.
and countless other Husky golfers are immeasurable.”
After retiring as coach of the University of Washington, Edean got back on the course and set her sights on the one thing missing from her illustrious golfing resume: a USGA Championship.
After turning the requisite 50 years of age in 1980, by the fall of 1981 Anderson Ihlanfeldt was the first-round medalist of the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur held in New Jersey. Although she didn’t quite hold on to the lead that first year, by October of 1982 she was more determined than ever to see it through. Fortunately, she didn’t have
to travel all the way across the country, this time able to play in familiar Rocky Mountain conditions at the Kissing Camels Golf Course in Colorado Springs.
As the Independent Record reported, Edean was playing “under severe weather conditions, with a chill factor of below freezing at times.” But Ihlanfeldt prevailed over the weather and a field of 150 entries from 40 states by shooting rounds of 77, 80 and 75 for a 232 total.” Growing up in snowy Helena, Montana and floating around the broader Pacific Northwest for most of her life, she was well prepared to deal with unpredictable October weather to say the least.
Edean Anderson shown here with the 1982 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Trophy.
Winning the 1982 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur by four strokes was perhaps Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt’s greatest accomplishment as a golfer. She is still the only golfer from the state of Montana to win a USGA Championship event.
Even though it seems like a fitting end to an amazing career, Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt wasn’t quite done winning golf tournaments. The PNGA introduced a Senior Women’s Amateur Championship n 1986, and as the PNGA states on their website, “It was only fitting that she be the winner of the first three events. The wins in the PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur gave Edean the distinction of winning more PNGA championships, eight, than any other competitor, male or female, in the association’s history.”
Throughout the eighties and early nineties Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt played golf with her husband Bob three times a week. Both of whom were very active in the local golf communities for the remainder of their lives. Bob served as the president of both Inglewood and Broadmoor Golf Clubs in Seattle and even helped out on a few USGA committees. As Edean reflected on her husband in a 1986 interview with the Independent Record, “Bob’s been my biggest supporter, and in fact, helps me with my game as much as anyone.” Sadly, after a lengthy illness, Bob died in 1993 at the age of 66.
Throughout the rest of her life Edean remained involved in the broader world of golf in the Pacific Northwest. Active at her local clubs, she also helped bring in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur to Broadmoor Golf Club in 1996. She was inducted into the PNGA Hall of Fame in 1985, the University of Washington Hall of Fame in 1989, MSWGA (now MSGA) Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Helena Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. They even named a collegiate tournament after her in Washington, The Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational.
Despite having lived away from Montana for many decades, Edean never forgot her hometown of Helena. She would occasionally come to visit her brother Ralph, and it was on one of those occasions in 2013 that she heard the news they were thinking of changing the name of Bill Roberts Golf Course. Still loyal to the old pro that helped guide her in those early years, now 43 years after the mans death the loyalty had come full circle. Flabbergasted at the thought, she wrote multiple letters to the editor and even donated thousands of dollars to get a proper sign put up for the course, displaying Bill’s name. “I appreciate all you are trying to do to get more golfers,” she wrote, “changing a name is not the answer…We don’t need to start from scratch; we have beauty and love from a man who loved us.” What other authority on golf needed to be consulted than the town’s greatest? Case closed, the name remained the same.
Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt died in the spring of 2020, having recently turned 90 years old. In the Seattle Times obituary for the former golf star, they reflected on the profound impact Edean had on everyone that came into her presence. The first player offered a scholarship by coach Edean back in the mid-70s, Patti Marquis, explained, “I still have lots of messages from Edean on my phone, I like to listen to her voice. Edean was one of the greatest influences in my life.”
A fitting tribute to a true legend of golf in the Pacific Northwest. Her outstanding career so full of titles and awards, perhaps only overshadowed by her famous smile, laugh, and acts of generosity. Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt was seemingly liked by everyone she spent time around, and could probably beat most of those people on a golf course. What a legacy.
MAKING THE GAME HAPPEN
SEEING NO OPPORTUNITIES TO PLAY, A GROUP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FORMED THE FIRST COLLEGE GOLF CLUB IN THE STATE
BY LOGAN GROENEVELD-MEIJER
Originally published for PNGA Magazine
An oft-heralded aspect of golf is its inclusivity, in how the game welcomes anyone, regardless of their age, experience level or size of the fairway divots they take.
That message rang true this past spring at the University of Montana, leading to the advent of Griz Golf Club. The co-ed club sport was designed for the very purpose of allowing Missoula’s rookie or established student golfers an outlet to hone their skills. It is the first collegiate golf club in the state.
The program is designed to be bang-forbuck too, offering near access to seven courses and unlimited driving range balls for $300 per year. There is not (and won’t be) any restriction on how many students can join, and members are free to play recreationally or in National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) tournaments, sanctioned by the PGA of America.
Tucker Sargent, the associate director of club sports at U of M was part of the coa-
lition that got the Titleist rolling this past spring and saw within weeks how fast it took off among the student body.
“We went from five, to 10, to 20 [members] in about two weeks with no marketing on campus whatsoever, just word of mouth,” Sargent said of the early days. “This fall, we’re going to do a much bigger push to let the entire campus community know it’s open to men and women.”
Sargent, who only began his current role in February, also manages UM’s hockey program and mentioned how some of those players were part of Griz Golf’s foundation. Ten players took part in NCCGA competition, he said, and found it to be a tasty sample.
“This spring we sent two teams to their first ever NCCGA event in Prescott, Idaho,” Sargent said. “At first they were excited to do it,” he said. “Then the ones that went to the tournament just said, ‘Holy Smokes, I can’t wait to go to another one.’”
On that note, there’s not much about NCCGA’s competitive framework that indicates it’s not to be taken seriously. There are
rankings of both teams and individual players across the 400 schools that participate in season-long races for national championships. It’s been around for over a decade and is even sponsored by the recognizable Srixon and Cleveland Golf brands.
And at the University of Montana, competing in such tournaments is a significant opportunity, as the school lacks a men’s varsity golf program. “There are so many good golfers in our region and not many opportunities for them to play collegiately,” Sargent says. “We have a varsity women’s team, but no options for men. This new club is open to both men and women and competes in the NCCGA.”
Sargent himself has seen the high level of golf found right in his community, having
lived in Missoula since 2009.
“You wouldn’t think it was a golf place,” he said of his fair city. “But there’s a lot of access to some really good golf around here. Within a couple hours’ drive, there’s dozens of great courses.”
As Griz Golf enters its upcoming semester chock-full of student enthusiasm, Sargent is hopeful genuine connections can continue to be made through it.
“I just hope to see kids coming and continuing to play the game,” he said. “I think it’s a great lifelong sport that really benefits people later in life. It just opens the doors for a lifelong skill set, friendships and a community that is only growing with the U.S. and globally.”
The University of Montana Golf Club, the very first of it's kind in the Treasure State.
WELCOMING THE PNGA SENIOR AND SUPER SENIOR MEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
AT OLD WORKS GOLF COURSE
This SEPTEMBER 156-18 the PNGA Senior and Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championships will be held at Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda. As new members of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, this will
mark only the third time that a PNGA event will be held on Montana soil, the first in 1913 when it was hosted by the Butte Country Club, and the second time in 1995 when they held the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur at the Yellowstone Country Club in Billings.
The first time around a young E.J. “Ted” Barker was runner up to an exceptional golfer out of Victoria, Canada named A.V. Macan. Macan went on to become a PNGA Hall of Famer and eventually donated his trophy from the 1913 Butte event to be used as the “perpetual trophy of the PNGA Amateur,” which is still in use today! Barker meanwhile went on to win nine Montana State Amateurs, a record that remains untouched.
82 years later at the Yellowstone Country Club the PNGA hosted the Junior Amateur Championship in which Oregon’s 16-year-old Brian Nosler won his final match play event after hitting some remarkable shots down the stretch. As then PNGA referee Gary Mogg commented, “I just witnessed 36 holes of incredible golf. That’s the greatest match I’ve ever seen. It’s unfortunate we can’t have two champions, but we had two winners out there today.”
We’re certainly glad it didn’t take another 82 years to host a PNGA event and we look forward to many more. If the previous two amateur championships that Montana hosted are any indication, we can expect to watch some excellent golf and dramatic finishes at Old Works for the PNGA Senior and Super
Senior Amateur Championships!
In a field of 60 qualified Seniors and 36 Super Seniors, fifteen of Montana’s best will compete against elite golfers from across the PNGA. Included amongst the Treasure State contingent is MSGA Hall of Famer Bill Dunn and past State Senior Tournament and Senior Amateur Champions in Bob Hasquet, Brad Grattan, Jerry Pearsall, Cory Bedell, and Carl Funk.
For more information on the PNGA Senior and Super Senior Men’s Championships, CLICK HERE
RYAN MALBY PLACES
SECOND AT THE PNW SR. PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Kalispell’s Ryan Malby finished in second place, just one stroke back recently at the two-round PNW Senior PGA Professional Championship. A premiere event for PGA Professionals ages 50 and older, Malby was at the Seattle Golf Club, September 4-5, competing against some of the best golfers in the Northwest, all of whom were looking to get their hands on a piece of the $12,500 purse.
Malby, a Golf Professional at the Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish came into the event as the defending champ and sitting in the top spot after posting a blistering first round score of -6 (66) he put himself in good position to repeat as the titlist. He left the door open however, after a second round of +3 (75). Down by eight strokes coming into the day, the Idaho Club’s Jeff Gove followed up his first round of +2 (74) by matching Malby’s -6 (66) from the day before, piling up three birdies over the final five holes. It
all came down to #18 in which Gove birdied while Malby bogeyed, which gave the one stroke victory to the Idaho golfer. That marks the third win in the event for Gove.
For his efforts Malby earned $1,500 and secured an invitation to the 37th Senior PGA Professional Championship that will be held in late October at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
For full results of the PNW Senior PGA Championship, CLICK HERE
Kalispell's Ryan Malby finished in second at teh PNW Senior PGA Professional Championship. Shown after winning an earlier tourny in Oregon.
BY TY SPARING MSGA COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
BOBCATS
BEGIN 2025-26 SEASON IN NEW MEXICO AT THE DICK MCGUIRE INVITATIONAL
Head Coach Brittany Basye was back in her old stomping grounds at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque recently,
bringing her team of Bobcats down for the first 54-holes of competitive play to start the 2025-2026 golf season. Basye, who was the WAC player of the year in 1994 for UNM, will look to keep momentum moving forward for a Montana State team that has spent the last two years smashing program records. With a little bit of turnover, having lost All-Conference golfers Scarlet Weidig and Becca Tschetter to graduation, the Bobcats will no doubt look to the leadership of two-time Montana State Amateur Champion Lauren Greeny and last year’s Big Sky
Eva Heinz led MSU at teh Dick McGuire Invitational down in New Mexico (Photo Credit: Brian Morse).
Conference and Montana State Match Play Champion, Maddie Montoya.
Coming into the Dick McGuire Invitational ranked third in the Big Sky Conference, Montana State had a tough field to contend with that included Sacramento State and Northern Arizona who are ranked first and second in the conference respectively. Held at the University of New Mexico Golf Course, the Bobcats ultimately finished in fourth place with a three-round total score of +19 (883). A solid first tournament for a team coming in with a lot of expectations.
Junior Eva Heinz led the way for MSU, finishing in a tie for second place at -2 (214), the best finish of her collegiate career. Heinz’s three rounds got progressively better, highlighted by a third round of -4 (69) that included five birdies and propelled her from seventh to second place.
Joining Heinz in the top half of the field
was senior Lauren Greeny who finished at +7 (223) overall and Maddie Montoya who ended up in a tie for 31st at +8 (224).
Sacramento swept both categories, finishing at +3 (867) as a team while Ella Kraft won by the individual title by three strokes at -5 (211) overall.
For full results of the Dick McGuire Invitational, CLICK HERE
PROVIDENCE INVITATIONAL
The newly aligned Frontier Conference got its season underway earlier in September as men’s and women’s teams throughout the conference traveled up and over to Great Falls for the Providence Invitational. Held September 7-9 at the Eagle Falls Golf Course, competitors had two rounds of play on the
Montana Tech women's team all smiles after the Providence Invitational.
BY TY SPARING
MSGA COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
High school competitors are winding down the season, with divisionals coming at the end of the month, and state tournaments in the early part of October for both Class A and Class AA golfers. There are some familiar faces atop the leaderboards and some new ones too, and with no clear cut favorites in either class, it might depend on who gets hot at the right time.
In the Class A division, there will be a
new female champ for the first time in a few years, after Frenchtown phenom Katie Lewis graduated having won three straight state individual titles before heading over to Missoula to continue her career with the Griz. Whitefish’s Karlee Brown and Hamilton’s Cameron Burnett are two names to keep an eye on that are looking to fill Lewis’ titlist shoes. Burnett won the Frenchtown Broncs Invite, the very first event of the season, as well as the Kalispell Invite and tied for first at the Bigfork Invitational. Brown meanwhile has won four events: the Whitefish Triangular, Whitefish Western A Invitational, the
Polson Golf Invite, and tied with Burnett at the Bigfork Invitational.
The Class A boys have two of the best young golfers in the state right now in Corvallis’ Brady Powell and Polson’s Maxwell Milton. Powell, the reigning Montana State Junior Champion, broke a course record at Canyon River in Missoula earlier this season after posting a -12 (60). He’s followed that up with wins at the Ronan Invite, and the Eureka/Libby Invite. Not to be outdone, the sophomore Milton was the Class A champ last year and has four wins under his belt this season: Whitefish Western A Invitational, Steve Hullett Invitational, Kalispell Invitational, and playing on his home course at the Polson Golf Invite, Milton went way low with a round of -10 (62).
In the Class AA division, Missoula Senti-
nel’s Hudson Goroski will look to repeat as champion. He achieved wins at the Missoula Intercity Meet and MCPS Invitational. Others in the victory category this year are Jack Schaefer, Brady Bechtold, Jack Pinski, Isaac Mosser, Luke Nelson and Cobe Sacry. With other talented golfers like John Gilbert, Chase Choquette and Torren Murray, the Class AA boys might be the most wideopen field of the fall season. It should be an exciting finish.
Bozeman’s Kira Connell is so far the story of the Class AA girls division, carving out three straight victories to start the season at the Great Falls Invite, Helena Invite, and the Kalispell Invite. Looking to upset Connell at the state tournament are a bevy of competitive golfers in Zoey Loberg, Payton Tryan, Brooklyn Hageman, and Kendall Tkachyk.
Maxwell Milton playing at the AJGA Tournament earlier this summer.
5 WAYS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR A GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
BY BRANDI MERRICK MANAGER, GREEN SECTION EDUCATION
Being a golf course superintendent is not an easy job. They get up early, put in long days and deal with uncooperative weather, equipment breakdowns, irrigation malfunctions, staffing challenges and countless other issues. As golfers, we get to enjoy the results of all their hard work, so the least we can do is try to make their lives a little easier. Here are a few easy ways to do your part:
Focus on your fundamentals.
Fixing divots, repairing ball marks and raking bunkers are the course care basics that every golfer should have as part of their routine. Failing to do these simple tasks creates more work for the maintenance staff, has a negative impact on playing conditions, and can drive superintendents nuts.
Leave no trace.
We all have a wrapper fall out of our pocket from time to time during a round, but try to be diligent about getting your trash into cans around the course or keep it with you until you get back to the clubhouse. This includes picking up tees (broken or not) and keeping cigars, cigarette butts and sunflower seeds off the greens. If the garbage cans are full, try to keep your trash with you rather than piling it on top of an overflowing bin where birds, animals or the wind are likely to scatter it around the course.
Don’t jump the gun.
It’s understandable that golfers are excited to play, but teeing off before your scheduled
time can be very disruptive to the maintenance team. Morning maintenance is carefully planned to stay ahead of play, and if golfers get in the mix early it’s hard for the schedule to recover. If the course you’re playing allows golfers to tee off on holes other than the first, you should always check with the golf shop before doing so. An unexpected group on the back nine first thing in the morning can really throw a wrench in things.
Walk if you can.
Skipping the cart and walking if possible reduces wear and tear on the course and makes it easier for superintendents to maintain the best possible playing conditions. If you do end up taking a cart, make sure to follow all cart rules and traffic signs, and please park your cart with all four tires on the path when possible.
Ask questions.
If you see something out of the ordinary on the course or have a question about maintenance practices or playing conditions, don’t be afraid to ask the superintendent! They are happy to answer questions, and they can provide accurate information you can share with others who might be curious about the same thing. Asking might also make the superintendent aware of a problem they didn’t know about.
Superintendents and their teams work hard to get golf courses in the best condition possible. Anything you can do to minimize your impact on the course and potentially leave it a little better than you found it will be appreciated!
Properly disposing of your trash during a round and picking up any other garbage you see on the course is an easy way to make life a little easier for the course superintendent. Click
