Another Great Bad Day
A trio of local golf aficionados have taken the reins of three local courses with hopes of boosting the popularity of the sport in the Umpqua Valley.
Story by Hunter Normand Photos by Thomas Boyd
Stepping onto the first tee box, the beautiful open green spaces of Oak Hills Golf Club are spread out in front of me. I feel the crisp air of a mid-January evening and watch the sun setting over the valley. Judging by the orange hue of the clouds, I guess we’ll only get nine holes in before we have to pack it up.
I take two practice swings in advance of my first attempt to show the retirees in my group what I can do. At 23, I should be able to hit a golf ball about a quarter-mile. Mine, unfortunately, sputters a few yards off into the fairway, seemingly embarrassed by my effort and seeking a place to hide from me. It’ll be a rough round today, but that’s fine. I play for different reasons.
Adjacent to I-5 in west Sutherlin, Oak Hills is the flagship course for an operation that also includes Myrtle Creek Golf Club and Stewart Park Golf Course. The owners, general manager Brad Seehawer, golf pro Scott Simpson and superintendent Scott Zielinski bought Oak Hills in 2016 and have leased Stewart Park and Myrtle Creek from the city since 2016 and 2019, respectively.
After an ugly seven strokes on No. 1, I hit an arcing shot off the second tee only to follow up with a visit to the thicket. Somehow I find the errant ball and, when no one’s watching, accidentally kick it into the fairway. Don’t judge; I didn’t invent the move. I use my nine iron in hopes of floating a shot over an oak tree, but instead punch the ball beneath its branches. My chip onto the green lands five feet from the cup, but I miss the putt and tap in for double bogey. As the adage goes, “You don’t paint pictures on a scorecard, you just write down a number.”
Simpson grew up playing golf, and spent his early years watering the course at Oak Hills. After his discharge from the Navy, he coached the Sutherlin High golf team for three years before becoming the club pro in 1998. He splits time between Oak Hills and his full-time sales job at Clint Newell Auto. “I make my money selling cars so we can keep funding the golf course,” Simpson jokes.
The houses lining the fairways add to the scenery and, somewhat to my surprise, no windows were harmed in the making of this story. Not that I didn’t try. As I search another hidden landing spot in someone’s backyard I can almost feel the homeowner’s disapproving eyes on my back, though I only see empty windows. Still, I keep my expletives in check as I search again for my rogue ball. I pray no one has seen my play today, except for God, who, I am convinced, is laughing.
The owners want to upgrade the courses in their charge to enhance the customer experience. The biggest maintenance expense for the three courses is sand. “You spend about $4,000 to $8,000 per load and that only covers a quarter of a hole,” Simpson says. “To sand the entire course, we spend around $350,000.”
Other improvements are planned, such as a rebuild of the Oak Hills clubhouse, which will include four electronic driving range stalls where players can compete in leagues and “play” on different virtual courses like Augusta National. “We’ll have monitors which will show your ball speed and launch angle, which is what everybody wants now,” Simpson says.
After another horrendous tee shot, I kick my ball away from the wall it lands against. (Seriously, you’ve never?) Two shots later, I hit a 145-yard rainbow that lands on the green as if I’d planned it. For me, however, no good shot goes unpunished, so I scar this one’s beauty with another ugly putt. But the sun feels warm for this time of year, the birds are chirping and the sky is a beautiful blue. Have I told you I play for different reasons?
Simpson wants to get more young golfers on the course. All three courses offer free golf for juniors, and camps are held during the summer. But fewer kids are golfing every year. “In the 90s, when I was running the camps, we had 115 to 120 kids. Now, we’re down to 12 to 15,” Simpson says.
With other sports growing, and video games becoming ever more popular, getting kids to golf is difficult. But, Simpson points out, golf can be a pathway to success. “Three of the juniors I coached went on to earn full ride scholarships,” he says.
With a babbling brook to my left and the sun setting over the hills to my right, I feel at peace, even as my game continues to implode. On this hole, it takes three putts to sink the disobedient white spheroid into the little green cup. It’s a testament to the course and sport that, even on your worst days, you still enjoy every hole.
The course management group offers a membership that includes greens fees and a cart for $2,500 annually. Called the “Triple Play,” it allows the golfer to play at three courses throughout the year for a set fee. The goal, along with specials such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day golf, is to build membership and grow the golf community around the Umpqua Valley.
As darkness falls on Oak Hills, I’m sad to see the course fade into the night, more for the loss of scenery than the end of my round. My score was forgettable, but not the tranquility of being outside, in the cool January breeze, enjoying a great game no matter how poorly I played. I say ‘good riddance’ to the round, but only ‘til next time’ to the Oak Hills course. I’ll be back soon.
