Golf

Austin Reynolds is excited to be back at his old stomping grounds as the new head coach of the Corbin High School girls golf team. As a member of the CHS Class of 2019, he played football and baseball for the Redhounds before going on to develop a love for golf after completing his undergraduate work at Union Commonwealth University, formerly Union College. “I had a buddy who said I should try it,” Reynolds said recently of getting involved with golf. “I have dedicated the last three-and-a-half years to getting good, and I love it now. It’s what I do with my free time.” Reynolds graduated from Union in 2022 with...

Last Thursday, July 10, this year’s Southeast Kentucky Junior Golf Tour (SEKJGT) hosted its final event of the summer at the London Country Club. At the conclusion of the day’s competition, several young golfers were recognized for their performances. Winners and runners-up on the day included: 8U (co-ed) Braxton Sizemore, Pineville – 1st place Libby Rose Phillips, Monticello – Runner-up 10U (co-ed) Pike McClung, Somerset – 1st place Grady Bray, Stanford – Runner-up Maggie Anne Phillips, Monticello – Rising Star Award 11-13 Girls Emma Jane Phillips, Monticello – 1st place Karoline Sutton, London – Runner-up 11-12 Boys Titus Partin, Corbin – 1st place Case McClung, Somerset – Runner-up 14-15 Girls Josie Brandenburg, Richmond – 1st place Maddie Brewer, London – Runner-up 13-15 Boys Brett Worley, Somerset –...

Welcome back to Par for the Course. After a month off, this golf-centric column is making its return in the pages of the News Journal just in time to preview the upcoming fall season. That will be my primary focus for the next several weeks, so let’s get right into it with the Corbin Redhounds… Head Coach Joe Roberts is returning to lead the way for the CHS boys, and despite graduating a pair of veteran players from last year’s roster, he said his 2025 squad will once again feature a good level of talent and experience.  “We will have three returning players in our top five, and we have some...

If you read last week’s Par for the Course column, then you know that it was National First Tee Week. We have talked about the First Tee program on several different occasions since the beginning of the year, but this week I’d like to review some important data that the organization has gathered with help from the folks at Harris Poll. These two groups recently got together to conduct an online poll in the United States with the goal of capturing data on youth involvement in extracurricular activities. This, of course, includes golf. After reviewing the findings, I felt like some of the most noteworthy points included the following… • Parents...

Ethan Mott has been one of Corbin High School’s top golfers in recent years, and last week he realized a personal dream of his when he signed his letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Union Commonwealth University in Barbourville. “This gives me the opportunity to break into college golf, and to really start to understand the game at a higher level,” Mott said. “Coach Sisson has been gracious enough to assist me in getting to this level. So has Donnie Caldwell, from my First Tee years at Wasioto Winds.” If you have been reading Par for the Course regularly, you will likely recognize Caldwell’s name....

In the past four months, we have tackled many different topics in this column. From golf course management, to competition, to my own experiences learning the game, the goal has been to make everything as accessible as possible to anyone who might pick up the paper and decide to check out the sports page. With this entry, however, we’re going to have to get down into the weeds just a little bit – both literally and figuratively. I came across a Facebook post by the Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) recently that shared some photos of a group of individuals who were out providing course rating services. I thought that enquiring...

“I used to think farming was hard work, but that was before I had a golf course.” That is how Clara Sexton, owner of The Golf Course in Williamsburg, described the work that it has taken to keep Whitley County’s only functioning golf course up-and-running since she took over operations back in the early eighties. “It was a mess,” Sexton said of the state of the course when she stepped in as owner. “It really was. You couldn’t even find the greens.” Sexton explained that the course was originally built sometime in the late-fifties to early-sixties. It changed hands a few times over the years before she took over, and, as...

The University of the Cumberlands men’s and women’s golf teams are gearing up for Mid-South Conference Tournament play at the end of this month. It has been a successful year for the Patriots so far this spring. Let’s review their progress ahead of this year’s MSC Tournament… The UC men got the season started off right last month with a trip to Alabama and a victory in the Lawrence Tech Spring Invitational at Grand National. The Patriots were crowned champions of the event after shooting 891 (+27) over 54 holes played across three days. Freshman Saran Jantratit finished runner-up at the tournament, shooting 216 (-1), including three eagles and ten...

If you get off of I-75 Exit 11 and begin heading toward downtown Williamsburg, you will likely notice a sign on the side of the road announcing that this is the home of Becky Sharpe, the 2015 women’s state amateur golf champion. That sign has stood in place for the past decade to let people know that, among the many great athletes that have come out of Williamsburg over the years, Sharpe, now Becky Sharpe-Mitchell, is among the most accomplished. “It feels like a blur,” Sharpe-Mitchell said when reflecting on everything that has transpired since she won her state amateur title at the Danville Country Club in the summer of...

As this column series continues, I am presented with new and exciting opportunities to speak to individuals in-and-around the local community who are doing great things when it comes to promoting the sport of golf among younger players. The most recent opportunity came just last week, when I met with Bill Moore, a golf pro who helped build Crooked Creek (now the Oaks of London) and created the Southeast Kentucky Junior Golf Tour (SEKJGT) back in 1995. Moore was kind enough to take the time to speak to me recently about the SEKJGT, including how the event has evolved over the past 30 years, and his hopes for what lies...