By Barbara Palmgren
Miracle Strip Tournament Showcases Top Girls Golf Teams
Every autumn, top high school girls golf teams compete at Fort Walton Beach Municipal Golf Course in this time-honored tournament. This year, with beautiful weather, girls in grades 9-12 from schools throughout the Florida Panhandle competed for top team and individual honors. Participating schools included Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Choctawhatchee, South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach), Chiles (Tallahassee), Rocky Bayou, Navarre, Mosley (Lynn Haven), Pensacola, Crestview, North Bay Haven (Panama City), Bay (Panama City) and West Florida (Pensacola).
Tournament director Justin Reid, a teacher and golf coach at Meigs Middle School, organized the event. Justin has directed the tournament for the past four years at The Pines Course. A graduate of Choctawhatchee High School with a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of West Florida, Justin lives in and loves this area of Florida. Checking on the pace of play and encouraging golfers, Justin enjoyed the competition and determination of these young teens as they pitched errant shots out of sand traps and learned how to get out of trouble when a tee shot didn’t land in the fairway. Sometimes golf balls just don’t listen as they should!
At the end of the day, Class 1A, Region 1 team honors went to Niceville High School with a total score of 344 for 18 holes. Top individual honors resulted in a tie! Tenley Sharron and Rayna Perkin of South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) both scored 76 for 18 holes. Congratulations to all the young ladies enjoying golf and bringing honor to their schools.
Military Golf Tournament Supports Morale and Development
On Sept. 18, 2026, the weather cooperated with cooler temperatures at Shalimar Pointe Golf Course for the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing Enlisted Council. Yes, no heat index over 100 degrees for this military group on a picture-perfect day!
More than 80 golfers in four-person teams began a shotgun-start scramble over water, into trees, searching the rough and occasionally finding the fairway. As always, there was the challenge of mastering the elusive approach shot to the green or making a 5-foot putt.
Elizabeth Roman, one of the organizing team members, spoke with me about the challenges this military organization faces daily and how money raised for its foundation helps support morale-boosting events and professional development. Hearing the trash talk behind me as members enjoyed lunch while waiting for scores to be posted brought a smile to my face. Thinking about their mission, having an event like this is a welcome reward for a job well done.
The winning team posted a low score of 54 for 18 holes. Congratulations to Tony Stamm, Chase Rankin, Dan King and Steve Fish! Second- and third-place teams were close behind with scores of 55.
With such a strong military presence in our area, it’s an honor to once again thank the members of this military group for their service and support of future projects.
Boys Invitational Draws Top Northwest Florida Golfers
On a bright, sunny autumn day at The Pines Course of Fort Walton Beach Municipal Golf Course, teams from Northwest Florida and as far away as Tallahassee competed for school and individual honors.
Tournament director Patrick Lucy, a teacher and golf coach at Choctawhatchee High School, has led the event for four years. Encouraging golfers and ensuring water and snacks were available during play, with pizza afterward, Patrick was pleased the weather cooperated for the 96 young players. Seventeen teams began 18-hole play at 9 a.m., with parents allowed to follow in carts but prohibited from offering advice. These young men were soloists in a sport demanding patience and accuracy.
Participating schools included Choctawhatchee, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Crestview, Rocky Bayou, Destin, Tate, Gulf Breeze, Chiles (Tallahassee), South Walton, Mosley, West Florida, Bay, Pensacola, Aletheia, Walton and North Bay Haven.
Cade Denecke, a junior from Mosley High School, earned Class 3A, Region 1 individual honors with a score of 72 for 18 holes. Team honors went to Tate High School, Class 3A, Region 1, District 1, with a total score of 300. The four boys’ scores averaged 75 to secure this top honor.
Congratulations to all these future golf stars as they represent their schools. Golf in Northwest Florida is indeed growing in popularity, not only among adults but also among our area teenagers.
