b'GOLF WASHINGTONAWARD-WINNING GOLF GETAWAYInmates learn the game, andMIDWEEK about life, at The Home Course JUST GOT MAJORLeft: PGA Head Professional Mitch Runge gave swing tips to the inmates on the driving range at The Home Course. Right: Zach Hudson, equipment manager at The Home Course, who served nine years in the U.S. Army as a mechanic, gave a hands-on tutorial of how everything works.by Tom Cade, Editor Thrashers group at the maintenance facility. And the inmates had a lot of questionswho can apply for this kind of job; what T hey came from far away, literally and figuratively.kind of experience was needed; what does it pay; do you train Tim Thrasher is the superintendent at Cedar Creekpeople to do it.Corrections Center, a minimum-security facility in ruralThe atmosphere was loose, conversational, and productive.Play MondayThursday through the month of AugustThurston County, Wash. The facility is the final step in a longAt one point during the discussion with Roque and his staff,and get a $10 Pro Shop creditwith your round.process for men who are nearing the end of their sentences,after Dennis had talked about golf balls being hit into the back and Thrasher sees his main role as preparing the incarceratedyards of neighboring houses, one of the guests shook his headUpgrade your gear while you upgrade your game individuals for a productive return to society.and said, Oh, with my swing, I dont want to take the chance of all on the regions premier course.And he sees the game of golf as one way of accomplishing this.hitting someones house. After which Thrasher, not skipping a Three years ago, Thrasher started a golf program at Cedarbeat, boomed out, What difference would it make? They cantTee times limited. Applies only to regular rates. Creek, as a form of the inmates rehabilitation. It is the only golfdo anything to youyoure already in prison! The entire roomCall and mention - Midweek Specialprogram of its kind in the U.S. broke up in laughter.On July 29, Thrasher and a handful of plainclothes staffRoque then led everyone to the large building that houses all from Cedar Creek brought five inmates from the facility to Thethe greenkeeping equipment, where equipment manager Zach Home Course in DuPont, Wash. The excursion was arrangedHudson showed them how each piece of machinery works, what by Justin Gravatt, the PGA general manager at Theits purpose is, how to fix it when it wont work.Home Course, which is co-owned and operated byAfter a lunch break, everyone went to the Washington Golf and the Pacific Northwest Golfdriving range, where Mitch Runge, the courses Association. PGA head professional, gave swing tips and Thrasher specifically wanted his fiveputting lessons. charges to meet with the golf courses greenkeeping crew, to talk about their work. Dennis Roque, the courses headTim Thrasher, the superintendent at Cedar Creek, has been playing the game since he was 13, and superintendent, had his entire crew meet withknows the inherent gifts the game offers. 10 GOLF WASHINGTON|SEPT 2025'