Curtis Garver seeks repeat at annual tourney
by paul glaviano
Special to the Journal
Americas space shuttle program may have ended, but Curtis Garver is still go for launch.
Perhaps the longest striker of a ball in the history of golf in Cortez, the 31-year-old Fort Morgan native and Cortez Farmers Union Insurance agent will be back Saturday and Sunday to defend his crown in the 32nd Pinto Bean Golf Classic at Conquistador Golf Course. On his way to a dominating victory in 2010, Garver employed his Srixon ZRW driver to devastating effect, driving par-4 holes No. 6, 11 and 17 to shoot 134 for 36 holes, the lowest total in Pinto Bean history.
Garver, who stands 5-feet-9 and weighs a well-distributed 215 pounds, became only the fourth local to win a Pinto Bean title. Stuart Stroud won in 1979 and 1980, Matt Unrein in 1998 and current Conquistador head pro Micah Rudosky in 1990 and 1992.
Garver, who moved to Cortez in 2005, isnt surprised that local players have had a tough time winning the coveted Pinto Bean title.
The competition is usually pretty good, he said. There are a lot of good players from New Mexico, Colorado, from all over.
It took Garver five years to make the winners circle. His lone achievement of note at the Pinto Bean was a victory in the long drive contest in 2006. He didnt win long drive contest laurels last year, but he figures participation was a key to his winning the tournament.
I really hit the ball in the tournament last year, he said. When I was competing in the long drive event on Friday night, I kind of figured something out, and it held up on Saturday and Sunday. I remember, on the first hole Saturday, that I had an 80-yard second shot into the par-5.
Translation: His drive traveled about 409 yards on Conquistadors 489-yard No. 1 hole.
It may come as somewhat of a relief to Garvers competitors that he reports he isnt hitting it quite so far this year. He and his wife, Misty, a fifth-grade teacher at Kemper Elementary School, welcomed a baby girl, Mayci, to their family on June 14. Trips to the golf course havent been as numerous as in the summer of 2010.
My game is OK, Garver said with a shrug. But I havent been practicing as much lately. The baby keeps us pretty busy.
Asked if Mayci is destined to be a golfer, he brightened.
I hope so, he laughed softly. Shell probably be playing with me in a couple of weeks.
Garver, a multi-sport athlete at Fort Morgan High School, started playing golf at age 12 after his mother, Dorothy, bought him a set of clubs for $10 at a garage sale. He promptly won a junior tournament that year, and went on to play golf at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
He was Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Freshman Golfer of the Year, and earned All-RMAC honors in his sophomore, junior and senior years. He topped it by winning medalist honors his senior year in the RMAC championship tournament, shooting a 64 on the final day at Smoky Hill Country Club in Hays, Kan.
Garver tried his hand at mini-tour tournaments after graduating from college, teeing it up in the state Opens of Nebraska, New Mexico and Colorado. He played on the Buy.com Tour (now the Nationwide Tour) for a while, making a number of cuts but never managing to win.
A highlight was a 62 he shot in the Rocky Mountain Open at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction.
These days, Garver carries a 2-handicap. Like most golfers, his fortunes in tournaments revolve around success in the short game.
My putting is usually pretty good, he said. But its probably one part of the game that makes or breaks me. I dont hardly ever struggle with my driver. Its my short game that usually defines my chances.
