GOLF
August, 2024
Canyon Course’s Lowest Round Ever RYAN SMITH, PGA POSTED A 61 ON A MONSOON-FILLED AFTERNOON
By William Godfrey Forest Highlands Club Historian
On a soggy, rain-drenched afternoon 10 years ago, Ryan Smith and his playing companions waited out an August monsoon at Forest Highlands.Their patience was rewarded with a golf round for the ages. Smith, then 26, a former FHGC assistant professional, shot the best official round ever recorded on the Canyon course on August 11, 2014. Currently, the Director of Golf at Glacier Golf Club in Durango, Colorado, Ryan, shared that special day and how he got started in the game. William Godfrey: How were you introduced to golf? Ryan Smith: I was introduced to golf through my family. Everyone played. My dad and my two older brothers were all avid golfers. My mom played nine holes from time to time. My grandfather, on mom’s side, is in the North Dakota Golf Hall of Fame. Golf was a big part of my childhood. My brothers and I worked at the Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins, Colorado, where we grew up. We did everything from being the cart kid to mowing fairways and cooking chicken fingers on the grill. I would get dropped off in the mornings as a kid and get picked up before dinner. It was like daycare! Godfrey: How did you first learn about Forest Highlands? Smith: I graduated from UNLV’s PGA Golf Management program in 2010. I was looking to start my career in golf. Growing up in Colorado I always wanted to work in the mountains and when I saw the Forest Highlands job posting, I thought it would be a great fit.
Some of my fondest memories include working with great people at FHGC: Matt Bailey, Eric Slack, Josh White and Steven Mauser (among others) were a big part of my almost 10 years at the Club and they are still close friends. Playing after work with staff and club members was a highlight and the golf courses are so good. Godfrey: What do you recall about that special round? Smith: It was a very stormy day. We were planning to tee off late morning but the lightning horn went off multiple times. So, we ended up teeing off hole #10 around 1:00 pm. The golf course was wet from the rain, so it played very soft. The group was three golf industry professionals from the Phoenix area. Because of the delays, we didn’t have much time to warm up before heading out. I started with a great shot on the10th hole to three feet, but the putt lipped out. So, I tapped in for a par. The round continued slowly as I also parred 11 and 12. Made my first birdie on #13, then parred 14. Then the fireworks started! I went on a crazy string of birdies: 15, 16, 17, 18, 1 and 2. Six in a row, highlighted by driving the 17th green and two-putting for birdie. I parred 4, then birdied 5 and 6. So now I was nine-under par with three to play. It was starting to get real…the guys I was playing with were great. They didn’t make much of what was happening. But, come to find out later, they were talking to a lot of people through text messages, letting them know something crazy was happening.
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VOICE IN THE PINES • AUGUST 2024
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