The Northern Lights 13U PGA Junior League golf team recently had the honor of hosting the Prestwick All-Stars from the Twin Cities for a two-day tournament.
It was an opportunity for the Northern Lights golfers to show off both of their home courses. They played Wednesday at the Headwaters Golf Club in Park Rapids and finished the tourney Thursday at the Bemidji Town & Country Club.
“It’s fun having all these teammates to come up and just hang out at your home course,” said Northern Lights Golfer Natalie Martin. “[It’s] like, ‘Oh, aim at this tree and do this,’ and [it’s] just kind of fun.”
“I mean, it’s such an honor,” added teammate Jackson Fogelson. “I’m very thankful that they would come up here and see it. But I’m also thankful that we get to play here.”
The tournament is a scramble format where each team is comprised of four pairs of golfers, with each pair playing head-to-head, using the best shot between teammates.
“It’s really fun because you have a teammate and you guys get to hype each other up and have fun,” said Martin. “If you hit a bad shot, your teammate’s got you. And if they don’t, then you go back and turn it around. You guys just talk and get it back together.”
The Northern Lights did fall short of their goal of winning but gained valuable experience learning to play as a team against a group that made the 13U PGA Junior League nationals just a year ago.
“It brings out the competitiveness in everybody,” said Fogelson. “It’s not just like we’re just trying to get a score, we’re also trying to beat the other team, and it’s nice to play someone that’s also really competitive, too. And it’s also nice to meet some friends from the Metro, see if we can seek out some of their nice courses.”
