b'And then along came Gene EnnekingWe knew he was out there somewhere. Since 2002 Gene Enneking has played 2,093 rounds of golf (as of this writing). He first shot his age in 2013, at the age of 73. Now 83, and currently carrying a 9.7 Handicap Index, he has shot his age or better 521 times (this is not a misprint). He has shot his age 68 times just inRoger Telford first shot his age 2023 alone.in 2009, when he was a mere 69 He has all the numbers and allbeing fitted. But the name of the brandyears old, twice shooting 66 at his the evidence, and nothing less would besounded good, he says. I couldnt hit ahome course of Goldendale (Wash.) expected of the soft-spoken, humble,2-iron to save my life. Golf Club. Over the past 14 years former math professor and dean atGene then began his tenure athe has shot his age or better 149 Portland State University.Portland State in 1968, staying theretimes, the last time being October 6, He has kept meticulous records of2023, at age 83. In 2011, at the age every round played dating back to 2002,until he retired in 2003.created graphs and flow charts andDuring those years I played golfof 71, he was the club champion at spreadsheets showing how many roundswith a Sunday group at Eastmoreland GCGoldendale and also at Mesquite played, and in how many of thosein Portland, and with a group that playedCountry Club in Palm Springs, Calif. rounds scoring his age or better.on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the TnTFor the past eight years, Roger Im kind of a nerd that way, he admits.group) that I have now played with forhas been fighting Multiple Myeloma One of 12 children born on a ranchover 20 years, Gene says.(cancer of the bone marrow), outside of Keuterville (pop. 40) in northAfter retiring, Gene joined themaking it difficult to finish 18 holes. central Idaho, Gene didnt play any golfCherry Park Golf Club, a traveling groupBut he still keeps going. at all until his college years at St. Martinsof players that plays every Sunday at in Lacey, Wash., playing maybe nine holescourses around the Portland area, with a week in the fall and winter only so thatoccasional trips to the coast or Central he could turn in his scorecard to theOregon or Puget Sound. The group was PE instructor. If he played some sort oforiginally formed in 1946 by a group outside sport, then he didnt have to takeof Portland GIs who had returned the PE class. In the spring, he played on thefrom World War II and all lived in the college baseball team, so that took careCherry Park neighborhood in Northeast of that. Portland.In graduate school at WashingtonIve taken only three golf lessons State University, he occasionally playedthat I can recall, mostly learning just the old University course, mostly nineby playing, Gene says. I have been holes, and always with rented clubs. losing distance off the tee lately, and Im With his PhD in mathematics, heprobably guilty of trying every ball out got a job at St. Louis University for twothere, in looking for that perfect fit. years, where he bought a set of BobbyWe can probably forgive him thatAl Kirkpatrick shot nines of 35-34 Jones clubs not knowing anything aboutindulgence.for a 69 at the 9-hole Colfax (Wash.) Golf Course. The next day he turned 70. Kirkpatrick has been the volunteer Shoot your age? Lets hear about it. Send a photoassistant greenkeeper at the course for four years. A little home cooking, and brief description to [email protected] a little home course knowledge. MAR 2024|PACIFIC NORTHWEST GOLFER31'