Golf

It has been a busy month for the Corbin High School golf program... First was a special co-ed tournament that both the Redhounds and Lady Hounds competed in in Lee County, Virginia. The event consisted of 19 teams and 92 total golfers. Corbin finished fourth overall, with Makena Myatt finishing sixth overall as an individual competitor. CHS boys coach Joe Roberts commented that his top three golfers - Brady Webb, Ethan Gambrel, and Clay Botner - are continuing to get better as the summer concludes and we officially enter into the fall season. Roberts commented that the co-ed tournament in Jonesville was a first for the CHS golf program. He expressed...

This week’s column is one I have been thinking about writing since I first launched the series back in January. As someone who has not had a ton of experience actually hitting golf balls, I have often wondered, “Is there really a need for so many different types of balls?” Let’s explore this further… Again, not being the most well-versed person in this particular topic, I decided to go online to give myself a crash course in golf ball science. I found a couple of pretty informative articles that helped to illustrate several things to me, including how golf balls are constructed, when a player should consider investing more money...

Golf enthusiasts in the region are likely already well aware of the talent possessed by Corbin Lady Hound Makena Myatt. She has spent the last couple of years mixing it up against some of the state’s top young golfers as a middle schooler. Now, she is poised to continue her success as a freshman at CHS this fall season. Throughout the summer, she has continued to hone her skills, most recently achieving a major milestone in this year’s nationwide Drive, Chip and Putt youth development competition. According to the information found on its official website, www.drivechipandputt.com, the annual competition is “a joint initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament,...

In the year 2000, Scott Bishop read a Golf Digest article on scholarship opportunities in girls golf. After asking the superintendent if Whitley County High School could start its own girls golf team, he was tasked with getting it off the ground. Bishop said that the early years were a struggle, but by the mid-2000’s the team was competing for, and winning, regional titles. In recent years, Bishop has served as an assistant coach and has offered private lessons. This year, he is once again being tasked with leading the Lady Colonels as head coach. “I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “It is going to...

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...