Watertown South Dakota Class of 1971 Golf Tournament Blog: July, 2020. Mariana Butte Golf Course. Loveland, CO

July 24, 2020.

What a view! We're solving the mysteries of the universe, no doubt

Mr. Hanson contemplating taking up a different game. Golf isn't really happening for the guy.

Mick Rennich writes from Louisville, CO:

Despite the continued threat of COVID-19, July 24, 2020 was a very pleasant summer day at Mariana Butte Golf Course in Loveland, Colorado. The fearsome Colorado foursome of Tom DeVine, Mark Hanson, Mick Rennich and Harley Rinerson, decked out in purple and gold Watertown Arrow “71” shirts gifted by Mr. DeVine a year ago, met once again to test their mettle, wits and golf games. The day did not disappoint. Great fun. Great laughs. Mediocre golf. The quality of the golf played is evidenced by the following: in the combined 72 holes played by the four, they recorded only 12 pars and 3 birdies. The golf tournament may, before long, give way to shuffleboard or gin rummy competition. Time hurries on.

There was some good play, make no mistake about it. Rennich started things off with a bang, getting a birdie on the first hole and a par on the second. His lead quickly disappeared with a double bogey on No. 3 and a triple bogey on No. 4. Harley, playing his first round of the year, shot a 43 on the front side and took early command of the match. He mentioned to Mick on No. 15 that he had not yet lost a ball. He proceeded to lose three on the last three holes.

DeVine played steady golf, but three sevens on the front nine hurt him dearly. He did come back with a nice 46 on the back side. Hanson, in a manner reminiscent of Harley’s “sixes are wild” game a few years back, recorded eight 6s on the front side and staggered to a 53 through nine.

In the end, all of us broke 100, with scores ranging from a 90 (Rennich) to a 99 (Hanson).

Deciding on awards at the end of the outing, as always, proved to be a challenge to the group. The final tally was as follows:

Miss Congeniality - Mick Rennich … he took it upon himself to book the outing, paid the early tee time reservation fee for all, presented a sleeve of Callaways to each of the other three, and brought cold waters and Gatorades for the crew.

Most Valuable Golfer - Harley Rinerson … this was a close vote as Rennich received consideration, but Harley walked away with the honor based on his solid performance in his first golf outing of the year, his second place finish, the third most chits, the second most pars and the second most birdies.

Purple Putter - Harley Rinerson … Harley walked away with the prize which is awarded for the longest putt. His seventeen footer, on No. 8 for a birdie, was a beautiful thing to witness and was by far the best putt of the day.

Rino Cup - Tom DeVine … the Cup is awarded to the golfer with the best short game. Based on a solid performance which included chips close to the hole and clutch putts that found the bottom of the cup, Tom was the unanimous short game winner.

Shot of the Day - Mick Rennich … Harley, for a moment, owned the shot of the day with a lovely tee ball on the 158 yard par 3 No. 8 to within 17 feet. As mentioned above, he did ultimately sink the putt. Rennich followed Harley’s shot with a 7-iron to within 5 feet and he then also made the putt for his second birdie of the day. The shot earned him the SOD prize.

There was no Miss Mariana Butte this year as COVID -19 protocols limiting contact between servers and patrons. Discussions as to another outing in the fall have already begun.