08/19/2026
Well you all missed out, at least those that didn’t come. What an event with some great golf happened today! Both Hampshire and Northern battled all day, but Northern came out on top 3 1/2 to 2 1/2. I’ll do my best to recap what happened!
Starting off with the first match of the day, Wyatt Johnson vs Peyton VanMeter. Wyatt let Peyton know on hole one, he was there for business. Wyatt smoked one down the middle and I heard Peyton say, “Oh great” (or something along those lines). Peyton stepped up and let Wyatt know, I’m here too and we’re gonna battle. And battle they did. Wyatt suck it to 3 feet on hole 1 to take a 1 up lead. Then went 2 up after 2. Peyton battled back and said not so fast. It was a back and forth match all day. Peyton battled to make it all square after 9. On hole 12, he took a 1 up lead. I heard he was making everything and not giving Wyatt any daylight. Hole 17, a par 3, Wyatt stuck it to 3 feet (right after Peyton hit one to 15)! He made the birdie to bring it back to all square! On hole 18 they both did what they needed and gave themselves birdie putts. They had a 20’ putt off and both missed and made pars. Such a fun battle all day.
Second match of the day was Quinton Sigmund vs Landin Ludwick. Quinton, like Wyatt, striped a drive right down the middle. Landin, didn’t hit his best drive. Landin still made a great par and they halved the first hole. On hole 2, Quinton took a 1 up lead and honestly never looked back. That 1 up lead quickly grew to a 4 up lead. Landin then battled right back and won 2 holes in a row. From that point, Quinton would win a hole, then Landin would win. It went back and forth for 3 holes. Quinton settled down and finished him off and played flawless golf to end the match. He didn’t try to make anything happen, just kept hitting fairways and greens. Playing quality golf and making Landin come and try to beat him. He won 5&4 (that means 5 up with 4 to play). He earned Northern our first point of the day!
Third match of the day was Logan Kelly vs Briar Rickman. Logan started off rocky with his first drive, but didn’t let it rattle him. Briar stepped up and hit a great shot down the left side. Logan lost hole one, but he didn’t let it bother him. He grinded and battled and on hole 5 he took a 1 up lead! On hole 7 he increased that lead to 1 up. At the turn, Logan held a 1 up lead. Have I ever told you that golf is hard? Unfortunately, Logan’s driver just abandoned him. Between that and Briar playing some really great golf, Logan just couldn’t keep himself in the match. Give him his flowers as he never quit and never gave up. Just hard to have something like that happen mid round. Briar won the match 5&3. Hampshire’s first full point of the day.
Fourth match of the day was Gage Schwinabart vs Branson Kline. Gage started this match off with a poor shot (probably some nerves). Branson hit a solid drive just left side but safe and playable. Branson capitalized on Gage’s poor shot and took a quick 1 up lead. Gage hit a great drive and an awesome second shot on hole 2 to get that right back and be an all square match going into hole 3. From there Gage just took over. Branson got some bad luck on hole 3 with a ball on top of the bunker in some tall grass. Gage played steady on that hole and made him pay. He’s 1 up after 3! That 1 up turned into 4 up at the turn. Gage handled his business like a champ! By hole 12 he turned it into a 5 up lead. Had a chance to close him out on hole 14, but kudos to Branson for never giving up. Going into hole 15, Gage made a par and Branson bogeyed. That meant that Gage won 5&3! That’s Northerns second point! Gage is a different player this year and really look for him to help Northern in many future matches!
Headed to match 5, Andrew Mason vs Nate Adams. Andrew stepped up to the tee and was talking about the wind. I’d like to say he hit a low on purpose, but that just wasn’t the case. He still found the fairway and made Nate think. It was a pillow fight from there, but Andrew made a bogey to take a 1 up lead. Andrew never squandered that lead. He kept hitting fairways and greens, fairways and greens. His putting kept him from really ending the match early. That was just the crack that Nate needed. He kept grinding and fighting and never gave up. By hole 7, Andrew had a 5 up lead. Nate said no more! Kept battling and grinding and started taking holes off Andrew and on hole 13 got it back to only being 1 down to Andrew. Andrew had every opportunity to cave at that point. He did exactly the opposite! He went back to hitting fairways and greens. Took a 2 up, then 3 up, then ended the match 4 up with 2 to play (4&2) to gain another point for Northern! Great job adjusting mid round Andrew, we needed that point!
Our last match was Bailey Turner vs Blake Funk. This was another nail biter for most of the match. Blake handed the initial pressure better than Bailey. Neither hit great drives on 1, but Blake just performed a little better and took a 1 up lead after 1. Bailey got it back on 2. Blake took it back on 3. Bailey took it back on 4. Blake took it back on 5. At the turn Blake had a 2 shot lead. It was an absolute stellar match. Hole 10, Bailey grabbed another to be 1 down with 8 to play. Hole 13 Bailey made the match all square! Blake took the next hole. Bailey took the next hole. Bailey then grabbed his first 1 up lead on 16! Blake said not so fast, and made it all square on hole 17. Imagine if you would, 2 brand new competitive players having 30-40 people watching you on your final hole with the match on the line. Thats some pressure! Blake ultimately made a 15 footer to end the match with a win and another point for Hampshire.
All in all, that was an awesome day of golf! The kids loved the format and the parents kept saying how much they enjoyed it as well! Certainly something we will do again in future years!
