Memorial for 'Houlie'

The Marian Hills Golf Course is holding a Houlie's Memorial Golf Tournament this Saturday, July 15 in memoriam for Donnie Hould, who passed away in December of 2015.

The proceeds will go to Marian Hills Golf Course to help with improvements and other things the course may need.

"(Golfing there) was such a passion of Donnie's," Donnie's widow, Kay Hould said.

Donnie was a longtime farmer and rancher in the Malta area, but his love for golf grew as he knew the course had plenty of potential.

"It somewhat began when his good friend Ezzie Ereaux and some other local gentlemen purchased the golf course," Hould said.

At that point, Donnie had retired from farming and according to Kay, he filled his days with time at the golf course but not always playing the game but to build the course.

"We were six miles away from town, so he was able to take a lot of our machinery in to do this," Hould said. "(He used several vehicles) from dump trucks to tractors. He hauled gravel, manure, sand and he really worked his heart out, wanting to improve that golf course."

Kay went on to say that Donnie had really done his research, looking at other courses while bringing his knowledge of the game to Marian Hills while fixing the layout.

"He was always busy," she said.

One of his signature pieces of the course was the sage brush, a plant the Donnie was fond of.

"He planted around 400 sagebrushes out there," Hould said. "He loved sagebrush and I came to appreciate it. Sagebrush is a beautiful silver type plant."

His love of sagebrush has given golfers a new target, one that golfers tend to avoid due to it being out of bounds.

"That's why during our tournament there will be a couple of sagebrush targets," Hould said.

Though the tournament will feature cash prizes another prize is a tribute to Donnie.

"He wasn't a carpenter but he did a lot with barn wood," Hould said. "He made birdhouses. After he passed away he must have had 20-25 or more that he had yet to finish."

Donnie's birdhouses had a barrel base, with a cedar post that sat under the birdhouses.

"I selected some of those birdhouses that would work for (a prize) and Charlie Moore completed them," Hould said.

One of those birdhouses will be a prize for the event.

The eighteen-hole event has a sponsor per hole that will help with the cash prizes or prizes purchased with the sponsored money.

"All of the prizes will be approximately fifty dollars in value for each hole," Hould said. "And there will be a winner for first, second and third."

The event will also feature prizes for the longest putt, longest drive as well as others.

The event starts on Saturday, July 15 at 8:00 a.m. For information call Bob Galt at 406-654-23