Bellinghamgolfer.com

Despite putting in his usual 60-hour week in the pro shop at Bellingham GCC, head professional Mike Montgomery says his preparations for the PGA Professional National Championship at Hershey CC in Hershey, PA (June 26-29) are going well. "It's a little strange, getting so excited about playing in the tournament when I have my responsibilities here, but I'm obviously motivated to find the time to practice," he says. "I've learned to delegate a little better too, which helps."
The former UW Husky qualified for Hershey by virtue of his performance in the Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Championship at Canyon River in Missoula, MT., last September when he shot 68, 74, 68 to finish tied for seventh. Montgomery had played precious little competitive golf in the summer prior to that tournament, and so far this year he's had similarly few opportunities to play though he did manage a tie for 29th at the Washington Open in Bellevue three weeks ago.
'Monty' says 120 members at BGCC have clubbed together to help offset the cost of the trip; he's obviously very flattered. "It's a wonderful gesture by the members," he says. "But, of course, it does add a little extra pressure."
His game, he says, is pretty much where he wants it after devoting much of his practice time to developing the sort of chip and pitch shots he suspects he will face over the Maurice McCarthy-designed West Course and George Fazio-designed East Course at Hershey. "It's a national championship so obviously the PGA will want the conditions to be firm and fast," he says. "The rough will be fairly severe I'm sure so I'll need a fairly wristy flop/explosion shot, but there'll also be a lot of quite tight lies on the aprons and fringes."
For those shots, rather than using a square face and 'pinching' the ball off the close-cropped turf, Montgomery is working on an armsy, stiff-wristed swing in which he 'rides the bounce' and keeps the clubface looking at the sky. "It's a safer shot," he says. "I'm sure there will be times when I square the face, put it back in my stance, and nip it off the top. But with this swing, even if I miss-hit it slightly, the ball will have topspin and run out. When our courses firm up in the summer, it's a good shot for golfers in Bellingham to have."

Phil Gaggero, head coach of the First Tee at Lake Padden, is gearing up for the program's first fund-raising event - a Putt-A-Thon to be held on the practice putting green on Sunday afternoon (June 5th) from 3pm to 5pm. Proceeds will help purchase equipment for future classes. Gaggero launched the town's inaugural First Tee program last fall when he filled two 12-player classes within a few hours of making spots available. Two more classes have been running this spring, and several more will be offered over the summer.
Besides the fun on the putting green (check out today's First Tee class getting a sneek preview of some of Sunday's holes - left), hot dogs and drinks will be available on the patio.

 

 

 

 

Saturday's (June 4) Men's Club tournament at Lake Padden is a Two-Man Scramble to be played off the Green Tees. Each player needs to hit a minumum of six drives. Team handicap will be 50% of combined handicaps. Remember to circle your deuces, birdies and eagles to make processing scorecards easier for the pro shop staff. 112 are signed up so far, says Steve Swank. The forecast is good and the course is in superb shape.
Click here for Pro Graphics Challenge scores after season's first two majors.