Some local high school golf teams got the opportunity to beat the heat by practicing at night thanks to a generous gesture by Randy Watkins who owns the courses they practice on.
Watkins said, while he doesn’t coach any of the teams in the area, he does teach some of the local high school kids and his golf courses act as the host for several high schools. Randy Watkins Golf Group hosts Madison Central girls, Germantown boys and girls and St. Andrews boys.
One side effect of the heat in recent weeks is the golf teams not being allowed to practice outside. The MHSAA – the state’s public high school activities association – has a rule that once the temperature reaches a certain number using an amalgamation of temperature, humidity and dew point, sports are no longer allowed to practice outside.
“As the host of these schools, I’ve been seeing these kids just sitting in the clubhouse hoping the temperature goes down because they’re not allowed to go out and practice,” Watkins said.
Watkins got to thinking about his practice course at Whisper Lake in Madison that he just opened in November. It is a six hole course that sits on eight or nine acres.
“I thought, I can probably light that acreage and let them practice at night when the temperature gets below the cap,” Watkins said. “So, I called the coaches and asked them if they would be interested in participating if I did it and funded it and rented the lights and I set up and let them practice from seven o’clock to nine o’clock at night for two nights. They were thrilled to do so.”
So, on August 7th and 8th, the athletes had the opportunity to take to the course at night and both Madison Central and Germantown teams participated.
“They had a ball,” Watkins said. “It’s been so hot, and golf is one of those sports that there aren’t ways you can go inside or turn on some lights at practice. I just decided to try to do that for the high school kids and see if it would be helpful and it was.”
Watkins said it was a really fun and unique experience that was new for him.
“I’ve been in the golf business for 38 years, and it was the first time I had a facility that could be lit and it worked out great,” Watkins said. “We’ll do it again.”
Watkins said he plans to do it again possibly before September is over or even in October when he could move it to earlier hours.
“You could do it from six to eight or five to seven once the time changes and get even more practice than they could normally when it gets dark,” Watkins said. “We happen to have the facility to do it because you can’t light the whole golf course. Now, I know I can do it, and there’s some value in that for the kids. It’s all walking. There’s no golf carts involved. It’s fenced and gated. It’s real pretty. Now we know, and we will definitely do it again.”
