Rodents Invade Gsl Rogers Golf Program On Rise, Thanks To Williamson’s ‘Course Rats,’ Woods’ Popularity

Pirates, rats and Tiger. Somehow, that combination, and a baseball player with a bad golf swing, is turning Rogers into a golf school.

The Pirates aren’t exactly the Arizona of the Greater Spokane League, but they did end an 11-year losing streak earlier this season and Charlie Napp was medalist in matches that included league powers Ferris and Mead. Amazing.

More amazing is the fact Willie Williamson, a teacher at Whitman Elementary, had to cut more than 50 kids in his fourth year as Rogers coach.

“It definitely was, I think, Tiger Woods,” he said. “That’s just a real neat thing going on with kids right now. A thing that Rogers has is a place for more golfers. We don’t have parents to take kids golfing, for one thing, and the country club is fairly far away from Rogers High School.”

Still, 74 golfers turned out this spring, almost 50 boys, for 20 roster spots.

“I would say 70 percent of them had never even been on a golf course before,” Williamson said. “They all got a chance. The three pros from Esmeralda (golf course) are the real story, they’re the real heroes of this story. They’re the ones who let kids come there in March when no one wants to be there, let them hit balls, let them get on the course for a couple of holes.”

Rogers standouts Napp and Rudy Keezer work at Ezzy, and both were quick to credit Bill Warner, Rex Schultz and Allen Jenkins for not only helping them but taking time with Williamson’s “course rats.”

That’s Williamson’s pet name for the players he had to cut but didn’t quit.

“They’re out there all night,” he said. “That’s where the pros come in… . When ‘Joe Public’ is gone, by 5:30, 6 o’clock, the Rogers kids get to go out and play five or six holes. That has helped tremendously.”

Williamson’s connections at his home course, Sun Dance, and Rogers alum Kaye Walker, have also helped with donated clubs.

Walker, who recently retired at MeadowWood, told Williamson to bring a couple of trucks to pick up clubs and recycled balls, both badly needed in the Rogers program.

“I took 12 kids to MeadowWood and lost 67 balls in one match (last year),” Williamson said. “We need help.”

Now the Rats can check out clubs from the school and hit balls at Ezzy, Birdie’s, Beacon Hill and the Dome until their hands bleed.

“We have 30 complete sets,” Williamson explained. “That has really, really helped. It really makes a difference when a kid can carry his own bag and use his own clubs.”

Napp and Keezer, who were encouraged by their fathers to take up golf as youngsters, have noticed a difference.

“It’s a lot more fun,” said Keezer. “We had kids shooting like 170 last year. This year no one is over 100. All the teachers and kids notice. The sport has become real popular. I think it had a lot to do with Tiger Woods.”

Napp is helping, too. When someone from Rogers can beat Mead or Ferris, people notice.

“It’s been nice beating those guys,” he said. “They have a lot of good people on those teams. There’s a lot of people talking about golf. The Rogers team has improved. We’re getting a lot of players and the pros are giving Rogers kids lessons.”

Williamson agreed.

“Even the athletic director knows their names,” he joked. “We’re just short of finding five or six kids to break 80. In the GSL, if you can’t break 80, you’re just not there.”

So Williamson keeps motivating his charges and keeps the Rats swinging. As for “coaching,” that’s another matter.

“I was a baseball player but I turned to golf because I was getting too old to get around the bases,” Williamson, 50, said. “I’m about a 15 (handicap) and I have the ugliest swing in the GSL right now but I’m working on it. I’m more of a motivator than a golf coach. The only rule I have is they’re not able to watch their coach swing but they have to be able to beat him to play. They have to be able to break 100.”

Not only are the Pirates breaking 100, they’re breaking new ground. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos (2 Color)