For a pair of high school seniors – Marshfield’s Luke Gardner and Parkview’s Logan Rathman – their second year of playing golf is off to a pretty cool start.
In fact, those were their exact words as they took part in the 24th annual High School Hole-in-One Golf Clinic presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company on Monday afternoon at Highland Springs Country Club.
The event featured 100 high school golfers representing 10 Ozarks-area schools, with 11 PGA area teaching professionals offering instructions on the driving range.
“There were a lot of good tips,” Gardner said. “I started golf a year and a half ago. I love it.”
Said Rathman, “I got a lot of help on my set-up, like my feet position, and controlling my head (on my swing).”
In other words, the clinic accomplished what it was designed to do – teach young golfers some of the game’s nuances on their tee shots and other techniques that could propel their respective spring seasons.
They certainly had some of the area’s best instructors. Brian Maloney, Director of Golf at Highland Springs Country Club, brought in several area teaching pros such.
The pros featured Maloney along with Highland Springs’ Steve Harrison and Megan Furnish, Silo Ridge Golf & Country Club’s Bryan Daniels, Hickory Hills Country Club’s Rick Neal, Rivercut Golf Course’s Larry Ray and Rick Grayson (MSHOF 2018) and Steve King, Springfield Golf & Country Club’s John Brandish, Millwood Golf & Country Club’s Don Greene and Horton Smith’s Garrett Holt.
School represented were Central, Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo, Parkview, Marshfield, Monett, Mount Vernon, Clever and Reeds Spring.
Gardner was especially attuned to instructions, considering he qualified for the state tournament last year and has signed to play golf at Missouri Baptist University next season.
“I like the difficulty of it,” Gardner said of the game. “They talked (today) about my alignment. I feel like golf doesn’t get a lot of attention, so it’s nice having this.”
Coaches certainly appreciated it, too.
“I think this golf clinic every spring is beneficial for our kids. It’s great to get the local pros involved, and the instruction is excellent,” Marshfield coach Reggie Smith said. “They get instruction from me, but that’s a little limited compared to what these guys, the teaching professionals, do for a living.”
Said Parkview coach Landon Cornish, “This gives our guys an opportunity to come somewhere and actually learn from a golf pro, and for some, for the first time. It’s just a neat experience that our kids normally wouldn’t have.”
Sweeting the experience was that Daniels, the Drury golf coach, offered tips on the importance of readying for college golf, academically, competitively and in reaching out personally to coaches.
Additionally, golfers were treated to sandwiches from Chick-fil-A.
“This is an event that every Coca-Cola high school in the area needs to take advantage of,” said Taylor Frederich, who handles Sponsor Development for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. “It’s not every day they get instruction from some of the best teachers in the game. And I heard a lot of coaches say they appreciated that Coca-Cola sponsored the event.”
