Young Palmer golfer still aiming to have fun

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman

PALMER - When Marcus Dolejsi took up the game of golf, he just thought it was a fun way to spend the afternoon with his father, who was the manager of the Palmer Golf Course at the time.

&#8220I started playing when I was 7or 8,” said Dolejsi, a student at Mat-Su College. &#8220It was fun to go to work with dad. He used to take me out and play in the afternoon. I didn't take it real seriously, I was just a kid hitting with a wedge and putter.”

But times have changed, and so has Dolejsi's approach to the game. Now many other golfers are noticing the change.

&#8220Marcus has always been able to hit the ball a ton,” Palmer golf course director Jeff Barnhart said. &#8220Now he drives the ball about 4,000 miles when he hits it. The one hitch in his game was that he wasn't always straight. That's all changing now.”

Dolejsi's father, Mark, has also noticed the change from the little 8-year-old boy who enjoyed being with dad more than playing the game.

&#8220He's working on lowering his scores,” Mark Dolejsi said. &#8220There is a lot more to his game then hitting the long ball. He still strikes it hard from the tee, but he has been improving his short game.”

Dolejsi, now 22, was one of 211 of the state's top amateurs to tee-off Friday in the first of three days of play in the Alaska State Amateur Handicap.

Each player in the tournament plays one round of golf at the Anchorage Golf Course, Moose Run Golf Course, and the Palmer course. The winner will be determined by the lowest three day score, minus the player's handicap.

Dolejsi, who has a 3.6 handicap, fired off a round of 87 during the first round Friday at the Anchorage course. Adjusted to include his handicap, his final score for the day is 83.

&#8220I hope to turn things around today,” Dolejsi said before playing the second round Saturday at Palmer. &#8220I'm satisfied with how I played yesterday, except for a couple of holes. I let my fearless approach to the game get the best of me.”

Dolejsi's first mistake happened after he hit the ball into the water and tried to hit it out.

&#8220I took three swings at it before I realized that hitting out of the water is too hard,” he said. &#8220That is the biggest weakness of my game - not being able to measure the risk-reward factor of each shot. I tend to go for the big shot too often, and it cost me strokes.”

He's gotten better as he's matured, but the exuberance of youth still gets the best of him every now and then.

&#8220The game is still a lot of fun, even after spending three hours on the driving range after finishing the round yesterday,” Dolejsi said. &#8220But it is fun for a different reason than it was when I was a kid. Now it is a challenge to make myself better. Even if it means playing in the rain.”

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@frontiersman.com