Indian Summer burns best - August 8, 1996 By David Andriesen -  The Olympian We should all be as lucky as Indian Summer Golf & Country Club - people think it's beautiful, but they also have great respect for it. Competitors in the Washington State Golf Association Men's Amateur Championship raved about the condition of the Thurston County course, but did nothing to diminish Indian Summer's reputation as an unforgiving challenge. "You make one bad swing here," said Sean Monaghan of Tacoma, who shot 81, "and it's all over." Just ask Everett's Jim Sparkman, who made the turn at 33 - the best front-nine score of the day - but wound up at 76 after taking 15 strokes on the final two holes. "I guess I stopped being the guy to beat in a hurry," he said, shaking his head. "You let your guard down out here, you're in trouble." Scores were high for the opening round, to the point that by late in the day, the extra strokes had actually put the tournament behind schedule. Chris Lohman of Echo Lake shot 71 to lead by one over Dan Kiley, Craig Welty and Lance Killbride. Stroke play for the field of 144 continues with today's second round, after which the low 50 and ties will play Friday and Saturday for the championship. Jeff Bishop, Olympia High School standout and son of Indian Summer head pro Kevin Bishop, figured to have a leg up on the competition but struggled with a gusty wind and shot 77 without a birdie. "No matter how well you know the course, you have to hit the ball straight, and I'm not hitting the ball straight," he said. "On this course, it's very tough to make a birdie and very easy to make a bogey." John Bodenhamer, the WSGA's executive director and a contender for the first time after shooting a first-day 74, said he was amazed by the condition of the course, which will host a Nike Tour event in October. "I've played a lot of great courses, including some US Amateurs and NCAA championships, but I've never seen a course in any better shape than this," Bodenhamer said. "Not only can this place host a Nike event, I think it could host a PGA Tour event. It's that nice. It's a pleasure to stage a state amateur here."

Indian Summer Country Club 1st Hole