2021 Golf Guide

GRIND PAYING OFF

Clarkston native Joel Dahmen is riding high after securing his first PGA Tour victory in March.

But the 33-year-old believes the best is yet to come in his career.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

MCCORD: COMBINING FATHERHOOD AND FAIRWAYS

How a day at the driving range with his 9-month-old daughter has changed author’s perspective on golfing.

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REMEMBERING AREA LEGEND AL MENGERT

Mengert’s son, Thomas, remembers the achievements on and off the course of his father, who died in April at age 91.

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TIMBER! DOWNED TREES FORCE COURSES TO ADJUST

January windstorm took down massive trees, affecting several area layouts from Downriver to Pine Acres PAGE 6

T2 • Sunday • May 23, 2021

Special Section

GOLF

Swinging into fatherhood

Lessons learned at a fun, yet chaotic range session

As a new dad, the date August 4th will be etched into my mind for a long time.

No, it wasn’t the day my daughter was born, she came on the 19th.

The 4th was the last round of golf I played before my world was forever turned upside MADISON down. A frantic threeMCCORD or four-hole SPOKESMAN adventure COLUMNIST at the Tekoa Golf Course with my then-pregnant wife Jordyn and her family.

In no way am I complaining.

When Quinnley was born I gained a best friend, renewed patience and a perspective on priorities.

Golf is no longer one of those priorities, but over the past nine months I have learned to appreciate the game more than ever before.

Although my obsession with learning as much about my swing as possible hasn’t changed much over the years, my time actually hitting shots has diminished. I guess that comes with the territory of finding a workhome balance.

The very-single version of me from five years ago, the one that played at least 18 a day before work at a short course in Selah, Wash., would be ashamed.

Sure, I had a solid wedge game and was decent off the tee, but life then was all about number of holes in a day, dialing in iron distances and why I couldn’t break 80.

I was missing the important aspect of the game – the appreciation that comes with each shot.

An appreciation you gain through trying to squeeze in a bucket while your child is distracted eating yogurt melts and licking your putter.

Why yes, I will accept my trophy for father of the year now.

COURTESY OF JORDYN MCCORD

Quinnley McCord, the 9-month-old daughter of the author, is clearly enjoying herself - at least for the time being - during a March 11, 2021, trip to the driving range at Indian Canyon Golf Course.

SPOKANE LEGEND MENGERT APPRECIATED GREATNESS ON, OFF THE COURSE Masters contender died in April at 91

By Thomas Mengert

FOR THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Alfred John Mengert harbored a lifelong appreciation for greatness wherever he found it.

He enjoyed words and knew their value. He held in esteem classic eloquence and balance whether in the Western art he collected or in the poise and accuracy that makes a great golf shot contribute to a winning score in tournament play. He was fond of quoting from the final address of General Douglas McArthur to the graduating class at West Point in 1962, the famous “shadows are lengthening” speech.

My father’s own days lengthened to the very day before what would have been his 92nd birthday when he left us to rejoin his

beautiful wife Donna, formerly Donna Jacobsen, in heaven, a reunion that he had long anticipated and that his Catholic faith had given him the strength to embrace. After a short illness, he fought his way back through rehabilitation to return home for three days coinciding with the Feast of Easter. It was to be his final victory.

My father had known many victories in his life and the price exacted through practice and dedication to attain them. His career in golf has been celebrated and was in many ways unparalleled in its variety and the diverse areas of his accomplishments: tournament play, both national (27 majors) and regional, golf club design, hosting major championships at Oakland Hills, and finally founding Leg-

SPOKESMAN-REVIEW ARCHIVE

Spokane golfer Al Mengert, who also played football at Gonzaga Prep, tied for ninth at the 1958 Masters Tournament. end Trail Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was to spend his retirement years. Each of these arenas added to the corona of achievement that will keep my father’s name alive and his memory fresh, particularly in his hometown of Spokane, where it all began.

He first played in the Spokane City Championship at the age of 12 in 1941. Seven years later at the age of 19 he won his first Spokane City title in 1948. He went on the

following year on to complete a string of city victories that continued in 1949 and 1950.

My parents were teen sweethearts who lived right across the street from each other only a few blocks up the hill from Downriver Golf Course where my dad learned to play from his father, Otto Mengert, himself once the Spokane city champion. By the time Dad graduated from Gonzaga Prep to go to Stanford, he had already won two national junior

That early May day at Indian Canyon I only got in about half of my large bucket before a meltdown occurred. I guess I’m also the mean dad for not letting her eat grass.

But the shots between were great, even if they weren’t good golf shots.

They were great because I was golfing. I was there with my daughter. Even the S-R’s Washington State beat writer Theo Lawson, or Uncle Theo as we call him, joined us to give me a little babysitting help as we traded off trying to hit signs on the range.

We tried everything to keep Q happy for long enough to empty the buckets. Snacks, toys, throwing my phone on the selfie camera – which typically gets me 5-10 minutes of distraction.

But she wanted none of it, she just wanted to be on the move enough that my eyes were on her and not the ball.

But that is where the change of perspective comes in. Instead of spending 10 minutes looking for the flattest, most lush turf on the range to hit from, I now seek the spot farthest away from anyone else with a nice mix of sun and shade for play time.

I know I am still a few years from being able to take my daughter out on the course for 18, but it’s those times at the range or on the putting green that make me smile more than any birdie can.

There will be lessons to learn, I’m sure. I understand that by bringing a baby to a driving range I am already getting dangerously close to baby-on-anairplane territory.

There will be days where I get in five shots before a bug bite sends us packing. There will also be times that I slap some show called “Cocomelon” on my phone so she is entertained for 30 minutes.

But it is important to me that my daughter is raised around the game.

Not that I am trying to go all Earl Woods and get her on TV by her second birthday. I want her to grow up with those same values I am just now learning.

Patience, perspective and priorities.

I probably should start teaching her now not to laugh at every bad shot though – even a father of the year isn’t perfect.

golf titles.

The Korean War intervened in 1951, and he entered the Air Force and was stationed in Great Falls, Montana. While serving there he was invited to play in what was to be his first of eight invitations to the Masters in Augusta, an experience that he was later able to celebrate in a recently published golf memoir.

By 1952 Al Mengert was named the top amateur golfer in America, and he turned pro the same year after winning the Pacific Northwest Open and the Mexican Amateur Title. It was an honor for a young man from the Northwest to take his first pro job at the famous Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, under Claude Harmon. After this short apprenticeship as a home professional, he took a job as head pro at Echo Lake Country Club in New Jersey. Dad soon made a name for himself there by winning the New Jersey State Open in 1957, 1958 and 1960. He also won the New Jersey PGA, the Metropolitan Open and the Arizona Open in 1960. His achievements in the New York metro area led to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Where this string of Eastern victories See MENGERT, 7

Special Section

May 23, 2021 • Sunday • T3

GOLF

AREA COURSE GUIDE Avondale GC: Hayden Lake, Idaho, (208) 7725963. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays, $61.50, except Mondays at $47. 9-hole weekends/ weekdays, $33. 18-hole seniors (60+), $55. 18hole juniors, $47. Members guest: $47. 18-hole cart fee: $35; 9-hole: $19. 18-hole cart fee (nonmembers): $40; 9-hole: $22. Tee times: no deadlines. (avondalegolfcourse.com) Bryden Canyon GC: Lewiston, (208) 7460863. 18-hole greens fees: weekends, $29; weekdays, $25. 9-hole: daily, $18. Junior rate, free with adult round. College rate, $18 with ID, $6 for LCSC student/faculty. 18-hole cart fee: $20 per rider, $30 (2-person same household); 9-hole: $15 per rider, $20 (2-person same household). Replay rate, $10.

Tee times: no deadlines. (brydencanyongolf.com) Chewelah G&CC: (509) 935-6807. Course open-Sept. 30 weekend/weekday (includes cart): 27 holes $71; 18 holes $56. Every day after 2 p.m. (includes cart): 18-hole $43; 9-hole $30, 9-hole walking $20. Seniors, 9 holes $20, 18 holes $35, 27 holes $45; juniors free on 9 holes with paying adult, 18 holes $22, 27 holes $27. Walking rates all season weekend/ weekday: 9 holes $25, 18 holes $38, 27 holes $48. Tee times: up to 14 days in advance. (chewelahgolf.com) Circling Raven GC: Worley, Idaho, (800) 5232464. 18-hole greens fees (with golf cart, GPS and use of practice range): Spring: Monday-Thursday: $89; Friday-Sunday and holidays: $99; replay (same day) and junior rates: $50. Summer: Monday-Thursday: $99, Friday-Sunday: $109; replay and junior rate: $60. Fall: Monday-Thursday: $89, Friday-Sunday $99; replay and junior rate: $50. Tee times: no deadlines. (cdacasino.com/golf) Coeur d’Alene GC: (208) 765-0218. 18-hole greens fees: Monday-Thursday, $35.85, Friday-Sunday and holidays, $37.74; seniors, Monday-Thursday, $30.19, Friday-Sunday and holidays, $33.02; juniors $15.09. 9-hole: Seniors, Monday-Thursday $19.81, Friday-Sunday and holidays, $21.70; juniors $10.38. 18hole cart fee: $32.08; 9-hole: $18.87. Tee times: Call before midnight one week prior. (cdagolfclub.com) Coeur d’Alene Resort: (208) 667-4653. 18hole greens fees: weekdays/weekends, May: $165, twilight $110; June: $195, twilight $145; July/August: $255, twilight $175; September: $195, twilight $145; October: $135, twilight $85. Resort rate without stay and play package varies on availability. Fees include cart, range balls and forecaddie (gratuity not included), sports massage and complimentary bag tag. Tee times: booked up to 60 days in advance. (cdaresort.com/play/golf) Colfax GC: (509) 397-2122. 18-hole greens fees, $25, college (ages 18-24) $20, junior $15. 9-hole: $18, college $15, junior $10. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $20. Tee times: weekends, call one day in advance; weekdays, no deadlines. Thursday night course closed for men’s league through June 17. (colfaxgolf.com) Dominion Meadows GC: Colville, (509) 6845508. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $32/$28; senior 18-hole: $28/$26, college $28/$26, junior $18. 9-hole fee: weekends/weekdays $22/$20; senior 9-hole: $20/$18, college $23/19, junior $10. 18hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $15. Tee times: no deadlines. (colvillegolf.com) Deer Park G&CC: (509) 276-5912. 18-hole greens fees: $33 ($15 for sunset rate, times vary); $30 for members, $28 for seniors, $16 for juniors.

9-hole: $22, $20 for seniors, $12 for juniors. Afternoon special (after 1:30 p.m.): 18-hole adults and

seniors, $25; juniors $12. 9-hole adults, seniors $20, juniors $8. 18-hole cart fee: $17; 9-hole $8.50. Tee times: no deadline. (deerparkgolf.com) Downriver GC: Spokane, (509) 327-5269. 18hole green fees: $43; 9-hole $27. Sunset rate $20.

Junior 9- or 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/downriver) Esmeralda GC: Spokane, (509) 487-6291. 18hole greens fees: $45; 9-hole $27. Sunset rate $20.

Junior 9- or 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/esmeralda) The Fairways GC: Cheney, (509) 747-8418. 18hole: Monday-Thursday greens fees $33; weekends $37, senior $23, junior $14. 9-hole (weekends after 12) $24, senior $23, junior $14. Tee times: no deadline, dynamic pricing all the time at (golfthefairways. com) Harrington G&CC: (509) 253-4308. 18-hole greens fees: Wednesday-Friday $22, $20 for seniors and military; $16 for juniors. 9-hole: $18, $14 for seniors and military; $12 for juniors. Monday-Tuesday 18-hole $14; 9-hole $14. 18-hole cart fee: $26; 9-hole: $16. Tee times: no deadlines. (harringtonbiz.com/golf) Highlands GC: Post Falls, (208) 773-3673. 18hole greens fees: Weekday: $35, junior $16. Weekend: $42.95, junior $16. 9-hole: $26, junior $16.

18-hole cart fees: weekday $14.95; weekend $17 per seat; 9-hole: $9 per seat. Twilight time is after 2 p.m. and is $30 to walk. Tee times: no deadline. (thehighlandsgc.com) Idaho Club: Sandpoint, (208) 265-2345. 18-hole greens fees (all fees include range and cart): weekdays (Monday-Thursday): 7-10:30 a.m. private members only, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m $89-$140. Weekends (Friday-Sunday): 7-10:30 a.m. private members only, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. $109-$140. Tee times required. (theidahoclub.com/Nicklaus-signature-course/) Indian Canyon GC: Spokane, (509) 7475353. 18-hole greens fees: $45; 9-hole: $29.

Sunset rate $20. Juniors 9- or 18-hole $15.

Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/Indian-canyon) Latah Creek GC: Spokane, (509) 448-1212.

18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Friday and after 3 p.m. weekends), $39; weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book weekdays $44, weekends $46; senior rate on Monday-Friday $39, weekend $42. 9-hole: weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30. Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12.

College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3 p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer, $18; 9-hole $9. Tee times: no deadline. (spokanecounty.org/1141/Latah-Creek) Liberty Lake GC: (509) 255-6233. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Friday, after 3 p.m., weekends), $39, weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book, weekdays $44, weekends $46; senior rate Monday-Friday $39, weekend $42. 9-hole weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30. Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12. College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3 p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer: $18; 9-hole: $9. Tee times: up to nine days in advance. (spokanecounty.org/1210/Liberty-Lake) The Links GC: Post Falls, (208) 777-7611. 18-hole greens fees: Friday-Sunday $41; Monday, Wednesday and Thursday $37; 9-hole Friday-Sunday $27; Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, $23; Tight-WadTuesday: 18-hole $28 with bucket of range balls. Seniors/military (Monday-Thursday), $31 for 18 holes, $18 for 9 holes. Juniors: $16. 18-hole cart fee: $17 per seat; 9-hole: $11 per seat. Tee times: no deadlines. (golfthelinks.net) MeadowWood GC: Liberty Lake, (509) 2559539. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Friday and after 3 p.m. weekends), $39, weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book, weekdays $44,

weekends $46; seniors Monday-Friday $39, weekend $42. 9 holes: weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30. Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12.

College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3 p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer: $18; 9-hole: $9. Tee times: up to nine days in advance. (spokanecounty.org/1234/MeadowWood) Mirror Lake GC: Bonners Ferry, Idaho, (208) 267-5314. 18-hole: weekdays $26.50, weekends and holidays $28.50, juniors $9.50. 9-hole: weekdays $19, weekends and holidays $21, juniors $5. Cart fee: 18hole $25, 9-hole $15. Cart trail fee: $5. (bonnersferry. id.gov/mirror-lake-golf-course) Palouse Ridge GC: Pullman, (509) 335-4342.

18-hole greens fees for residents (live within 40-mile radius): $63. Nonresidents: $115. Seniors (60 and up)/ faculty and staff: $53. Students: $44 (Monday-Thursday $39). Juniors: $20. Twilight: $49. 9 holes: $49. WSUAA member: $61. All rates include cart. (palouseridge.com) Pine Acres: Spokane, (509) 466-9984.

9-hole: weekdays $10, seniors $9, juniors $9. All players $10 on weekends. Range bucket prices: 150 balls for $16, 100 balls for $11, 70 balls for $10. (https://bit.ly/3fXDi7J) Pinehurst GC: Pinehurst, Idaho, (208) 6822013. 18-hole greens fees: weekday and weekend $28, 9-hole $18. Play all day Monday and Thursday, $18, $30 with cart. Cart fees: 18-hole $22; 9-hole $12. (pinehurst.com) Pomeroy GC: 18-hole greens fees: weekends/ weekdays $20. 9-hole: $10. Cart path fee: $5. Tee times: none.

Ponderosa Springs: Coeur d’Alene, (208) 664-1101. 9-hole: weekdays $13, weekends $15.

Weekdays: seniors (55 and over) $11, juniors (17 and under) $11, and military $11. Weekends: seniors $13, juniors $13 and military $13. Ten-play passes: $110.

Pull carts only: $4. Club rentals: $3. Tee times: none.

No dress code. (ponderosaspringsgolf.com) Prairie Falls GC: Post Falls, (208) 457-0210.

9-hole greens fees: $24.50, with shared cart $41.50, golf cart alone $47. Juniors $13. Trail fee: $13. Pull cart: $5. Range balls: small bucket (38-42 balls) $5, large bucket (72-76 balls) $8, jumbo bucket (165-170 balls) $15. (pfgolf.com) Priest Lake GC: (208) 443-2525. Greens fees: Opening-June 20 weekdays: 18-holes $30, 9-holes $25; weekend 18-holes $40, 9-holes $28. June 20-Sept. 12 weekdays: 18-hole $45, 9-hole $25; weekend 18-hole $56, 9-hole $35. Sept. 12-closing weekdays: 18-hole $30, 9-hole $25; weekends, 18hole $40, 9-hole $28. Twilight after 2 or 3 p.m., $40 (with cart) all you can play in off-season, $25 in peak season. Senior/military/student discount is 10%.

Tee times: no deadline, but time availability varies. (plgolfcourse.com) Quail Ridge GC: Clarkston, Wash., (509) 7588501. 18-hole greens fees: $30. 9-hole: $20. 18-hole with cart: $45; 9-hole: $30. Tee times: up to two weeks in advance. (golfquailridge.com) The Creek at Qualchan GC: Spokane, (509) 448-9317. 18-hole greens fees: $45; 9-hole: $29; sunset rate $20. Juniors, 9- and 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/qualchan) Ranch Club GC: Priest River, Idaho, (208) 4481731. Weekends/weekdays $24. 9-hole: weekends/ weekdays $18. Twilight (after 4 p.m.) $15. Junior $10.

18-hole cart fee per rider: $14; 9-hole $10. Tee times: Holidays and weekends. (ranchclubgolfcourse.com) Ritzville GC: (509) 659-9868. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays/weekends $22; senior (Monday-Thursday) $17. 9-hole: $15, senior (Monday-Thursday) $12. Unlimited rounds (Monday) $10, students $5. 18-hole cart fee $20, 9-hole $10. Tee times: no deadlines.

Sandpoint Elks GC: (208) 263-4321. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $26.67 plus tax.

9-hole: weekends/weekdays $18.89 18-hole cart fee: $15.59 per seat. 9-hole: $10 per seat. Pull cart: $5. League nights: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. Women’s league at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Tee times: before 3 p.m. on league nights. (elks.org/lodges) Shoshone G&TC: Kellogg, Idaho, (208) 7840161. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $27, senior (age 65 and up) $22, junior $19 (18 and under). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $16, senior $13, junior $10. Thursdays (except holidays), all day $30 including cart. Veterans 18-hole $21, 9-hole $13 every day; Veterans play half price fee on Mondays. 18-hole cart fee, $27; 9-hole $14. Tee times: call/online for tee times. (shoshonegolf.com) St. John G&CC: (509) 648-3259. All-day greens fees: weekends/weekdays $18. Pull cart $3.

Motorized cart $25.

St. Maries GC: (208) 245-3842. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $30; weekdays $26; juniors $13.

9-hole: weekends $18; weekdays $16; juniors $8. 18hole cart fee $26; 9-hole $13. Senior Wednesdays: 18-hole $13; 9-hole $8. Tee times: no deadline.

Stoneridge GC: Blanchard, Idaho, (800) 9522948. 18-holes: $65. $79 with cart. 9-holes: $45. $54 with cart. Junior: 18-hole $20, 9-hole $12. Twilight (after 3 p.m.): $45, $54 with cart. Tee times: month or more. (stoneridgeidaho.com) Tekoa GC: (509) 284-5607. Greens fees weekday: 18-hole $32, 9-hole $19. Senior/military/college: 18-hole $25, 9-hole $15. Junior: 18-hole $16, 9-hole $10. After 6 p.m.: 18-hole and 9-hole $15, walking unlimited. Weekends: 18-hole $37, 9-hole $23. Junior after 12 p.m.: 18-hole $20, 9-hole $17. After 4 p.m.: 18hole and 9-hole $20 unlimited walking. Cart rental per seat: 18-hole $17, 9-hole $12. Pull cart: 18-hole and 9-hole $5. Tee times: none. (tekoacc.com) Twin Lakes Village GC: Rathdrum, Idaho, (208) 687-1311. 18-hole greens weekday fees: $40 ($57 with cart), weekend fees: $42 ($59 with cart); seniors (Monday-Friday) $30 ($47 with cart); juniors (under 18) $20 ($33.50 with cart). 9-hole, Monday-Friday before 8 a.m. and after 3 p.m.: $25 ($33.50 with cart), weekends: $27 ($35.50 with cart); seniors (Monday-Friday) $20 ($28.50 with cart); juniors $13.50 ($19 with cart). Twilight rate after 2 p.m.: $32 ($49 with cart). Tee times: call in advance. (golftwinlakes.com) University of Idaho GC: Moscow, Idaho, (208) 885-6171. 18-hole greens fees: public $30 ($25 after 2 p.m.); students $21 ($16 after 2 p.m.); seniors/ faculty/military $26 ($21 after 2 p.m.); juniors $10 (10 and under play free). 9-hole fees: public $20; students $16 ($11 after 2 p.m.); seniors/faculty/military $18 ($12 after 2 p.m.). 18-hole cart fee: $15 ($18 per extra seat); 9-hole: $10 ($12 per extra seat). Tee times: accepted one week in advance. (uidaho.edu/ golfcourse) Trailhead GC: Liberty Lake, (509) 928-3484.

9-hole greens fees: adult $20, seniors $17, juniors $10, services $17, twilight (5 p.m.-1 hour before dark) $17. Second-round fees: adult $9, seniors $8, juniors $5, services $8. Season passes for unlimited play: adult $675, seniors/services $575, juniors $175. Pull cart $5. Club rental $12. Power cart: 9-hole $16; 18hole $32. Trail fee $8. Range balls: small $6, medium $8, large $10. (libertylakewa.gov/golf) Wandermere GC: Spokane, (509) 466-8023.

18-hole greens fees: weekdays $32, weekend until 3 p.m. $36, $20 after 3 p.m.; seniors $28, junior $18.

9-hole: weekdays $24; seniors $22, juniors $10. 18hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $15. Tee times: weekends, call one week in advance; weekdays, call one day in advance. (wandermere.com) • Rates may vary based on course condition. Contact course for daily rates.

T4 • Sunday • May 23, 2021

Special Section

GOLF

STAFF PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

CLIMBING THE LADDER

Finally a winner, Dahmen still living out a dream on PGA Tour

J

By Jim Meehan

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

oel Dahmen’s first PGA Tour win didn’t change the person or the player, but it did wonders for his confidence and short- and long-term security.

The Clarkston native is still living out a dream with caddie and long-time friend Geno Bonnalie, still crafting comical Twitter posts and still playing a non-bomber style that isn’t the norm for many of golf’s biggest names.

Those are essentially givens, like the bucket hat he wears on the course.

Dahmen has always done things his way, and that included being the guest of a honor at a small party on the eve of his breakthrough victory in March at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.

No, it wasn’t a presumptuous celebration of the following day’s events. The gathering honored Dahmen’s new status as vested in the tour’s performance-based pension plan. That’s a big deal, he said, and a nod to his consistency.

“Not that many people know that, but it was my 15th event in my fifth year,” Dahmen said of reaching the requirements. “We probably have the best retirement in all of sports.”

He went out the next day and added another layer to his security blanket, conquering blustery conditions for a nervy one-stroke win. He earned a $540,000 check and a two-year tour exemption.

“As well as I’ve played over the years, I’ve never had any exemptions,” Dahmen said. “It was always, ‘Do it again this year.’ ” Dahmen earned win No. 1 in his 111th tour start. He came in flailing – missed cuts in six of his seven previous events – and left with a long-awaited trophy.

The victory mirrored his professional journey. Nothing has come easy for Dahmen, who recovered from testicular cancer in 2011. He grinded on stepping-stone tours, improved each year and learned to be more comfortable when he’s in contention.

He spent five seasons on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada before graduating to the Web.com Tour, now known as the Korn Ferry Tour. He earned his PGA Tour card a few years later and has made incremental progress over the last five seasons.

That’s why there were emotional embraces on the 18th green with wife Lona, who worked two jobs at times during his mini-tour days, and Bonnalie. Dahmen also made phone calls to his dad, Ed, and coach, Rob Rashell.

Rashell and Dahmen have worked for months on chipping, a weakness in Joel’s game, and numerous clutch upand-downs were a key reason for Dahmen’s first win.

Ed and late wife Jolyn, who passed away from cancer in 2005, made countless sacrifices so Joel could develop his game as a youngster.

“My dad probably doesn’t get enough credit, him and my mom,” Dahmen said. “We moved to Clarkston and built a house close to a course, and that was the result of me having some potential.

“We drove all over place, stayed in Motel 6s when others were in Marriotts. Just the time and energy he was willing to spend. He was always reading books to learn more (about golf ). A lot of late nights driving home in the dark from Clarkston Country Club.

See DAHMEN, 5

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clarkston native Joel Dahmen watches his putt on the seventh green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 5, 2020, in Orlando, Fla.

Special Section

May 23, 2021 • Sunday • T5

GOLF

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joel Dahmen hits an approach shot during the final round of the Scottsdale Open on May 14, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Dahmen finished tied for eighth.

DAHMEN Continued from 4

“I was also fortunate for Doug Phares, he was Clarkston’s pro when I was 11, 12, and we’re still friends. I had a key to open and lock the gate so I could go early and stay late. He let me be a kid, and a lot of the members let me play there. It took a village, and Clarkston was an awesome village.”

It took a while for Dahmen to find his way in the PGA village. Like most newcomers, his rookie season came with the relentless stress of trying to perform and maintain his card on tough courses in cities that were new to him.

Beyond the on-course challenges, he temporarily muzzled his fun-loving personality and was careful not to ruffle any feathers.

“That first year, maybe you’re trying to be what a pro golfer should be, but I wasn’t necessarily myself,” Dahmen said.

“You’re just trying not to get in anybody’s way instead of saying hey to people and joking around.

“For me, I’m comfortable in my own skin, confident in who I am. I grew up in a great place. Lewiston and Clarkston is more of a blue-collar work ethic. We had everything we wanted but nothing too fancy. It’s not lost on me that we get to play on the PGA Tour and just how lucky and special that is. It was more that second year when it was, ‘I think I can do this,’ and I started playing better. Every year you get more comfortable.”

Dahmen’s first win gave him the freedom to adjust his schedule and concentrate on bigger events and the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs.

“I’ve played a lot in previous years, and

my performance hasn’t been good at the end of a long year playing 28-30 events,” he said. “I’m picking my spots a little more.”

The 33-year-old is bringing more belief to the first tee, a byproduct of his first win. In addition to improved chipping, Dahmen made a bunch of short putts, a portion of his game that hasn’t always been a strength, to arrive in the winner’s circle.

“I always believed I would (win), but when you get to 100-plus events it’s like, ‘I wonder when it’s going to happen,’ ” he said. “Hopefully one leads to two and three, four, five. It wasn’t the biggest event or the toughest field or a major, but just knowing I can get it done was huge.”

Dahmen finished tied for 18th at the Wells Fargo Championship earlier this month after hilarious Twitter exchanges with Phil Mickelson prior to playing to-

gether in the first two rounds. Mickelson had the better of it early, leading the field after a first-round 64, but faded to 69th after a pair of 76s on the weekend.

“He’s one of the better trash-talkers on tour,” Dahmen said. “We traded numbers and anytime I want to play a practice round he said to let him know.”

Dahmen leans on ball-striking, notably his driving accuracy and solid iron play. He’s made strides on and around the greens, but there’s room for growth in those areas. He noted that his 1-under 283 at the Wells Fargo was “probably as high as I could shoot for four days. I just didn’t putt well.”

Dahmen resisted the temptation to make major changes during a slump earlier this season. Instead, he stayed with his game plan, which is proven with 13 See DAHMEN, 7

T6 • Sunday • May 23, 2021

Special Section

GOLF

ASSOCIATED PRESS

George Brett, left, reacts after blowing the name of the sponsor of the golf tournament he was participating in on Aug. 30, 1999, in Kansas City, Mo.

Watson, Brett share respect, friendship, mission to cure ALS

By Vahe Gregorian

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fifty years ago next month, Kansas City’s Tom Watson graduated from Stanford and joined the PGA Tour.

In the same month in the same year, 1971, the Royals drafted George Brett, who in his ongoing role as “vice president for life” has remained with the franchise ever since.

From that harmonic convergence, their superlative careers ultimately would become entwined ... much to Kansas City’s pride and gratitude. They ascended to legends in their sports and icons of the regional sportscape. And they came to enjoy the sort of friendship that makes them at ease interjecting when the other speaks and able to poke fun at each other ... with their mutual admiration also quite obvious.

They’ve shared much over the decades, including an experience that they’d rather not have had: the loss of close friends to ALS. In the case of Watson, it was his caddy, Bruce Edwards, whom Watson told, “I’ll work on this and try to find a cure for the rest of my life.” In the case of Brett, his pledge to his friend Keith Worthington to keep up the fight is enshrined in stone on the base of his statue at Kauffman Stadium: “I made a promise to a friend and I intend to keep it.”

That commonality unites them in a particularly significant way to help find a cure for the disease that Watson laments “is still a death sentence.”

All of that converged once more on a Monday morning earlier this month at the Joe McGuff ALS Golf Classic at LionsGate, the 39th version of the event now named for the renowned former Kansas City Star sportswriter and editor who suffered from the disease.

On this occasion, Brett touted his fundraising concept of #Change4ALS by telling the tale of taking to the bank what turned out to be $692 in change accumulated in a ceramic bucket at home over a few years.

“If everybody does that, could you imagine the amount of money we could raise for ALS?” he said, adding that it’s his aim for the program to go national ... including in Major League Baseball clubhouses.

A moment later, Watson smiled and chimed in, “So get your change out of your pockets.”

In addition to constantly seeking to help fund the cause, Brett and Watson and the ALS Association Mid-America Chapter know that raising awareness in itself is crucial.

Maybe all the more so this year. Because as much as this event has become a rite of spring, and will remain a passion of theirs until a cure is discovered, May 10 marked the first time since 2019 that they held court together as usual at the event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They were glad to be back after a year-plus of adjustments of their own.

Brett binge-watched a lot of television series with his wife, Leslie, and came to feel one of the highlights of his days was walking his dog, London. When I spoke with him on the phone during one of those walks last May, he said, “It’s like Yogi (Berra) used to say: ‘Deja vu all over again.’ ” Golf later proved therapeutic.

Watson’s last year, he

said, included lots of isolation on his farm with his dogs. But he later continued his adventures in cutting horse competitions inspired by his late wife and hero, Hilary, who died in 2019.

When Watson mentioned failing to make the cut in a recent competition, Brett razzed him as a “weekend warrior,” leading to a playful exchange about what Brett might lack as a golfer and Watson as a hitter. Which takes us to another of their shared fascinations: the state of the reeling Royals.

Brett watches most games, and Watson says he’s seen every one this season. But what each can really offer is the perspective of men who owned their sports and yet can relate to the nature of streaks and slumps with which each had to contend.

Appropriately enough in any conversation between them, Brett pivoted from Watson’s reference to late golfing mentor Stan Thirsk when asked what he makes of the Royals right now.

Hearkening to Thirsk’s advice to “learn to swing easy,” Brett said, “I think right now the Royals are swinging too hard. They’re trying to do more than they’re capable of doing.”

Watson echoed the sentiment, and Brett continued.

“When you’re winning it’s easy because everybody is contributing,” he said.

“And now nobody is contributing, and everybody is trying to be the guy to get them over the hump. As a result, you try too hard.

I’ve always said, ‘Don’t try harder, try easier.’ “ Brett also advocated simply thinking positive, offering an interesting example even if it may seem more applicable to the challenge of the individual mindset than the collective.

“You can trick yourself (into believing), ‘Today’s the day,’ ” he said.

That was one thing at the plate, where he understood that pitchers didn’t want to face him and figured every time he had a big hit in the playoffs, “I guarantee you my heart was beating slower than the pitcher’s.”

But it was another matter in the field. He thought about how error-prone he was when he was brought up in 1973 and for a time hoped the ball wouldn’t come to him.

“Every time I said, ‘Don’t hit it to me,’ guess what?

They hit it to you,” he said.

“The ball will find you.”

So he decided this: He’d tell himself “I want it, I want it, I want it.” And, presto, he became an accomplished fielder.

To Watson’s way of looking at it, “When none of the tools are working ... you really just have to scramble and find out the best way to score.”

In essence, really, that meant tough it through and find a way ... something the Royals were doing through 25 games with the best record in baseball (16-9).

“I always had the ability to score when I was playing badly,” Watson said. “I just wouldn’t allow myself to turn that bogey into a double bogey.”

Also: He believed Thirsk when he’d calmly tell him, “It will get better.”

We’ll soon see whether it does for the Royals.

But in the meantime, we know this: Fifty years since they turned pro at the same time, it doesn’t get much better for Kansas City than to have two of its most famous athletes stand so adamantly together for such a worthy cause that also will always be part of their legacy.

COURTESY OF STEVE CONNER

Branches from a downed tree clipped part of the clubhouse entryway at Downriver Golf Course over the winter.

The January windstorm affected many area courses.

STORM’S IMPACT STILL FELT

Courses clear away downed trees

By Jim Meehan

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The first shot on No. 1 at Hayden Lake Country Club looks different than it did a year ago.

A tree stationed about 225 yards from the tee box that often came into play on the drive and possibly the second shot was uprooted during the January windstorm.

“Essentially now it’s a wide-open tee shot,” director of golf Matt Bunn said.

The 342-yard par 4 was one of numerous holes in the region directly impacted by the windstorm, which leveled hundreds of trees with gusts that reached 70 miles per hour.

Downriver lost 28 trees, including three pines that landed in the parking lot. Repairs to the clubhouse entry way were completed recently after it was clipped by branches on a falling tree. Indian Canyon lost 26 trees and removed 13 more for safety or turf health reasons. Thirty-five trees, including a few that flattened the fence to the driving range, went down at Pine Acres.

“It was a big mess,” Indian Canyon pro Doug Phares said. “It seemed overwhelming, but before you knew it, (city parks crews) were through with it. They finished up at Downriver, Comstock (Park) and then came here.”

Spokane County golf director Doug Chase said a minimal number of trees were lost at Liberty Lake, MeadowWood and Latah Creek.

About 47 trees were uprooted at Coeur d’Alene Golf Club and anoth-

er 22 were cut down due to safety concerns. Hayden Lake lost about 35 trees. Shoshone Golf Club in the Silver Valley lost approximately 100 trees.

Cleanup efforts took time, but courses were able to open on schedule.

“It was really a perfect storm,” Spokane city golf manager Mark Poirier said. “We had that mild January with a lot of rain. If that windstorm happened when the ground was frozen a lot of those trees would still be here. The turf was so soft.”

The complexion and perhaps the playing strategy changed on holes that lost well-placed trees. Here’s a look at several holes that were impacted seriously or subtly by the windstorm.

An iconic tree on No. 5 at the ninehole Shoshone course was a windstorm casualty. The image of the tree is on the scorecard and merchandise such as hats and shirts in the pro shop.

“Our logo tree, it was kind of a staple of the course,” pro Jason Waters said. “It changed the hole a lot. It was on the right-middle part of the fairway so it’s a lot more open. It wasn’t super dead where it snapped off, maybe a little rotten in the middle.

We left the (3-foot) stump there.”

How did players react?

“For me, it was, ‘Oh no,’ ” Waters said. “For some golfers, they were pretty happy about it.”

A few holes at Downriver have a different look, but the 332-yard 15th was probably influenced the most by the absence of a pair of trees (one by the windstorm and the other was diseased).

“Standing on the tee, there were two trees set in the fairway, one on the left and one on the right,” Down-

river pro Steve Conner said. “They just narrowed it up a little bit. The one on the right snapped in half and it had to come out. It’s pretty wide open now.”

Minus downed trees, there’s additional space for recovery shots on innumerable holes in the region, including after hitting wayward drives on Nos. 2 and 12 at Indian Canyon.

Both are par 5s.

“Shots to the right on 2 have a little more of an opening than before,” Phares said. “And shots left on No. 12 have a little more opening, but you still have to hit a sharp hook to get around them.”

The Coeur d’Alene Golf Club lost a significant number of trees on No. 1, No. 11 and the area around the seventh green near the No. 8 tee box.

Approaches from the right rough on the par-4 10th won’t have to contend with a tall, thin tree that came down in January.

Hayden Lake’s third hole, a 293yard par 4, lost a tree that protected the left side of the green.

“That’s kind of open now,” Bunn said. “We were fortunate with cleanup because we have a couple of expert chainsaw guys, lumber guys.”

Area pros have heard mixed reactions from customers. Some are pleased, some displeased and some barely noticed that so many trees were gone.

“It’s kind of funny,” Conner said.

“Like anything, you know how people are, they’ll complain about it when it’s there, but once it’s gone it’s like, ‘What happened?’ ” Or, as Phares put it, “We have plenty of trees left.”

Jim Meehan can be reached at (509) 459-5500 or at jimm@spokesman. com

Special Section

May 23, 2021 • Sunday • T7

GOLF MENGERT Continued from 2

might have led is open to speculation, but since life was always more than a string of titles the lure of the West was perhaps the better choice (it certainly made our lives as a family more exciting). After New Jersey, Dad moved his young family to Arizona where he took a winter job at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix and a summer job at the venerable Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri.

The life of the golf professional often includes a certain degree of mobility and our family embraced travel and new experiences. A trip to play in Northern California and his first sight of Lake Tahoe brought us to the El Dorado Royal Country Club at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a short distance from Sacramento in the fabled Gold Rush country, the gateway to Nevada and the Comstock Lode. Our circumnavigation of the country finally brought us back to Washington state in 1965 when we moved to Lake Steilacoom with Dad as head pro at the Tacoma Golf and Country Club, one of the oldest clubs in America.

Dad’s stature as a competitor soon reached new heights. He was the winner of the Washington State Open in 1963, 1964, and 1965. He also won the Northern California PGA Championship and the British Columbia Open in 1965. Returning to Spokane in the summer, Dad won the tournament title in the Lilac City in 1963 and 1966.

He also won the Northwest Open in 1966 and led in the first round of the 1966 U.S. Open that was held at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Dad went on to win the Pacific Northwest PGA Championship in 1968 and 1969 and the Washington State Open for the fourth time in 1971.

My father had now achieved the stature to return east to become director of golf at the prestigious Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, where he remained until retiring to Arizona. During his tenure at Oakland Hills he hosted the PGA, U.S. Open, and U.S. Senior Open.

In the years following his retirement Dad started his own golf wedge company and founded Legend Trail Golf Club in Scottsdale, managing every aspect of its construction, even lending his personal logo to the club and naming the parkway leading to the course.

Legend Trail was the partial realization of a long-held plan that my father had entertained for a course to be called Famous Fairways that would have replicated, as far as possible, the top eighteen golf holes in the world. Truly creative spirits dream in advance of what is possible to achieve in a single life. Turning from sport to collecting Western art brought a new dimension

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Al Mengert, middle, receives a trophy for winning his first U.S. Jaycees Junior Golf Championship in August 1946 at Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane. into my parents’ lives.

Dad always enjoyed the term, “Classic.” It represented for him the best, most elegant and representative example of something worthy of esteem.

He enjoyed the prospect of picking out from what was already excellent in any collection the best of the very best. He applied this principle in selecting paintings for his collection of Western art and above all else in his attitude to his chosen profession, the game of golf that teaches patience and determination. To these traits Dad added a deeply religious attitude to life that he once embodied in a collection of sayings he desired to include in a book entitled, “This Business of Life.”

Even in his last years, he had projects in mind that filled his life with enthusiasm and purpose.

One of these was an instructional book to be entitled, “The Right Way to Play Golf.” Distilled out of his many years of observation and reflection on the best swings of the greatest players in the game, my father felt that the key to good golf was to free up the right side of the body and to use the full power generated in the upper body to achieve the maximum distance and accuracy. In order to achieve this, he recommended a simple baseball style grip and he envisioned an exercise club that would be simple and useful to all players as they honed their own perfect swing.

His demise prevented the realization of these dreams. However, he was able to publish a retrospective of his career in a short volume recounting his first Masters experience, when as a young soldier he took an adventurous trip across the country and back to compete with the greatest golfers in America. He hoped that his account would inspire young players to fulfill their most ardent dreams and to recall the names of former icons of the game like Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagan and Sam Snead.

The other preoccupations of my father during his last years were his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima and his devotion to the Holy Cross, both as seen through the lens of his Catholic faith.

His last years were a continual ascent along the path to the crucifixion. I thought about these things as I walked along a golden

beach on the Oregon Coast after he left us. It was that time of day when the light on the waves for as far as one can see creates an ocean of silver from the gray-green waters. The wind coming in made it hard to walk back home, and I thought how easy it is to walk south with the wind, but to return against a stern northerly is another matter. I was bent forward looking down at the golden sands at my feet thinking of Dad’s final days. I thought about how hard my father had worked in his last weeks to return to his familiar home and what a triumph that homecoming had been for him, like when he saluted the cheering crowd with a raised putter at the amphitheater of the 18th green at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1966, the day he led the U.S. Open.

On the final day of his life, he took his last steps along that road that leads to eternity. The image of his walker will always recall for us the last steps that he took on earth as he abandoned it for the freedom that he once knew when he used to stride confidently down the fairways or crossed a green setting record after record in his career. The shackles of the years must have seemed at that final moment to fall away. The bright water of his swimming pool that day may have recalled his baptism into eternal life. The God who has assured us that He makes all things new must have greeted him warmly as he left behind all that he had known and loved on earth to reach what he had long desired and had now found: a home with God in a place where every tear will be dried, every sorrow be put to rest, and all questions answered.

This was the classic legacy that he left his friends and family. People used to always say to me, “Oh, your dad is Al Mengert; what a great guy!” Even on short acquaintance, these people were able to discern what we who loved him had always known.

About the author: Thomas Mengert is the oldest of the four children of Al and Donna Mengert. Their parents called them the four tees, Thomas, Terry, Tana, and Trayce. He is the author of 15 books, including the seven volumes of “The Confessions of Sherlock Holmes,” a philosophical retelling of the Sherlock Holmes saga available on Amazon.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joel Dahmen hits from the first fairway during the final round of the Zozo Championship on Oct. 25, 2020, in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

DAHMEN Continued from 5

top 10s and roughly $7 million in career earnings.

Drives of 340-plus yards seem commonplace at every tour event. As of midMay, 66 players averaged at least 300 yards, but Dahmen checked in at 295.2 yards, tied for 115th.

What he lacks in distance, he makes up for in direction.

“I thought about looking into distance and chasing it a little bit,” Dahmen said.

“I work with some data guys and analytics. I don’t hit it that far, but I’ve always been in the top 30 or so in driving efficiency.

“There are times where their hybrid goes 250, and I can hit driver straight and gain 20-30 yards. At harder courses, I can keep pecking away at it and not make many mistakes, play a little more conservative and maybe more to the center of the green.”

It’s added up to Dahmen being a steady presence the last four seasons inside the top 80 in the FedEx Cup and world golf rankings. He’s qualified for the FedEx

playoffs the last three years and he’s on track to do so again at No. 66 currently.

He’s No. 68 in the world rankings.

“It’s just being a little bit better across the board. It’s not that much to the naked eye from a guy trying to make the cut to trying to be in the top 50, but in golf it is,” he said. “I’m hitting it a little straighter, my chipping and putting have improved year after year.

“I have a better strategy, understand my swing better and Geno is caddying better. We have more experience and we’re not making as many silly mistakes.

I’m more consistent off the course, too. I work with a trainer, my diet is better.”

Everything points toward more success in the future.

“I know that I’m good enough,” he said. “I’m not worried about keeping my card anymore. The goal is to win more, top 50 in the world, make the Tour Championship. The top 30 comes with a lot of exemptions.

“I think I can get there, believe I can get there and hopefully I’ll be there by the end of the year.”

Jim Meehan can be reached at (509) 4595500 or at jimm@spokesman.com

T8 • Sunday • May 23, 2021

Special Section