Kaycee Hunt tees off at Logan Country Club during championship week.
Photo courtesy of Kaycee Hunt
For three days this week, some of Cache Valley’s best women’s golfers competed for club championships at the Logan Country Club, Logan River Golf Course and Birch Creek Golf Course.
The tournaments produced three different champions and three different stories, but there was one common thread throughout: the competition was serious, but the community surrounding it was just as important.
Kaycee Hunt won her third Logan Country Club championship in six years Tuesday, Sam Prom defended her Logan River title Wednesday for her fifth championship in six years, and Tammy Gustaveson repeated at Birch Creek Thursday despite playing through pouring rain.
Each course also recognized champions in additional flights, giving women of a wide range of ages and skill levels an opportunity to compete.
Hunt ends Hugie’s run at Logan Country Club
Hunt saved her best round for last.
After opening the three-round Logan Country Club Championship with rounds of 82 and 81, Hunt closed with a 78 Tuesday to finish at 241 and win the Championship Flight by 16 strokes over Julie Hugie.
Cindy Bangerter finished third at 268.
The victory gave Hunt her third club championship in six years and ended Hugie’s recent run after Hugie had won the previous two championships.
Hunt said the small group of women at Logan Country Club is competitive, but the competition never overshadows the friendships they have built.
“We’re all super competitive, but we’re cheering each other on,” Hunt said. “Julie is a fantastic golfer. She’s won it the last couple years. She’s very, very fantastic. We’re all friends off the course.”
Hunt has been a member at Logan Country Club for six years and said many of the women she competes against have been there considerably longer. She, Hugie, Bangerter and several other women also play together in a travel league.
Their familiarity made Tuesday’s final round even more enjoyable, particularly with the group helping one another along the way. Hunt had a senior-flight golfer, Toky Bowen, caddying for her throughout the championship.
“She rode with me all three days,” Hunt said. “She’s there for everybody.”
Hunt also finished the championship in fitting fashion, making a birdie on No. 18.
She said the birdie was particularly satisfying because she had struggled on the hole during an earlier round, making a seven. The 18th is one of the newest changes at the Country Club, with the green having been relocated as part of ongoing course renovations.
Hunt said the redesigned hole has become a fitting risk-reward finish.
“It was a nice long putt, so that was a good way to cap off my round,” Hunt said. “Amazing way to finish it for me.”
In the Senior Flight, Sai King won with a two-round total of 176, beating Laurie John by 13 strokes.
Charli Davies won the Super Senior Flight at 193, followed by Kristi Ivie at 199 and Isobel Roskelley at 202.
Prom adds another Logan River title
Prom has become a familiar name atop the Logan River leaderboard.
The former Central Wyoming College golfer and current Mountain Crest girls golf coach won her fifth Logan River championship in six years Wednesday, finishing the two-round Championship Flight at 146.
Prom shot a 2-over-par 74 in the opening round before carding a 1-over 72 in the final round.
Hunt finished second at 150, while recent Ridgeline graduate Maddie Fujimoto was third at 153.
The championship was hardly decided early. Hunt actually led Prom by one stroke after the opening round, and Prom said the two remained close throughout the final round.
“I wasn’t ever really comfortable at all because she was just on me all day,” Prom said.
Prom finally created some separation on the closing stretch. After being tied with Hunt around No. 15, Prom went birdie-par-birdie on Nos. 16-18.
“Those last three holes were really the ones that we had to really step on the gas for,” Prom said. “She’s always been just right up there with me, and it’s been super fun these past six years playing with her.”
Prom credited her driver for putting her in good position throughout the final round. Her putting was not quite where she wanted it to be, but she avoided trouble and kept herself in position to score.
The competition was intense, but Prom said that is part of what makes the Logan River championship so enjoyable.
She, Hunt and Fujimoto have developed friendships away from the course and, even while competing for a championship, they can appreciate one another’s good shots.
At one point during Wednesday’s round, all three hit their second shots to roughly five feet on the same hole. All three missed their birdie putts.
“Kaycee turns and looks at us and goes, ‘I’m going to say that was a good par, but it really wasn’t,’” Prom said with a laugh. “That’s just fun because we also hold each other to that higher standard of golf.”
Kaycee Hunt (left), Sam Prom (middle) and Maddie Fujimoto (right) pose together after finishing the Logan River club championship.
Photo courtesy of Sam Prom
The combination of competition and camaraderie extends well beyond the Championship Flight.
Prom said one of the most unique things about the Logan River women’s league is the range of ages. Fujimoto is 19, Prom is a former collegiate golfer, and older players such as Gustaveson continue to compete with them.
“Tammy, she helped out coaching for my high school team,” Prom said.” “She’s a staple at all of these golf courses.”
Prom said the women’s golf community has become one of the best parts of her summers over the past six years.
“I love this league,” she said. “I’ve been playing in it for six years now, and just being able to play in it, compete with the awesome women that are just in it has always been super fun.”
Prom also hopes her success can encourage younger golfers to participate in the league.
She coaches girls golf at Mountain Crest, is an assistant coach with the Mustangs’ boys team and works at Logan River, where she said head professional Jeff John and the rest of the staff have helped make the league welcoming.
“The women in the league are super sweet,” Prom said. “When you find a group of women like we have at Logan River Golf Course, it just becomes more fun than it is competitive.”
The same community showed up in the other flights Wednesday. Kristi Bird won the A Flight gross title at 179, while Marian Nielsen and Holly Gibbs tied for first in the A Flight net competition at 137.
Cindi Lewis won the B Flight gross title at 215, while Delia Loosle won the B Flight net title at 139.
Gustaveson weathers the storm at Birch Creek
Gustaveson has spent years battling Teresa Lundahl for the Birch Creek championship.
This year, she had to battle something else, too: rain.
Gustaveson shot an 80 in the opening round before returning Thursday morning for a final round played in pouring rain. Rather than slowing her down, the conditions brought out one of her best rounds.
Gustaveson shot a 77 to finish at 157 and claim her fifth consecutive Birch Creek club championship.
Last year, Gustaveson and Lundahl finished tied at 167 and elected to share the championship rather than play extra holes. This time, Gustaveson won outright.
“I think this would be my fifth year in a row if I count right,” Gustaveson said. “This is kind of pretty special that I can keep it going.”
The final round was especially satisfying because Gustaveson said everything seemed to fall into place despite the conditions.
“It was just so smooth,” she said. “Everything I hit just seemed to go my way.”
She was even par on the front nine and finished with a 77.
Gustaveson has developed a reputation for playing well when the weather turns ugly, and Thursday only strengthened it.
“I think I do like bad weather to play in,” she said. “I can’t say that I play bad when it’s bad weather.”
That was particularly impressive considering the conditions. Gustaveson described wet club grips, muddy golf balls and the challenge of keeping everything dry enough to play.
“How do you do that? I don’t know,” she said. “It just must have been in my wheelhouse.”
Gustaveson entered the final round with a sizeable advantage over the other contenders, including Lundahl, who has been her most frequent rival over the years.
The two have competed against each other since their days playing softball and have developed a friendship alongside their rivalry.
Last year, Lundahl entered the final round with a seven-stroke advantage before Gustaveson erased the deficit and tied her. This year, Gustaveson was the one with the lead and held it.
“I’ve seen Teresa come back and really give me a run for my money,” Gustaveson said. “She’s always been right there, knocking on the door with me.”
The championship group also included Mandy Haynie and Dawn Drost, giving Gustaveson another example of the wide age range that makes Cache Valley women’s golf unique.
Gustaveson, who is in her 70s, joked about competing against players roughly 20 years younger than her.
“Old Granny here, she tries to hold her own,” she said.
She did more than hold her own Thursday.
Gustaveson said the opportunity to compete alongside women of different generations is one of the reasons she continues to play.
Golf, she noted, is a sport that allows women to remain involved well into their later years while still competing alongside much younger players.
That depth was reflected throughout the Birch Creek championship.
Kamisha Heath won the B Flight gross and net titles, shooting 181 gross and 125 net. Tammie Olsen was second in gross at 197 and third in net at 149, while Sandra Davis was third in gross at 206 and second in net at 146.
Kilee Kelly won both the gross and net C Flight titles, finishing at 265 gross and 185 net. Dana Crossley was second in both categories.
Gustaveson also made sure to recognize the people behind the tournaments. She praised the golf professionals, course superintendents and maintenance staffs at the three clubs for preparing the courses and making it possible for the women to compete.
For Gustaveson, the work and effort put into tournaments is part of what makes Cache Valley’s golf community special.
“They really do try to get the ladies out there to shine and play their game and let them have some glory,” she said.
The social aspect, she said, is one of the best parts of a sport that brings together women ranging from teenagers to players in their 90s.
Prom sees the same thing at Logan River. The championships may produce winners and losers, but the women competing in them leave the course as a community.
“We always leave that golf course with a smile, laughing, and ready to meet each other again in the next week to play,” Prom said.
That may be the biggest victory of all from a week spent crowning three club champions.