AND ANOTHER ONE gone, another one bites the dust.
Freddie Mercury and the band Queen famously sang that refrain, but I’m referring to another year in golf wrapping soon.
Welcome to the first part of my annual review of the year in golf, both on the North Olympic Peninsula, and around the world.
These two columns — today’s, which touches on the major happenings in the North Olympic Peninsula golf scene from January to June, and next week’s New Year’s Eve column where I revisit July through December — are two of my more enjoyable pieces of the year.
I get to reread and remember and offer a few “Oh, yeahs” as a I recall these moments.
January
I trekked over to Discovery Bay Golf Course near Port Townsend for a tour of the course after with course General Manager Randy White.
The Hurtado family, which previously had owned a percentage of the course, bought out the now-retired Mike Asmundson in August 2013, and they quickly stepped up to invest in the venerable course.
At that time they had spent more than $300,000 on the golf course, with much of those funds going to purchase new equipment, such as a new Toro fairway mower, aerator, a greens mower and a new John Deere ProGator with a Turfco top-dresser attachment.
The clubhouse was shifted around a bit, with a new pro shop area, remodeled men’s and women’s locker rooms and a newly rebuilt, and gorgeous deck overlooking the first fairway.
There were also changes to the course itself, a redesigned green on the first hole, a short par-4 second replacing the former gallows-like par-3 tee box, and a switch to a par-4 for the for the fourth hole.
New tee boxes and extensive drainage work also have been completed, which should help ensure a playable and hopefully profitable future for one of the oldest and most historic golf courses in the state.
February
Super Bowl fever hit in early February, with area courses holding Seahawks-themed tournaments or specials in advance of the big day.
And how super that Sunday turned out for us long-suffering Seattle fans.
Here’s to a repeat performance.
Later in the month I visited with the then-newly installed Peninsula Golf Club head pro, Jacob Lippold.
Lippold was busy in the early going, buying essentials like brand-new range balls, golf carts and accessories for the golf shop, lining up vendors to stock the pro shop and most importantly, meeting the membership of the club, which he says have given him a warm welcome.
“The idea is to create a place where the members really feel valued and welcome,” Lippold said.
“It’s similar to running a small community or a really big family.”
Lippold also was prepping to coach the Port Angeles High School girls golf team.
March
Back in March I officially made the move from the news desk to the sports desk, after a slow transition during the winter sports season.
The move has paid dividends, I have more time to get out to cover golf events, like the boys and girls Duke Streeter tournaments and the Sonny Sixkiller Celebrity Golf Classic.
April
Bubba Golf ruled Augusta National once again at the Masters, with Bubba Watson picking up his second green jacket after edging up-and-comer Jordan Spieth.
And he did it in true Bubba style, refusing to play it safe with a three-shot lead and four holes to play.
Watson bombed it off the tee, slipped approach shots through the pine trees and did everything he could to make us marvel.
His post-tournament, late-night meal at Waffle House, cemented his country-boy status.
May
I received the scoop on the origins of the annual Duke Streeter Invitational, won this year with a birdie on the second playoff hole by the Port Angeles High School tandem of Micah Needham and Alex Atwell.
Atwell did much of the heavy lifting on the second playoff hole, the 157-yard par-3 17th hole at Peninsula Golf Club, when his arcing tee shot landed a foot and a half uphill from the pin.
Atwell’s partner Micah Needham knocked in the birdie with no hint of a problem, giving the Port Angeles pair the championship.
But it wasn’t as easy as it may have looked for Needham.
“It felt like my putter weighed a 100 pounds on that putt,” a relieved Needham said afterward.
Later that month, Atwell would finish 33rd at the Class 2A state tournament at Chambers Bay in Tacoma.
Austin Peterson finished 29th to lead the Roughriders.
Port Townsend freshman Patrick Morton finished 31st at the 1A boys tournament at Lake Spanaway Golf Course.
On the girls side, Sequim’s freshman phenom Alex McMenamin, finished third in the Class 2A state tourney at The Classic Golf Club.
Port Angeles’ Dana Fox wrapped a stellar high school career with a 14th place finish.
June
SunLand Golf & Country Club head pro and general manager Tyler Sweet doubled up in June with a vacation and a competition.
He ventured south to South Carolina to compete as one of 300 PGA Professionals in the PGA Professional National Championship in Myrtle Beach.
Sweet didn’t end up making the cut so he didn’t make it to August’s PGA Championship, but he loved having a shot at the last major of the season.
“The entire experience was unbelievable,” Sweet said.
“You show up to the first practice round and they have the tour trucks on the range, and it’s just unreal the way they build it out.
“They run it like a PGA Tour event.”
Besides a putting stroke that left him hanging on occasion, Sweet was encouraged by his play.
I chipped great, drove great, I just didn’t putt well,” Sweet said.
“Those bermuda putting greens killed me.
“Trying to read them was really tough. You’d have a 50-foot putt that went 10 feet into the grain 20 feet down grain, and trying to figure those out was a challenge.
“They had the greens running 12.5 [on the stimpmeter — a tool that measures the speed of a green] and firm as can be.”
June also saw Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina play host to both the men’s and women’s U.S. Open golf events.
Martin Kaymer showed steely, precision in his victory and Michelle Wie overcame the weight of her potential in picking up her first major title.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or pdngolf@gmail.com.
