SPICER -- For older golfers, it’s a big accomplishment to shoot their age. Craig Bahe goes one step further: he plays his age.
For 21 years, Bahe has celebrated his birthday by playing the number of holes equal to his age. This year, Bahe and his group celebrated his 70th birthday with 70 holes of golf on Tuesday at Little Crow Golf Resort.
The tradition started in 1999 when Bahe was looking for something special to commemorate his 50th birthday. He, friends and family decided to play 50 holes for his 50th birthday.
Over the years, the group has included his son, grandsons, sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law and friends who’ve brought their sons and grandsons into the fold. They add a hole for every birthday, beginning around 5:30 a.m. and finishing about 6:30 p.m.
They’ve played 1,260 total “birthday” holes in the 21 years, and the course has accommodated the tradition.
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"Little Crow's grounds crew and pro shop employees have been very helpful when it comes to scheduling the tee times and letting (us) play while they have been out mowing," Bahe said.
Over the years, the playing date has been postponed twice -- as it was this year -- but the group always reschedules and gets the holes in.
With plenty of daylight to finish, the group plans to keep the tradition going. So next is 71 and then comes the big one: shooting “par” 72 in 2021.
