Golfers on the Ringgold and Dalton boys’ golf teams may get to toss a pebble into famed Rae’s Creek.
They won’t get that chance by playing Augusta National. But the creek that has sunk the hopes of numerous potential Masters champions runs alongside the eighth green at Augusta Country Club, which is where the Georgia Class AAA state tournament is being held today.
“When you know you’re going this close to that vicinity of Augusta National, the kids start looking up history,” Ringgold coach David Gann said. “They’re excited to go down there.”
The Tigers are making their program’s first state-tournament appearance after finishing second in the Region 7-AAA tournament. Dalton’s region champion Catamounts have been there for at least each of the past 10 years as either region champions or runners-up.
“The first time is what makes it most exciting,” said Gann, who had to wait until the last hole of the region tournament to see if his team would advance. “It’s never — I mean never — happened before in the history of our school. There have been individuals but never a team.”