Worth the invitation

The third, 11th and 18th tees at Fox Valley Country Club are not only geographically in intimate proximity to one another, they also resonated with activity last Saturday at the Batavia Invitational.

Annually one of the premier boys golf tournaments in the area, the event features six golfers from 30 schools seeking to hone their skills as the all-important conference and state series loom.

Six-plus-hour rounds are the norm, and the waiting is seemingly interminable.

But the results speak for themselves.

Ironically, the Batavia tournament traditionally follows a similar endeavor at White Pines in Bensenville, the Fenton Invitational and attracts many of the same teams.

It was almost eerie what transpired at the two events separated by seven days.

"You had 30 individuals shoot 75 or better and five teams were under 300 (at each tournament)," said Wheaton Warrenville South coach Jimmy Selleck, whose squad participated each week. "It's not a fluke two weeks in a row; maybe one, but not two."

The three aforementioned holes at the North Aurora layout offered a laboratory of insight as the players prepared for the respective holes that ran the gamut from a reachable par-5 (No. 3), an uphill, lengthy par-3 (No. 11) and the finishing par-4 (No. 18).

There were quiet conversations; others pondered their next quest in solitude, while another player dribbled his golf ball off the face of his big-headed driver.

Jake Tolliver was coming off a birdie on his ninth hole of the shotgun start, the short par-4 10th, when the two-group wait -- 10 golfers in all as they were playing in quintets -- intervened on No. 11.

Almost a television sitcom later, he was ready to hit. Selecting a long iron, the seasoned state veteran from Glenbard West was fortunate the event was not being televised.

The resulting shank -- "There was no other way to describe it," he later said -- led to a bogey, but it hardly bothered the No. 1 player who ultimately became one of nine players to shoot even-par or better under the idyllic scoring conditions.

"I had to wait on the tee for half an hour," Tolliver said. "Competitive golf is traditionally slow. You have to be very patient and you have to think positive."

For players and coaches alike, the Saturday tournaments are the bread-and-butter of the ephemeral prep golf season.

"Rounds are very long, but for me personally I find that to be an advantage," said Wheaton Warrenville South senior Nick Novosad. "You are able to take a break and think about other things. It's not like a nine-hole match after school where you're rushing to beat daylight."

"I have no minuses (about hosting and participating in multiteam invites)," said Fenton coach Pat Tantillo.

"I think that it's an extraordinary event. There has always been a waiting list for the Fenton Invite."

The school bus or athletic van left in the predawn hours to make White Pines' 6 a.m. start, but complaints were few and far between for either venue.

"I was waiting for some of that and I didn't hear it," said Glenbard South coach Scott Iliff, whose team was at each event. "I checked with the kids. I am not getting any negative vibes from them. It's such an opportunity for them. All they did was chatter about golf. They also had good experiences playing with (their opponents), which you like to hear."

Wheaton Warrenville South junior Steve Skurla has appropriated a degree of sagacity beyond his tender age of 16, especially after winning five tournaments on the state amateur circuit.

"It's really all about being patient," said Skurla, who followed a 72 at White Pines with a 74 at Fox Valley. "You have to keep your mind off of golf (during the waiting periods). That way you don't have to grind the whole seven-hour round. I think (the dynamics of the experience) have a positive impact on my game."

The extended rounds also allow many coaches to see their players in situations otherwise unrealized during the school week.

"It's a good mental test for the kids," Selleck said. "I need information to coach them. I want to see them reacting to how they're playing. I want to see how they're managing the course."

When the individual scores were tallied at Fox Valley, the evidence was unmistakable the state of the high school game could not be stronger.

Hinsdale Central was under par as a team to defend its championship, and the 30 individual plaques were eagerly scooped up by the participants whose award-winning displays required between 68 and 75 shots.

On the other hand, host coach Tim DeBruycker perhaps summed up the feelings of many when the day was over.

"I'm going home to take a nap," he said.