You will enjoy
this WSU Fight Song video (linked)
(Palouse
Ridge turns 10-years- old)
(The old
Washington State University 9-hole golf course in Pullman was rebuilt as an
18-hole course and opened in 2008)
By Stephan
Wiebe Moscow Pullman Daily News
6/30/2018
Nearly
every day during the spring and summer, Tim Busch and the "Ridge
Runners" - a laid-back group of mostly retired Pullman golf enthusiasts -
take to the Palouse Ridge Golf Club to play a round of golf.
They
usually throw a few bucks into a pot that goes to the day's winners, then the
group splits into fours and sets out for a day of fun, jokes and golf.
Many of
the Ridge Runners have been playing at Palouse Ridge ever since the course
opened in 2008. Before that, they played on the Washington State's old
nine-hole course, which was demolished to make room for the new course.
Palouse
Ridge - home for the Cougar golf teams - turns 10 years old next month and is
set to host its second and third NCAA regionals in 2019 and 2020.
"I've
probably golfed there more than anybody," said Busch, a 72-year-old
retired public-school teacher. "I figure I've got the most rounds in -
probably at least 1,500.
"The
thing I like about it is it's a challenge, but it's doable. If you know how to
take advantage of the way they designed it and use the hills to your advantage,
it's really fun."
In addition
to avid golfers like Busch and his pals, Palouse Ridge's staff also has some of
the same names that have been around since the beginning. Todd Lupkes is the
current general manager and former superintendent, Mike Bednar is the current
superintendent and former assistant superintendent and Jeremy Wexler is the
head golf pro. All three oversaw the opening of the course.
"None
of us can believe it's been 10 years," Lupkes said. "When we started
we all had kids that were in car seats and diapers and now they're all in high
school. My oldest daughter just graduated."
Lupkes
said the course's founders set out to build a prestigious championship-level
course for WSU and the town of Pullman, and it's more than lived up to their
goals.
Palouse
Ridge is currently ranked the No. 2 college golf course in the nation by LINKS
magazine and it's ranked No. 5 course in the state of Washington by Golfweek
magazine.
"That's
a pretty prestigious ranking," Bednar said. "There's a lot of golf
courses in the state of Washington. To be in the top 10 is pretty darn
good."
Palouse
Ridge's recognition goes beyond golf publications. Lupkes said that when he's
traveling, strangers will strike up a conversation when they see the Palouse
Ridge logo on his shirt or hat.
"Somebody
will be on the bus with you on Florida, and they'll go, 'Oh I've heard about
that golf course,' or 'I've played that golf course,' " Lupkes said.
"You don't find that very often that a community gets that kind of
acknowledgment around the country. It happens so frequently now that it's just
part of the thing when you travel."
Lupkes,
Bednar and Busch all said their favorite hole is the course's signature 15th
hole - a drivable par 4 with sand traps along the middle.
The hole
was the favorite of course architect John Harbottle III, who died unexpectedly
from a heart attack in 2012 at 53 years old. Lupkes said he knew Harbottle for
20 years before he died.
"It's
probably one of the prettiest holes on the course, yet it's one of the funnest
to play because it never plays the same way twice," he said. "It has
bunkers down the middle so ... if it's a little bit windy (it can be
challenging). It's only 350 yards from the gray tee so it makes it fun. If
you're downwind you can hit the ball far."
For Busch
and the Ridge Runners, the course never gets old. There's always new
experiences, like the time Busch and his friend Al Ruddy, 82, accidentally hit
their golf balls into each other in flight.
"There
was one time that he was on one side of the fairway and I was on the other
(and) our balls collided in midair 170 yards down the fairway," Busch
said, "which is probably Powerball odds of that happening."
For
Bednar, his time at the course goes back well before Palouse Ridge was around.
He worked at the old nine-hole WSU course for 10 years before the bulldozers
came in and tore it down. Busch also worked at the old WSU course in the 1950s.
But it
became clear in the early 2000s that Washington State would need a new, full
course if it ever wanted to become a championship-caliber venue, Lupkes said.
There were
three goals, he said: No. 1 was to have something to serve as an amenity for
faculty, staff and students living in Pullman; No. 2 was the marketing and
branding name recognition so the course could hold tournaments and No. 3 was to
serve as an economic boost to the city when golfers come into town.
It's lived
up to all three.
"It's
turned out to be a huge amenity to the town and the school," Lupkes said.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
How will
athletic departments like WSU’s turn their financial situation around?
Is it even
possible?
By Kevin
Dudley Coug Center June 30, 2018
Good
Saturday morning Coug fans. Another day, another story on the athletic
department’s bank account.
USA Today
published its annual list of public D-I athletic department finances yesterday.
You’ll see WSU is no. 53 in the county in terms of revenue generated. That’s
one spot behind Oregon State by almost $4 million. WSU is the lowest ranked
school from a Power 5 conference.
WSU also
made the front page of the USA Today sports section this week in a story about
how athletic departments are in the hole with limited ways of digging out.
This bit
stood out to me:
”(Sports Economist David Berri) sees other
reasons for rosy forecasts and deficit spending in college sports. He said
decision makers are spending other people’s money and have little incentive to
trim costs in order to turn a “profit,” unlike regular businesses. Fiscal
conservatism instead is outweighed by political pressures to keep up in
big-time college sports and retain popular coaches. The same decision makers
also often don’t stick around very long as they pursue better jobs, sometimes
leaving town a few steps ahead of the thunderclouds”
We always
hear how college sports “is a business” whenever a coach or AD leaves, but
that’s about the extent to which they operate like a business, it seems.
So, how do
schools like WSU figure this all out?
WSU
released its strategy to get back above water about a month ago and relies on
increased donations, a possible student fee and more. Time will tell if it
works out.
The school
eight miles to the east of WSU floated what I thought was a creative idea to
generate more revenue in its athletic department.
The
University of Idaho has been given a year to come up with a plan to balance its
athletics budget. Some schools, like Cal, have broached the topic of
eliminating sports to save money. Idaho would add three new teams:
”UI administrators have proposed to the
board a concept of adding three sports – men’s swimming, women’s triathlon and
rifle (a sport with both men and women on the roster). Competitors would be
granted out-of-state tuition waivers but would pay in-state tuition and fees.
The university would be able to count that money as athletics revenue.”
Whether
something like this would work remains to be seen. I don’t know the answers to
the financial problems of college sports, but something definitely needs to be
done or some schools are going to be in deeper trouble.
So, got
any ideas?
……Hoopfest
There once
was a (brief) time where WSU basketball was the talk of the town during
Hoopfest. WSU basketball players were on the coveted Hoopfest poster and
autograph lines in downtown Spokane for Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes were a
block long (slight exaggeration).
Sadly,
that’s no longer the case, but WSU will still have a presence, should you find
yourself in downtown Spokane today:
11:55 a.m.
& 12:55 p.m. > @WSUCougarSpirit #CrimsonGirls perform on Nike Center
Court
10-11:15
a.m. > @WSUWomensHoops
11:30
a.m.-12:45 p.m. > @WSUMensHoops
1-2:15
p.m. > @wsuvolleyball
2:30-3:30
p.m. > @WSUCougFB #Hoopfest2018 | #GoCougs
7:00 PM -
Jun 28, 2018
