Golf is a lifelong sport.  Whether you play a few days a month as part of a casual summer league, or log countless rounds recreationally, golf in Minnesota is treasured time on the links.

For Owatonna native Dave Carothers, continuing to play — and do so at a high level — is part of his DNA.

Carothers was involved football, hockey and golf during his Hall of Fame athletic career at Owatonna High School – and remains active at a competitive level in golf to this day.  Carothers played collegiately at the University of Minnesota in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s where he and was named one of the team’s captains as an upperclassman. 

“I love when things are on the line,” Carothers said. “Most of my college teammates went pro following college and my goal was to be one of the better amateur players in the state.”  I think Carothers has accomplished that goal.

In 2017, Carothers — then 48 years young — became the second oldest competitor to ever win the Minnesota State Amateur in the long history of the annual event.  He birdied five of his last ten holes to card a 66 and walked away victorious.

Just seven years later in early July of 2024, Carothers played in a U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville, Minn. Carothers went 2-under par in his last six holes to find himself in a playoff.  He and two other competitors played a one-hole playoff where he and another golfer advanced with pars. The victory awarded an invitation to the U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee in late August. 

“The Honors Course is one of the top two or three courses that I have ever played,” Carothers stated.  “It is a Pete Dye design with no blind shots or trickery.  It is a great layout, fairly forgiving driving golf course and the fairways were perfect.  The rough was thick but not long where your ball would either sit up or fall straight to the bottom.”

The event started with two 18-hole stroke play rounds with the hope of each competitor making the cut to advance to head-to-head match play events the rest of the tournament. Carothers posted a 77 and 85, leaving him just outside of the cut line with a 162. 

“I hit 20 of 28 fairways and hit 26 out of 28 drives well,” Carothers recalled.  “The greens were large and firm and rolling at about 13 (on the stimpmeter).  You had to putt defensively if you didn’t place the ball perfectly.  Putting downhill was like putting in the bathtub trying to stay short of the drain.”

After his solid opening round, Carothers was on pace to make the cut with a similar score as he began the final 18 holes. 

However, as can be the case in golf, if the ball is not dropping on the greens, posting lower scores can prove difficult — if not impossible. 

Even for a player like Carothers. 

“I had hit one bad shot in nine holes and found myself seven over par,” he said.  “I knew at that point that I needed to press.  Whether I missed the cut by one or eight, didn’t really matter at that point.  I would have played a few shots differently on the last nine if I were in a different position.  I really feel like match play could have been my strength but unfortunately it didn’t go my way.  This really gives me some fuel to try and make it again next year.”

Carothers estimated that he will log somewhere between 65 to 70 rounds by the end of the season with a good amount of those serving as warmup strokes for his biggest event and most competitive tournaments.  He will play in the Minnesota Senior Amateur tournament on September 9-11 in Edina, as well as one other smaller events before putting the clubs away.

After talking to Carothers about his experiences at both the initial qualifier and national event in Tennessee, I could hear the competitive fire in his voice. With the golf simulator that he just added in the shed at his home, this winter could pave the way for a repeat appearance on the national level in 2025.  I would take Carothers in my foursome any day that ends in y.

Until next month, hit ‘em long and straight – and most of all have fun!