George Ferguson Column: Blue Pony golfers should be proud of their great season

Last month, I put my golf clubs away, and with them, I put my weekly golf column to sleep for the year. I said I’d see everybody in the spring again, and that it was time to concentrate on fall sports, and then the long winter ahead.

But, thanks to members of the Havre High golf teams, I get to talk about the game one more time before the miserable winter that I’m sure we’ll be doomed with gets here for real.

The nine Havre Blue Ponies who made the trip to the Class A state tournament last weekend in Hamilton deserve high praise, because, let’s face it, golf is hard, and playing at the state tournament is even harder. That’s why it’s so impressive to me what the Blue Ponies achieved in Hamilton.

For juniors Jerod Boles and Jeff Miller, the weekend was one they shouldn’t soon forget. While Boles, who hit a hole-in-one in Thursday’s practice round, will always remember that shot, it’s the medals that he and Miller brought home that are the real crowning achievement.

To say I’m proud of Boles and Miller would be an understatement. They, of course, are two outstanding tennis players on my Havre High tennis teams, but that’s tennis. Beyond that, they have been my daily golf partners for a long time now, so it’s pretty cool to see them play the way they did this past weekend in Hamilton. The three of us have played hundreds and hundreds of holes together, starting all the way back when both of them were young enough that they certainly weren’t smashing the ball off the tee the way they do now.

I remember those days when, well, and as golfers, the two of them have come a long, long way, and earning All-State honors this past weekend is a special achievement for both of them, and one I hope they’re extremely proud of themselves.

And by the way, I’m sure both Jerod and Jeff would like the readers to know this so I’ll admit it right now … they both can beat me on the golf course on a regular basis. I didn’t used to be OK with that, but I’m getting pretty used to it now.

But it’s not just my two golf partners that I’m proud of and happy for.

I’m excited for all of the HHS golfers who went to state and competed at the highest level of high school golf. Kane Gabrielsen and Dustin Haas are two more golfers I know well. And I know, with two years to go, they’ll keep getting better and better.

I also know just how much the state tournament experience will do for the HHS girls. Led by junior Randi Gabrielsen, the Blue Ponies had a pretty remarkable run at the end of the year. Consider the fact that four of them, Regan Lammers, Mackenzie Tilleman, Jordan Keith and Grace Litzinger, had never played a varsity tournament before August, and to see where they ended up in October, that’s pretty amazing, and it’s a credit to them, and to head coach Brett Gilman for what he was able to teach them this season.

But no matter what the scores were this past weekend in Hamilton, good or not so good, it doesn’t matter because this maddening game of golf is really hard. I know because no matter how much I play, and I play a lot, it never, ever gets any easier. But the hard is what makes it great.

Because it’s so hard and so mentally challenging, the nine Blue Ponies who made it to the state tournament should be proud because they did something that’s really difficult to do. Just to get that far is an achievement in and of itself. Playing golf at that level is something that none of them should take for granted, and it’s something I hope all nine of them are proud of themselves for doing.

So congratulations to the Blue Pony golf teams on a job well done. I know it wasn’t easy. Believe me, I know. And because it wasn’t easy, be proud of all that all of you accomplished this season. I know I’m impressed and proud of all of you.