After playing golf on and off for the past 54 years, Jim Rossol of Baileys Harbor finally knocked in his first hole-in-one at The Orchards on Thursday, May 20. He scored his ace on hole #6, with a 7-iron from the 145-yard blue tees. He never saw it go in but heard a loud “thwack.” Approaching the green, there were no ball marks, so he and his playing partner assumed the ball hit the pin and went in on a fly.

Viking Senior, Ian Johnson

The Gibraltar high school golf team finished first out of ten teams in yesterday’s Regional meet at Golden Sands in Bonduel, cinching a trip to the Sectional finals. Senior Ian Johnson led the Vikings to a resounding victory with a score of 75, and was awarded the meet’s medalist honors.

Gibraltar finished the day with a score of 324, an impressive 18 strokes ahead of second-place Coleman. “I knew we had a chance going into it” stated head coach Matt Meacham. “They played really well. I’m very pleased – very proud of them.”

Sevastopol, who won the Packerland conference this year, just missed qualifying for Sectionals by five strokes, finishing 5^th overall. Only the top four teams advance, with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy (346) and Bonduel (348) qualifying along with Gibraltar and Coleman.

Viking junior Chris Janisse contributed to his teams’ victory with a score of 78, while senior Nathan Fearing and sophomore Sam Johnson came into the clubhouse with scores of 84 and 87 respectively.

“As well as they played today, they left a few out there,” reflected Meacham on his teams’ room for improvement at the upcoming Sectional meet to be played on Tuesday, June 1 at Hunter’s Glen in Crivitz. The top two teams from the Sectional meet will advance to State at University Ridge in Madison.

Sevastopol's Ben Ehlers

Sevastopol teammates Ben Ehlers and Robert Leist shared medalist honors and led their team to a resounding 12 stroke victory in Thursday’s conference meet at Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek.

Both Ehlers and Leist shot even par 36 while teammates Lance Kohls and Drew Birmingham shot 41 and 46 respectively. This solid Pioneer performance produced a team score of 159, and marked the lowest conference team score of the season.

Sam Slaby of Southern Door shot a 37 to help his Eagle team finish with a tied second-place finish with Gibraltar. Led by Nathan Schmelzer with a score of 37, the Sturgeon Bay Clippers finished third while Oconto came in fourth.

Thursday’s meet marked the first time in recent history that Gibraltar hosted a home meet at Peninsula State Park. Maxwelton Braes was Gibraltar’s home course for the past few years, while Bay Ridge played host in years prior. The golfers were treated to a “sneak peek” as the course does not open until Saturday.

Gibraltar Senior Nathan Fearing

The Gibraltar golf team shaved 16 strokes off of their last competition to cruise to a solid victory in Monday’s conference meet at Idlewild in Sturgeon Bay. Led by Senior Nathan Fearing with a score of 39, the Vikings posted a team score of 165, 12 strokes ahead of tied second-place finishers Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol (177). Southern Door finished third (191) while Ocotnto came in fourth (209).

Rounding out the consistent play of the Vikings were Senior, Ian Johnson (40), his younger brother Sam Johnson (41), and sophomore, Chris Janisee (45). A two-way tie for medalist was between Sevastopol’s Rob Leist and Sturgeon Bay’s Nathan Schmelzer, both with scores of one-over-par 37.

For further scores, see below:

Sturgeon Bay Junior Nathan Schmelzer

The Sturgeon Bay golf team eked out a narrow victory in the season’s first conference meet on Thursday, April 15 at Cherry Hills in Sturgeon Bay. With a team score of 178, the Clippers topped second place Sevastopol by one point. Gibraltar finished third with a score of 181.

Weather proved to be a factor, with gusting wins and play halting for over 45 minutes as a thunderstorm passed through the peninsula. With an impressive score of 37, Sturgeon Bay Junior, Nathan Schmelzer (see photo) was the meet’s medalist and was the only golfer to break 40 on the blustery spring day.

For a complete list of scores, see below:

By Bonnie Spielman

Sturgeon Bay High School graduate and University of Wisconsin-Madison freshman John Parent, was recently awarded the county’s first Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. Parent is one of 865 college students in the nation to receive this highly coveted scholarship that covers full tuition and housing costs each year until graduation.

Two years ago, Door County’s first golf caddie program was established at Horseshoe Bay Golf Club in which Parent was employed during his high school summers. By being a regular and successful caddy for those two years and having the golf club sponsor him, Parent was able to meet the final of four requirements in order to apply. He had satisfied the other three requirements: maintaining excellent academics, demonstrating financial need, and proving to be outstanding in character, integrity and leadership.

“This is the best college scholarship out there. I am so thrilled for John in so many ways!” exclaimed Tony Smith, Parent’s high school golf coach and assistant swim coach at Sturgeon Bay. “He is an absolute class act, yet humble.”

The Evans Scholarship program was established by and named after professional golfer Charles “Chick” Evans (1890-1979) in an effort to aid golf caddies with their continuing education. The first Evans Scholarship was awarded in 1930 at Northwestern University in Illinois. Currently 19 universities participate in this program that is mainly concentrated in the Midwest, two of which are located in Wisconsin, UW-Madison and Marquette. Over the years, the Evans program, which is sponsored by the Western Golf Association (WGA) has grown immensely and is currently one of the largest privately funded college scholarship programs boasting over 9,000 graduates.

After applying, meeting the qualifications and the initial interview, Parent then had a final interview in Wauwatosa at Blue Mound Country Club. There he was asked questions in front of approximately 100 WGA members, a collection of some of the state’s most influential people in the golf world, all dressed in their signature blazers. “It was a little intimidating,” admitted Parent. “But it was nice to see a few familiar faces, that helped me to calm down a bit.” Parent’s interview proved to be a success, and he was notified of receiving the scholarship the next day.

Along with outstanding high school accolades as a quarterback in football and a swimmer who competed at State, Parent was also named First Team All Conference three years in golf. It was during his high school golf career that he learned of the Evans Scholarship through Luxumburg-Casco golf coach, Bill Ehrens. A former Evans Scholar himself, Ehrens has helped over 30 caddies receive the Evans Scholarship through Northbrook Country Club.

“He and Tony Smith got me thinking about the scholarship” stated Parent about Ehrens. “But I couldn’t apply because there weren’t any caddy programs in Door County.” After a handful of persistent Horseshoe Bay club members pushed for the caddy program, it became established as the county’s first and is currently maintained by Head Golf Professional, Pete Mogg. “By John being the first to get this scholarship, he has paved the way for other kids.”

“Once you show people that you can reach the top, it gives other kids hope,” added coach Smith. “That’s why John is so perfect for this scholarship. He could have possibly got an athletic scholarship, but his passion was education. He pursued it and he ended up getting the best scholarship of all!”

Parent credits his family for their support, although he admits “My dad is starting to play a little bit, but I’m really the only one in my immediate family that plays golf.” He also credits many people in his life for mentoring him through his high school years, one of them being former UW – Madison and Green Bay Packer quarterback, Randy Wright. Wright was not only Parent’s assistant football coach at Sturgeon Bay, but also a Horseshoe Bay member that frequently enlisted Parent’s services as a caddy.

“I would caddy for him at all the important tournaments,” stated Parent. “He was very influential and helped me along the way. He even helped me start my own business.” As a high school student, Wright guided Parent in starting his own entrepreneurial endeavor, Sweet Tooth Vending LLC, a small bulk candy operation that he continues to maintain on his regular visits home.

“John is one of those guys that when you first meet him, you know he’s going to be successful,” stated Mogg regarding one of his top caddies. “He has a great attitude towards work, but also towards life in general. He’s very hard-working, very dedicated.”

While Parent is taking general classes as a freshman, he aspires to double major in business and communications. “Sports broadcasting would be my dream job,” stated Parent. When reflecting on how his new scholarship will affect his post college years, Parent commented, “The financial part is huge. Being able to graduate from college debt-free is a tremendous advantage when starting a career.”

Next year, Parent looks forward to living in the Evans Scholarship house on the UW campus, owned and maintained by the scholarship program, along with 70 other male and female caddy/ students. “One of the best things about being an Evans Scholar is the social networking, the friendships and connections that you make.”

With Parent being the first Door County Evans Scholar, he hopes to open the door for other potential caddies. Come summer, he will return to his sponsoring club of Horseshoe Bay to aid Mogg in recruiting, and training new caddies and to encourage others to follow in his footsteps. “That’s one of things that means the most to me,” stated Parent “that I’m the first one from Door County to get this scholarship. I would like to think that I kind of started a legacy.”

Gibraltar alumni prove importance of team play in golf

By Garth Gilster

One of my favorite golf blogs (www.mygolfspy.com) just released a series of articles called “How To Get Your Dream Golf Job.” There was a piece about how to become a golf pro, another about how to become a golf sales rep, and one about how to play professionally. After reading a few of the blog entries, two things came to mind:  1) I spend entirely too much time reading golf blogs, and 2) a good start to getting your dream golf job is to play golf at Gibraltar High School.
While high school athletic programs are rightly judged by the amount of hardware they’re able to put in the school’s trophy case, the legacy of Gibraltar’s high school golf program cannot be measured by plywood plaques with mahogany veneers and gaudy gold golf figurines standing atop cheap plastic trophies. Instead, it’s the tradition of supplying the golf industry with its best and brightest that truly sets The Vikings apart from other golf programs.
At Gibraltar, the golf culture has been cultivated by many, including coaches, teachers, parents, and the players themselves. So why do so many Gibraltar golfers choose to pursue a career in golf? To answer this question let’s look through the lens of an employer.
Employers love team players, and Gibraltar Golf has always been a team game despite the solitary nature of golf. For me, the team-first concept was ingrained early on in my freshman year, when upper classmen Jon Conlon, Nate Sunstrom, Kevin Klatt and then Coach Bob Spielman organized daily runs every morning at 6:00 am before classes started. Sure, golf is a game that requires a degree of athleticism, but Big John Daly and Craig “The Walrus” Stadler are testaments that cardiovascular fitness is not a prerequisite for golfing success. We weren’t running to get in shape; although it certainly helped…we were running to bond! And bond we did. By the last of those mornings, we were running thick as thieves. At our first few matches that year, Spielman trained us to concern ourselves not with our own score, but the team score. Months later, at the State Tournament, our shaved heads were emblematic of the success brought by that “team first” attitude.
In addition to team players, employers look for honesty and integrity. After all, if they’re going to give us the keys to the cookie jar, they want to make sure there won’t be crumbs on our cheeks and melted chocolate chips on our fingers at the end of a shift. One Gibraltar golfer, the late Chris Simon, instilled honesty among Gibraltar golfers that has been passed down from player to player year after year. Simon was playing a heated match at Door County’s beautiful Peninsula State Park Golf Course. The atmosphere was tense on the 17th hole (“Hill 17” to you wintertime sledders):  Simon blasted his tee shot into the woods behind the green, while his competitor hit a nice easy shot into the heart of the putting surface. Miraculously, Simon escaped the woods with a pitch that landed near the hole for a tap in par. His competitor missed his birdie putt and settled for par. When Simon converted his short putt, he was congratulated on his par and amazing recovery. Simon said, “Thanks but, I made Bogey.” His ball had moved while he wrestled with fallen limbs, leaves, and other debris while trying to cement a stance in the woods. He called the penalty on himself. Many golfers would have stood in the woods asking themselves, “If a golf ball moves in the woods, and no one is around to see it, did it really move?” In Simon’s case, his integrity was more important than the final score.
A small act like Simon’s can cause a chain reaction, the impact of which is hard to measure. Former Gibraltar golfer Nick Kwaterski probably summed it up best when asked which Gibraltar golfer inspired him the most. “In all seriousness, it was Simon that got me into it, I thought he was a God back then,” Kwaterski says. Golf is a game that doesn’t need referees, but you can be certain that when Nick traipses the fairways of the Dakotas Tour – a feeder series of tournaments for the Nationwide & PGA Tours where he will played professionally this summer – he won’t hesitate to call a penalty on himself…Simon told him to.
Once an employer knows she’s dealing with an honest team player, she’s going to want to know if a job candidate can lead by example. One natural born leader is former Gibraltar golfer Jason Daubner. I remember clearly the first time that Jason Daubner (then a high school senior, now Director of Golf at Maxwelton Braes) came to talk to my middle school class about the game of golf and going out for the golf team. Now, to be fair, I grew up playing golf and by the time I was in middle school, golf was, without question, my drug of choice. Nonetheless, Jason’s presentation made me realize that golf could be cool! Further, Jason said that he and Jim Schultz (Director of Golf at Green Bay’s prestigious Oneida Golf and Country Club) were heading off to college to study Professional Golf Management and pursue a career in golf. Study golf? I was all ears! Golf as a career? Count me in!
Not only did Jason inspire me, several other Gibraltar golfers followed in Jason’s footsteps by studying golf in college. Peter Rericha (now a sales representative for Nike Golf in Beaverton, Oregon) attended Jason’s alma mater Ferris State for Professional Golf Management, and Ivan Bridenhagen enrolled in the same program at Mississippi State. David Celusta (Green Bay Country Club) studied at the San Diego Golf Academy, and also received tutelage from Jason as an assistant at Maxwelton Braes.
Employers also gravitate toward those individuals that set goals and tackle them one by one. Aaron Slaby, who is currently studying Golf Enterprise Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stout mentioned that while his team’s ultimate goal was always the season ending state tournament, Coach Fred Anderson and Assistant Matt Meacham taught the team that by achieving short term goals, the ultimate goal would take care of itself. Slaby stated that “being a part of a successful team at Gibraltar helped guide me into the field of golf because it was something that I came to enjoy very much during my time at Gibraltar.” He further mentioned that he is looking forward to a career in golf after college, saying, “After Stout I plan on continuing my education to become either a golf professional or golf course superintendent.” Setting attainable goals has also helped Gibraltar golfer Taylor Mueller who now plays collegiately. Mueller’s Knox College Prairie Fire golf team in Galesburg, Illinois made it all the way to the NCAA Division III National Championships in Atlanta last year.
Employers always want to know if their interviewees can multitask. At many schools, the term “student athlete” is more of a paradox than a proverb, but Gibraltar golfers were taught early on by faculty and staff that frequent travel and missed classes did not equal an exemption from studying and hard work. Perhaps no one has embodied the “student athlete” nametag better than Shane Kwaterski. Kwaterski is a stand out member of the Western Illinois Leatherneck golf team and was recently named to the Summit League All-Academic Team, making him eligible for Academic All American Status. Kwaterski is a marketing major at WIU, and maintained a 4.0 GPA this past year.
So next time the crack staff at www.mygolfspy.com blogs about one of the golf industry’s up and comers being a Gibraltar Golf Alumnus, don’t be surprised. After all, when an honest, goal-oriented, team playing, leader by example who can multitask shows up for an interview, you’d be hiring too.

Article originally published in the Autumn issue of Door County Living

7670 State Highway 57
Baileys Harbor, WI 54202-9111
(920) 839-2321
www.maxwelton-braes.com

Maxwelton Braes has rightfully been called a “golfer’s paradise.” Our 18-hole, championship golf course surrounds its own clubhouse. The 6,041-yard course is par 70, USGA rating 68.7, with rolling links and open fairways dotted with bunkers. The greens are bent grass. Each hole is a challenge to anyone’s skill and strategy. Club rentals are available, and the Pro Shop offers a variety of golf equipment, apparel and accessories. Golf packages are available.

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Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

Come and enjoy the challenge of Cherry Hills Golf Course!  Expertly maintained by Grounds Superintendent  Pete Hansen, Cherry Hills offers challenge for experienced golfers, yet is very playable for beginners.