After winter storm damage left the North Conway Country Club unable to host the state amateur championship, the New Hampshire Golf Association had to scramble for a new site. Hanover Country Club stepped up to fill the void, which was good news for the NHGA and for fans of high-stakes golf played on the edge.
“There’s a lot of risk/reward on the course,” said Alex Kirk, who has been Hanover’s head pro for 13 years. “So I think it should be exciting for match play. … If the matches are tight, anything could happen.”
Before they get to match play, the field of 144 will go through two rounds of stroke play on Sunday and Monday to cut itself down to 64. The 36-hole final match is scheduled for Friday.
There won’t be a repeat winner since last year’s champ, Michael Martel, turned pro. The 2016 champ, Gilford’s Chris Houston, also turned pro after he won. Martel and Houston beat the same opponent in the final: Hooksett’s Matt Paradis, who plays out of Concord Country Club.
Paradis, 22, is one of 24 golfers in the field with local ties. Others include Concord native Kurt Eddins, who Paradis beat in last year’s quarterfinals, and a pair of Division III boys’ basketball coaches – Eric Saucier, the Conant coach who plays out of Beaver Meadow, and Jim Cilley, the Belmont coach who plays out of Ridgewood Country Club and won the 2011 state am. Cilley is one of seven former champs in the field along with Connor Greenleaf (2015), Nick MacDonald (2010), Danny Arvanitis (2001), Jared Lamothe (1999), Craig Steckowych (1998, 1990) and Phil Pleat (1997, 1985, 1981).
“There is a fantastic mix of experience and youth in the field for the amateur this year,” NHGA Tournament Director Grew Howell said. “Seven past champions along with plenty of talented challengers, it should be an excellent week at Hanover. The golf course is immaculate, and it should be a challenging test for the state’s top amateurs.”
The NHGA selects the state am sites years in advance, but even though Hanover didn’t assume the role of host until December, Kirk said that left plenty of time to prepare.
“We’ve been prepping the course all season and now we’re just finalizing some things,” Kirk said. “The greens are in great shape, we added another scoreboard and the hospitality side has done everything it needs to do. We’re ready, and we’re happy to help out the golf association. It’s an honor to host it. It’s been too long since it’s been here.”
The last time Hanover hosted was 1986. This will be the fifth state am for the 119-year-old course, which sits on the Dartmouth College campus. The school has considered closing the course as part of a four-year plan to shift $17 million from administration to academics. Rich Parker, Dartmouth’s men’s golf coach, told the Valley News in December that this state am, “could be the swan song, or this could be the coming-out party (for HCC). Having the state amateur in there, it’s a big deal. It’s a week-long tournament, the biggest tournament in our state.”
Kirk said that hitting big off the tee will help, “on the majority of holes,” but not all of them.
“It can be a little deceiving out there,” Kirk said. “And there are some idiosyncrasies, so local knowledge will be a factor, but it won’t be the only factor.”
One of the locals to look out for is MacDonald, the 2010 champ who plays out of Baker Hill Golf Club now but, “kind of grew up here and is one of the best players in the state,” Kirk said. James Pleat, Phil Pleat’s son, played collegiately at Dartmouth, so he has plenty of experience on the course. So do Nate and Phin Choukas, who both starred for Hanover High and still play out of HCC.
The course’s signature hole is No. 13, a downhill par-4 that has a multi-sport history.
“That’s where the old Dartmouth ski jump used to be,” Kirk said. “They still have the rescue sled cabin in the woods there. Hopefully no one needs to use it, or hits it there – that’s in the hazard.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341, tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)