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, United States Golf Association and The PGA of America.”
“By tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys ages 7-15, Drive, Chip and Putt provides aspiring junior golfers an opportunity to play with their peers in qualifiers around the country,” the website added.
Myatt was able to advance from her local qualifier, held at Wasioto Winds in Pineville. Last week, she competed in the sub-regional round of competition that was hosted by the Oxmoor Country Club in Louisville. Her performance there has advanced her to the next round of competition at Valhalla Golf Club, also in Louisville.
Currently, Myatt is just one step away from qualifying to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. It is the farthest that any youth golfer has ever advanced in this competition from our region. We will hope to provide another update on her progress later this fall.
Congratulations Makena, and good luck!
A personal update
With this entry, I wanted to address the fact that things have not necessarily gone exactly to plan as it pertains to this weekly column. It has been a lot of fun, and extremely interesting, to write about others’ experiences on the golf course, but one of the intended purposes of this whole endeavor was for me to pick up the game myself.
I received a couple of lessons early on, and I got some good feedback from folks when I wrote about those experiences, but for the past several months I have just found it incredibly difficult to get a golf club into my hands and actually use it.
I’ve thought about it a lot. I’ve told several folks that I was going to get out to a driving range soon, or at least spend some time in a simulator. I’ve said that, but I’ve not done it. Shame on me, I know…
What can I say, though? Life is hectic, and trying to take on a new hobby has proven to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. I’m not giving up on it just yet, but I did want to at least let you all know why I hadn’t been writing about my personal experiences with learning the game. It’s because there have been no recent personal experiences with me learning how to play the game.
For those of you who commented to me that you enjoyed reading about my initial lessons, I encourage you to stick with me. I’m going to make a point to swing a club again soon. I promise. And when I do, I’ll be sure to tell you all about it.
As always, thanks for reading. I hope you’ll come back next week, and if you would like to get caught up on any entries that you missed, all previous Par for the Course columns are available on our website at thenewsjournal.net/.
