July 6, 2018 at 12:59 p.m.
Minocqua C.C. prepares for WSGA State Amateur
Minocqua C.C. prepares for WSGA State Amateur
Minocqua is the first host north of Highway 29 in the 117-year history of the tournament, set to be held from July 23-26.
The preparation for the tournament started last fall, starting with a visit from WSGA director of rules and competitions Bill Linneman, who told MCC the course was good enough to play the tournament with no changes. Good enough was not good enough for MCC, however.
"Mr. Linneman indicated to us that day that our course was ready that day to host the State Am," Club President John Hogan said. "However, we don't rest on our laurels. We have made the course even more pristine. The fairways and greens are immaculate so we look forward to that. We have a USGA agronomist who is going to come up to give us his critical analysis and what we can do - if anything - to make it better and that's a great opportunity for us."
Minocqua Country Club did make one change on the course, with the addition of a tee box on the 18th hole.
Not only is the hole slightly longer now, it's also more challenging for competitors.
"It only makes the hole about 15 yards longer, but it changes the angle of the tee shot and makes that hole a little more difficult," Hogan said. "Other than that, that's what we've done with the course."
The Northwoods was hit with a pair of late snowstorms this spring, which has had an impact on lawns throughout the area.
Minocqua Country Club, however, has not suffered any setbacks due to the harsh conditions, according to Hogan.
"The course conditions are very strong," Hogan said. "We don't have any weaknesses that might have been exasperated by the winter. So we came out of the winter in excellent condition."
The WSGA reached out to the club about hosting the tournament, according to Hogan.
At the time, Hogan was not on the board at MCC, so he pitched the idea and it was embraced.
Not only are club members giving up nearly a week of their own golf time, but some have even offered up beds for players who qualified after hotel rooms had already been booked.
"(Linneman) has always wanted to have it at one of the best courses, so if you look at the courses that have hosted this in the last four or five years, it's the top courses in the state of Wisconsin," Hogan said. "So they obviously thought highly of Minocqua Country Club. They solicited us to have it. I made a presentation to the board and they agreed to host it. Our members are giving up four days of golf that they would normally enjoy, but I think they look forward to - just like we do on the board - to give back to the golfers in the state of Wisconsin and an opportunity to play our course."
Clubhouse preparations
The club's preparation extends beyond the golf course, particularly with 162 of the top amateur golfers in the state coming to visit.
Lunch will be served to the golfers, caddies and the general public, with a top-notch menu to choose from.
"Normally when you go to one of these tournaments you get a hamburger or a bratwurst and we're not going to be serving either one of those," Hogan said. "We are going to be serving very high quality, tasty food and they can choose any number of entrées because it's going to be in a buffet style and I think the contestants are really going to be surprised with the quality of the food they're going to be offered."
Parking is scheduled to be located at Lakeland Union High School, with shuttles to and from the course.
Local connections
Until last month Hogan, as the club champion at Minocqua Country Club, was the only local player in the field.
That changed following a string of qualifier events held over the last few weeks.
Several local golfers punched their ticket through a regional qualifier held at Timber Ridge Golf Club in Minocqua June 21. Among the qualifiers were three Rhinelander golfers - Ben Opsal, Josh Willis and Kass Schoppe - who agreed that the prospect of the State Am being held essentially in their own backyard was too good to pass up.
"It's been a while since I've tried to play a tournament like this and when I heard it was going to be up here, close to home I figured, 'Why not give it a shot,'" Schoppe said after qualifying for the event with a 3-over par round of 75.
Mercer native Michael Kowaleski Jr. won the Timber Ridge qualifier with an even-par round of 72, one stroke ahead of Merrill High School standout Russell Dettmering.
The Northwoods added one more qualifier to the field earlier this week when Lakeland Union High School golf coach Scott Howard shot a 3-over-par round of 76 to be one of 17 qualifiers out of an event held at Fox Valley Golf Club in Kaukauna.
River News Sports Editor Jeremy Mayo contributed to this report.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @NickSabatoLT.
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