May 13, 2019
Report by Ernie Ernst:
We are certainly lucky here in Wisconsin to have so many great courses to play and 10 that are nationally recognized. We are even luckier that we get to play some of these courses with our hickory sticks in fun events.
This weekend, May 10-11, the Whistling Straits Hickory Challenge was contested on the Straits Course and the Irish Course, numbers 3 and 43 respectively on the Golf Digest list of top 100 courses (see below). While the courses took some revenge there were many fine shots and great scores over the two-day event. I would like to congratulate the following players for their fine play and thank all the players who came out to challenge their skills against these tracks.
The 2019 Whistling Straits Champion is Peter Flory whose total score of 150 for the weekend (76 on the Straits and 74 on the Irish) comes fresh off his victory in the Southern Hickory Four-Ball Championship, with partner Ted Kopec. Peter made the trip to Kohler and continued his fine play. Nicely done.
Our runner-up in the Open Division was Campbell Ross of Austin, Texas. Ross is a fine player who has just gotten into hickory golf and thought there was no better place to challenge his hickory golf game than Kohler.
A photo gallery from the 2019 Challenge can be seen below.
Other award winners were:
First Place Net – Open Division – Ernie Ernst
Senior Champion – Dr. Dave Brown (87-92)
Runner-up – Bert Coghill
First Place Net – Dan Norstedt (in a score card playoff with Scott Rosheim)
Super Senior Champion – David Boyd (93-84)
First Place Net – Jim “Wally’ Koss
Ladies Champion – Jeanne Swenson (107-102)
Here are the 10 Wisconsin courses that made the Golf Digest top 100 Public courses and their rankings. We have had hickory events on almost all of them. Please watch for the announcement of the Sand Valley Hickory Challenge. We might even include a trip to Sentry World in this event.
3. Whistling Straits (Straits) in Haven – Site of the 2019 Whistling Straits Hickory Challenge
9. Erin Hills in Erin
15. Black Wolf Run (River) in Kohler
18. Sand Valley in Nekoosa – Future site of a Hickory event in 2020 – Watch for an announcement
27. Mammoth Dunes in Nekoosa – Future site of a Hickory event in 2020 – Watch for an announcement
43. Whistling Straits (Irish) in Haven – Site of the 2019 Whistling Straits Hickory Challenge
44. SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point
57. Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys) in Kohler
58. Golf Courses of Lawsonia (Links) in Green Lake – Site of the Wisconsin Hickory Open in September – https://www.hickorygolfers.com/2019-wisconsin-hickory-championship/ Also, a great video of Lawsonia at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApRGkjUO0Zo
69. Troy Burne Golf Course in Hudson
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- Super Senior Champion David Boyd is at far right, with runner-up Jim Koss at left.
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- Jeanne Swenson is the 2019 Ladies Champion for the Whistling Straits Challenge.
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- Jim “Doc” Eike lets one fly on the 3rd hole at Whistling Straits.
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- Senior Divison Champions. From left: First place Net, Dan Norstedt; host Ernie Ernst; Senior Champion Dr. Dave Brown; and Senior runner-up Bert Coghill.
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- World travelers and hickory golf ambassadors Janet and Calvin Whitman pose before the Whistling Straits clubhouse.
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- Top players at the 2019 Whistling Straits Challenge included, from left: Campbell Ross, runner-up in the Open Division; Ernie Ernst, 1st place net in the Open Division; and the overall champion, Peter Flory.