WATERTOWN – The best part of covering high school sports is you never know what’s going to happen. That was taken to an extreme Friday night.
The final round of conference play for Wright County Conference girls golf teams will go down as one the most memorable ones for many reasons. Between girls running to their next shots, Tik Toks being made in the dark, and headlights of vehicles illuminating the 18th green, memories were made.
“We didn’t start our tee times until 3 p.m. so I knew getting 44 girls done with 18 holes was going to be a challenge,” Watertown-Mayer girls golf coach Tyler Finkelson said. “Once the last group made the turn, all of the conference coaches knew it was going to be close. When the last group was on hole 12 they noticed they were a hole behind the nearest group and they started jogging between shots with their pushcarts.”
Even with a furious pace of play over the final few holes, the coaches knew it was going to be dark before everyone would finish. I remember talking with Finkelson while out and about taking photos. It was about 5:30 p.m. and he was already worried if they would finish before dark.
As golfers began coming in, Finkelson along with other conference coaches began discussing what to do. There was talk of counting just the first 15 holes but the problem with that was the effect it would have on All-Conference selections. After some discussion, the coaches agreed they needed to finish no matter what. The final group coming in was the No. 1 group, a majority of who were seniors including New London-Spicer’s Ava Hanson. Hanson is the top golfer in the conference, and all the coaches agreed she deserved to finish all 18 holes and try to make this a good experience.
Shortly before 9 p.m., I was standing next to the 18th green as a group approached. One player hit a 30-yard approach shot and I never saw the ball until a few seconds after it stopped on the green. It was already getting dark and something needed to be done.
I was standing next to HLWW coach Bernie Lueck and he suggested we park our vehicles facing towards the green to give them at least some light to putt. A few minutes later the 18th green was illuminating in the night as I and several other people turned our brights on to give the golfers a chance to see the green.
The headlights only did so much. The last two groups were combined into an eightsome to help speed things up. With that more help was needed. Parents and coaches used whatever light they could find to help each golfer find the ball. Once their ball was found, they held the light there so they could take their next shot.
“This is something I will never forget,” Lueck said. “The way that everyone pulled together to make sure the last eight girls finished was something to behold. Coaches assisting in finding the player’s golf balls. Parents, coacahes, and even our reporter pulling their vehicles up to the green to shine their lights to illuminate the green for these girls. Then, having all the girls gather around the green as a gallery and cheering for the incoming players was incredible”
With every putt that sank from the final eight golfers, a small roar came from the crowd surrounding the green. At that moment there were no teams. There were just kids cheering each other on.
“It really was one of the neatest things that I’ve seen on a golf course,” Finkelson said. “As coaches, we all just kind of jumped on board and I can’t say enough about how much respect I have for all of the coaches in our conference. We were cheering on each other and the girls from rival schools were cheering on each other. All in all, I guess that is how golf is meant to be played.”
The round at Timber Creek Golf Course was the final round of conference play. It won’t be remembered for that. It will be remembered as the night the entire conference came together along with fans, coaches, and others to make sure everyone could finish. In the day and age of winning at all costs, that took a back to seat to create a moment that these kids and everyone else there will remember forever.
“The ending of conference play this year was a once in a career experience,” Dassel-Cokato coach Jon Ring said. “Having the coaches, parents, and other players gather around the 18th green while the final two foursomes joined together to finish was surreal. The headlights, flashlights from phones, along with the energy from players who had already completed their round made for a special atmosphere of cooperation, along with respect for the game of golf. As each player completed the round, they were greeted with applause from the whole group. It warmed my heart to see all of these people rally around those who still needed to finish their round. I think everyone present at the 18th green knew that this was an extraordinary event, one that they will remember for perhaps the rest of their lives.”