AS WE watch the Masters this weekend, most of us will be wondering what it’s like to be at the plush Augusta National Golf Course. Not Jackson Jodoin, though. Jodoin was standing — putting, actually — on Augusta National’s 18th green last weekend.
Jodoin, a freshman at Bedford High School, played his way to Augusta National by winning a Drive, Chip and Putt regional qualifier at TPC Boston last September. He competed in the Boys 14-15 Division, and is one of 80 golfers who earned a spot in the 10th Annual Drive, Chip and Putt national finals, which were held Sunday at Augusta National.
So Jackson, tell us what it’s like to be at one of golf’s crown jewels:
“The course is even nicer than I expected, for sure,” he said. “It’s kind of a dumpy town, and as soon as we drove down Magnolia Lane, it was just unbelievable. The grass is perfectly green. There’s not a bare spot on the entire course. Even where there are people walking is perfect. The rough is perfect. The pine straw is perfect. Everything is perfect. It’s crazy.”
Drive, Chip and Putt is a free, nationwide youth golf development program open to boys and girls ages 7-15 in four age divisions. Scoring features a maximum of 25 points per shot in each skill category. Points are based on accuracy and distance for driving, and proximity for chipping and putting.
Jodoin tied for fifth out of 10 golfers in his age group last weekend. His best effort came on that 18th green, where he finished second in putting.
“That was my favorite part,” he said. “That was the pinnacle of everything for me. All the history there — you can feel it.
“There was a 30-foot putt and a 15-foot putt, and I had a cumulative of 2 feet, 11 inches from the hole. That green is so difficult to read I don’t even know how I did that. When I’m watching the tournament I’m going to be thinking, ‘I hit that putt. I was on that green.’
“I did well in the putting, but atrocious in the chipping. I was disappointed and happy at the same time with the driving because I missed my first drive so I had to hit kind of a fairway finder out there, so I couldn’t get the distance I wanted to.
“Even if I had placed last, I would have had a great time. It was more of just soaking it all in.”
Jodoin, who plays on the Bedford High School golf team, got an up-close look at Augusta National in other ways as well:
– He was allowed to eat in the Founders Room, which is typically reserved for members.
– All Drive, Chip and Putt participants were given tickets to Monday’s practice round.
– Jodoin also had an opportunity to chat with some of the top golfers in the world.
“I got a Masters flag and I got it signed by Joaquin Niemann, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikowa, Sam Burns — all the big guys,” Jodoin said. “It was pretty cool. Collin, I just asked him what kind of drills do you like to do? He was answering that kind of stuff. They were interacting. It was very nice. You could definitely tell which players were good people and which were kind of jerks.”
Jodoin experienced another memorable moment when he was allowed to study Tiger Woods while Woods was on the practice putting green.
“They let the Drive, Chip and Putt kids around the practice putting green,” he said. “I got to sit on the collar of the putting green, so Tiger was about 10 feet away from me at one point. He was actually chatting quite a bit.”
Jodoin’s four-day stay at Augusta ended Tuesday. He said the trip was even better than he envisioned.
“Much better,” he said. “It was absolutely amazing.
“Still trying to comprehend it all. It was great — really great. Best weekend of my life so far.”
• Londonderry is on the short list of contenders in NHIAA Division I softball this season. The Lancers, who lost to Salem in the Division I quarterfinals last year, returned UMass-bound pitcher Olivia Cutuli. Londonderry also added sophomore pitcher Elisabeth Kearney, who transferred to Londonderry after spending her freshman season at Central Catholic in Lawrence, Mass. Kearney went 4-1 with a 0.43 ERA in 49 innings for Central Catholic, which lost to Taunton in last year’s Division I championship game. She recorded 100 strikeouts in 49 innings.
• Goffstown’s Connor Hujsak was having a productive season for the Mississippi State baseball team, but his numbers have improved since the Bulldogs began SEC play.
Hujsak entered the weekend second on the team in batting average (.333), but was hitting .362 in conference play. Four of his six home runs have come against SEC opponents. Hujsak played shortstop at Virginia Commonwealth, but was moved to center field when he transferred to Mississippi State following his sophomore season.
• An NHIAA baseball top 10: 1) Pinkerton; 2) Exeter; 3) Londonderry; 4) Bishop Guertin; 5) Keene; 6) St. Thomas; 7) Merrimack; 8) Portsmouth; 9) Bedford; 10) Trinity.
• Brian Martin has replaced Dave Hedge as the softball coach at Windham High School.
Hedge, who had served as Windham’s coach since the program began playing at the varsity level in 2011, is now an assistant coach at Fitchburg State.
