Touchet Valley Golf Course to Host Tournaments at End of Summer

DAYTON – The Touchet Valley Golf Course has played host to both a women's and a men's league this summer, and will also host tournaments at the end of the summer.

The men's league has been held on Thursdays throughout the summer months, and will wrap up in two weeks' time. The league is made up of multiple teams of three golfers each. The women's league follows the same format, but their weekly rounds are held on Monday evenings, and will also wrap up in the coming weeks.

Golfers this year have been playing on greens that were redone last summer, according to Golf Course President Roger Trump.

"We are still working to make them blend in with the rest of the course, but they are definitely playable," Trump said. The work on the greens was done to make them more consistent and perfect.

Even though the greens were redone, there was no change to fees for golfers wanting to take advantage of the upgrade. Although there were no increases this year, Trump added that "there is no guarantee for next year."

Other events at the golf course include a recently completed youth golf camp. The camp was open to kids up to age 17, and taught basic golf skills needed to enjoy the game. The camp was put on by the Women's Golf Club with the help of an instructor from Walla Walla Veteran's Memorial Golf Course, according to Trump.

The coming months will see the course hold several tournaments. In August, DW Head Football Coach Troy Larsen is planning on holding a "QB Club" tournament for the football team's benefit, according to Trump.

Another tournament planned for August is the Lady's Invitational Best Ball Tournament. The contest will see golfers from around the region come to Dayton for a round of best ball golf.

"The tournament will be played by women from other golf clubs around the state and the region, and they will play a round of best ball on a Wednesday," Trump explained. There will also be a men's best ball tournament at the end of September, but it is not planned on being invite-only.

The course suffered a little more damage than normal from the wind storms that have occurred this year. The damage has come from tree branches and debris falling on the course. There have been tree extractions to protect the course and more are planned, according to Trump.

Despite this, the course has seen a good showing of players this year, which has already been counted as north of 2,400 check-ins at the clubhouse. The course, which is technically open year-round, could be playable all the way up to November depending on the weather, Trump said. The course opens on April 1, annually.

The course would like to see more funding, which is helped in large part by the TVGC Committee, in order to procure an irrigation system upgrade. Individual sprinklers are currently used to maintain the course, which takes a lot of man hours to operate. Also, parts of the piping that is in place already was built in the 1930s, according to Trump, and is still holding up for the most part.

More information on the Touchet Valley Golf Course can be obtained by calling the course at 509-382-4851, or at the LC at the Green restaurant, which is open Tuesday through Saturday.