Marian Hills hosted a traveling golfer

Sean Ryan, A Montana Tech grad student is spending his summer in marathon fashion as he has embarked on a journey that will take him to every active golf course around the state of Montana. He is calling the campaign, "Montana's Longest Drive." That drive brought him to play all nine of Marian Hills Golf Course's holes on Monday, May 14. "I'm trying to play every golf course in Montana in one summer," Ryan said. "I ball-parked that at 104 golf courses." The idea came to Ryan last March. "I was driving along the highway and I saw a sign for a golf course and I didn't know that town had a golf course," he said. "The wheels got spinning. I did a little research and thought, 'okay there are this many golf course in Montana give or take. Has anybody ever played them all? Is it possible to play them all in one summer?'" Ryan is no stranger to the game of golf having been a four-time All-State golfer during his years at Great Falls Central. He then went to play for four years at Montana Tech. "It was a great experience playing college golf," Ryan said. "I love the game so much and I love playing the game around Montana... Hopefully, people like this idea as well because I hope to write a book about it when I get done." Ryan has been tracking his experiences on his website/blog named: Montanaslongestdrive.com. "I figured that would be a good way to get people interested and keep things moving," Ryan said. "That would help me remember where I was and what I was doing while I'm trying to write down things for the book when I get back." Ryan, shared his thoughts about Marian Hills one day after playing on it. "I love the layout of the course," Ryan said. "Every hole is unique and poses a little bit of a challenge." He was especially fond of hole four. "I think four was probably my favorite hole," Ryan said. "That Par-3 over the water and back towards the clubhouse. It's such a beautiful view and you have such a great backdrop to look at with beautiful blue skies and the clear blue water underneath. It is intimidating because I want to hit it over the water." Ryan also gave credit to Cory Shelhamer for the course's upkeep. "Cory does a great job (maintaining) that golf course and it is a treat to play on," Ryan said.