Livingston Junior Tour Helping Local Golfers

Bryce Brief has been looking forward to playing on the Livingston Junior Golf Tour since last fall. 

Bryce, 9, was playing golf with his dad, Brad, at the Majestic Golf Course in Hartland last fall when he learned about the tour, which is for players ages 8-18.

“He saw a poster they had up and he was talking about it all winter,” Brad said.

Bryce’s best nine-hole score on the Tour this season is 50, shot at the most recent tournament at Hartland Glen Golf Club on June 29.

“It’s a blast,” Bryce said. “I like playing golf a lot. It’s just fun playing golf.”

One of the goals of the tour, according to co-director Nathan Oake, is to give junior golfers a chance to improve their skills in a competitive setting.

Recently, Bryce and his dad played at the Majestic and Bryce decided to play like it was a Tour event.

“He didn’t take any mulligans or gimmes and he shot a 90, which is his best-ever score,” Brad said. “He shot a 45-45.”

This is the sixth season of the Tour, which was started by Hartland teacher and former golf coach Ethan Hawker and Oake, who is the Hartland boys golf coach.

“We wanted to try to develop the level of local golf talent in Livingston County High Schools,” Oake said.

“We’ve started to see results as far as local high school play. Pinckney had a phenomenal year this season and we’ve had some good teams in Hartland over last few seasons. Howell is improving, too.”

Pinckney placed third in the Division 1 state finals this year, led by four veterans of the Tour.

Oake said there are 80 members registered this season and he expects that number may increase to close to 100 by the time the season wraps up.

Oake and Hawker started the Washtenaw Junior Tour last season and are kept pretty busy between the two leagues with tournaments four days a week.

“Thankfully, I’ve got some helpers, many of them are my former golfers,” Oake said. “They help me out quite a bit.”

Derek Andreen, who’ll be a senior at this fall, began playing on the Livingston Junior Tour the summer before his freshman year.

“I think it’s a really great program,” he said. “It develops great competitiveness and talent in the area.

“Mr. Oake and Mr. Hawker are really nice. It’s a friendly atmosphere. It’s competitive, but it’s also about getting better. It’s not solely about who wins and who loses.”

Bryce Messner, 14, will be a freshman at Hartland High this fall. He started playing golf when he was 9 and is in his third year on the Tour.

“I average 80 to 85,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t do so good, but I’ve been practicing a lot.

“I love golf. It’s just fun to play and kind of relaxing. When you’re playing good, it’s relaxing.”

The tour has held four tournaments so far and the next is Monday at Chemung Hills in Howell. 

Andreen is first in tour championship points in the 15-18 division, while Messner and Brief are second in points in their respective divisions.

The tour championship will take place Aug. 1 at Huron Meadows in Green Oak Township.