Local drive continues

Golfers in the Bay Area and beyond don’t need to be reminded that July 13-14 is the heralded Shortstop Golf Championship tournament, teeing off for its eightieth year, at which the Chequamegon Bay Golf Club will welcome over 190 golfers. Nor will the CBGC’s hosting of a tenth annual Ashland Ford Chrysler Northland College Golf Classic on July 25 swing past many. But before any scores are recorded, two familiar Bay Area athletes — Northland College graduates and former LumberJacks student-athletes George Butvilas and Jordan Brennan (also an Ashland native) — will have already spent loads of time making sure play at CBGC comes up aces. Butvilas is in his second year as golf shop manager, and relishes the experience of serving area golfers in a place he considers home.

“A part of me feels like I have lived in Ashland my whole life,” said the former basketball and golf stand out at Northland who hails from Houghton, Mich. “I have already lived here for five years. It feels good to stay in the town that has given me so much.”

Despite the loads of time he spends at the course, Butvilas has continued with his studies, tackling a masters degree program online in data science and analytics at Ferris State University. In the offseason he serves as a substitute teacher in the Ashland School District. With top scores this season of 33 for nine holes and 73 for 18 holes, Butvilas claims he is improving from his days as a LumberJacks golfer.

“I am getting a better chance to golf more than last year for sure,” he said. “I learned a lot when I played golf at Northland from Mason Parker, the old golf coach. I try to practice as much as I can when I am not here in the golf shop. I get to the driving range. Work on chipping around the green. I’d say the strongest part of my game is with my wedges; weakest part is my short game outside of wedges — and I can get wild off the tee.” LumberJacks teammate Brennan, well-known throughout the Northwoods as a superb athlete for the Ashland Oredockers who graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball — then went on to become a 1,000 point scorer for the LumberJacks basketball team — began working at CBGC during the pandemic after having played there during his younger years. Rekindling relationships and making new friends on the course has been a big plus according to Brennan.

“I have built a lot of good connections with good people,” he said.”It’s easy to hop in with people on a Saturday; you know so many people with leagues that it’s not at all awkward.”

Brennan noted that he, like Butvilas, has seen his game improve in the last year, after recently firing a 33 for nine holes. He typically covers a round with a score of 80. A mark he hopes to improve upon over time. He’ll have the opportunity to do that, it appears, as he will be joining the math department at Ashland High School this fall where he will be teaching Algebra and Geometry.

In addition to feeling a sense of satisfaction working with the upcoming Northland College Golf Classic, the proceeds from which will go to support Northland athletics, both are pleased to see local hires stepping into coaching openings. With no criticism directed at predecessors, Brennan sees the hirings as a potential hole-in-one for the Bay Area.

“It’s pretty cool to see people that you know in the community,” Brennan said, “get the chance to coach at the college level. They care about the (area) and they are devoted to the work that they do in this community.”