Men's League season starts

The 2020 Marian Hills Golf League started on Thursday, May 14, while still abiding with Montana Governor Steve Bullock's social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 Virus.

This year's team consists of 12 four-man teams, competing in a gold league set to hold 11 regular-season games and then playoffs. The Men's League is the first organized sporting event to be held in Phillips County since sporting events around the country closed due to the COVID-19 virus in March.

"It went well," League President Tony Kindle told the PCN. "We had a fifteen-minute talk before we started to talk about the COVID rules. It was a nice night and it was fun to get it going again."

As far as the matches go, this year will have the same game rules. Two members will face off against their counterparts on an opposing team. But instead of seeing two carts at a tee, there will be four. One rule is that golfers have to ride in separate carts.

"That is probably one of the hardest rules to deal with because you have to have a lot of extra carts," Kindle said. "Instead of 24 carts, there are 48."

Other rules that Kindle mentioned included not removing the flags from the holes, no restrooms, no clubhouse entry, and no golf cleaning station. He said that members have been instructed to stay six feet away from each other.

Kindle has been a part of the men's league for 35 years, including the years that the event was held at the Sleeping Buffalo. As of week one, his team, sponsored by Prairie Designs, is leading the league in the standings. Last Thursday, his team scored 23.50 points, they had a gross total of 164 strokes and net of 133. They went head to head with Westside Casino that night.

The PCN caught up with Jason Ulrich, who scored 6.50 points for Prairie Designs.

"It's wonderful to be out here golfing," Ulrich said. "I am glad we didn't get shut down from having this all year."

Only a few holes into the night, Ulrich said that he felt a little rusty on the course, but his opponent Shane Anderson of team Valley Drug, interrupted him, reminding Ulrich that he had just birdied at hole number four.

After a few laughs, Ulrich, who has been a part of the Men's League for 20 years, was asked about the weather which featured a few droplets of precipitation.

"It's a very nice day," Ulrich said. "Perfect. I want days like this, every Thursday."

LRSC is second in the standings, having scored 21.50 points. Their gross was 182 strokes and their net was 151. Team Marian Hills Golf Course is third with 21 points.