Local Golf Report: Rain returns to wreak havoc

For the third year out of the last four, golfers at Beaver Creek Golf Course will now have to play the waiting game.

Flooding along Beaver Creek from the Bear Paw Mountains has cascaded into the stretch of the creek that winds through historic Beaver Creek Golf Course west of Havre. As of Saturday afternoon, much of the course has been inundated with water, and with the torrential soaker that blew through Havre Monday, more flood waters are expected on the course over the next 24 hours.

Sadly, BCGC has seen this before in recent years. The course saw a record flood in early June 2010, then saw the waters rise again only a few weeks later. The course flooded again in the spring of 2011, but managed to avoid that fate last season. However, the nearly seven inches of rain which has soaked the Hi-Line and the Bear Paws in the last five days was too much for the creek to handle, and the course, and area golfers will now have to pay the price for the rainfall.

Here’s to hoping the sunshine returns in force and BCGC can get back to normal as quickly as possible.

While flooding hasn’t been reported at any other area golf course, at least at press time, rain was the story again last week. At Prairie Farms Golf Course, rain canceled Wednesday night’s edition of men’s league, as well as Thursday night’s ladies league action.

Last Tuesday, the men did play at Prairie Farms, with Tilleman Motors earning high-team honors with 24.5 points. The team is composed of Craig Tilleman, Bill Wirtzberger, Trent Normandy and Brett Normandy. Kyle Sheppard was low gross with a 1-under-par 35 and Brett Normandy was low net with a 31.5.

It’s never too early to start thinking about the tournament schedule at Prairie Farms, and coming soon is the annual Havre Women Fighting Breast Cancer Tournament will be held June 29. Teams can register now by contacting Julie Mariani at 265-6121, and each Ladies League team is asked to donate a pin prize for the tourney. These prizes are needed no later than June 20. 

Finally, the Havre Daily News will be running a series of feature stories on area golf courses of interest this summer. The courses featured will include Prairie Farms, BCGC, Chinook Golf Club, Harlem, Signal Point Golf Club and Desert Bloom in Medicine Hat. Keep an eye out for the first installment coming in two weeks.

Ladies League Standings

1. Golden Spike                         20

2.  Independent Inspection Co   20

3.  Prairie Farms                         20

4.  Havre Heating & A/C            19.5

5.  Western Drug                        18

6.  Northern MT Hospital           16.5

7.  DA Davidson                          16

8.  Independence Bank               16

9.  Patrick Construction              16