MSUB SPORTS – Established in 1914 and originally called the Billings Golf and Country Club, one of the most historic golf courses in Billings holds a rich tradition and history. After a fire destroyed the clubhouse in the mid-1950s, prestigious golf course architect Robert Trent Jones was hired to bring the landscape back to life.
 
By December of 1958, the 18-hole masterpiece and new clubhouse had been completed, and the resulting Yellowstone Country Club stood as one of more than 500 courses Jones constructed throughout his career.
 
Since then, a separate nine holes and around 400 homes have popped up amid the original 630 acres of land, and more than 2,000 members have called the country club home throughout the years.
 
Among its most recent inhabitants are John and Pete Hedge, who started a family from their home located within the confines of the club.
 
It was through this opportunity that Montana State University Billings men's golf senior Jake Hedge naturally grew up living the game of golf, and it is his time spent with family and friends playing the course at Yellowstone Country Club that has turned him into one of the best golfers the Yellowjacket program has ever seen.
 
HURRY UP, JOHNNY
 
John Hedge remembered an article he read a couple decades ago entitled, 'How to Make Your Kid Fall in Love with Golf'.
 
"The three worst words in golf are, 'hurry up, Johnny,'" John Hedge said. "That's why so many kids quit golf early, because they hurry up and don't have any fun."
 
The father of three sons and a daughter, John Hedge adopted this mindset around the time he remembers his children feeling out their grip and playing games of "yard golf." The object was a simple one, with various trees or marks around he Hedges' yard serving as the holes for the young children to aim for.
 

From there, John gradually brought his children out onto the real course at the country club. For him it was never a chore or something he rushed through just to do it. "If it took an hour to play a hole then that's what we did," John said. "At the end of every round, you always have a putting contest with your kid, and you always make sure you lose so that they get the candy bar reward."
 
John looked on with a prideful smile as he watched his children develop a passion for the game. If a 5-year-old Jake smacked a shot into a trap, John would let him play in the sand. If Jake scattered the friendly ducks with four shots in a row into the water, John would drop a fifth ball and tell him to give it another swing.
 
"Golf was something I wasn't smart enough to figure out," John said. "But not even knowing what I was doing, my kids knew how to play in and out of sand, were never worried about water, and they loved to putt."
 
By the time Jake was six, he followed his 11-year-old brother Josh onto the course and started practicing on his own. Sometimes John wouldn't see his youngest son for 10 hours. "He would spend his entire summer out there," John said. "He just loved it."
 
When Jake was eight and he began playing in his first competitive tournaments, it was clear he was a step ahead of the curve. "You play growing up for fun, but once it's time to compete you're not sure what to expect," Jake said. "I started gauging myself against the other players and felt like I was a step ahead from the beginning. It definitely helped having guidance from my older brother Josh. He showed me the ropes and it's easier to become a good player when you have an already good player with you."
 
With the five-year difference between Jake and Josh, more often than not the latter would be 100 yards down the course waiting for his younger brother to catch up. While Jake had no chance of matching his brother's shots distance-wise, he began developing a short game unlike anything Josh had seen before.
 
"Of course when we were younger I would hit the ball twice as far as him, but when we got up near the greens he would always hit his wedges closer than me," Josh said. "He had a better short game than anyone I have ever known."
 
What was most impressive to Josh was the character and maturity development he witnessed in Jake. Because of the patience John had instilled in his sons, Jake did not get frustrated and give up when his older brother out-drove him. Instead, he displayed a rare sense of tenacity as he developed his game, constantly focusing on what he could do better.
 
"I can always say that having Jake around kept golf fresh and fun," Josh said. "Everything was a game, and we kept it light and easy. We had a blast together, and playing with him is one thing I will always be thankful for."
 
PUTTING INTO THE PRO-AM
 
With the sun bearing down on Yellowstone Country Club, the temperature flirted with crossing into triple digits as 30 top amateur players convened to play a 36-hole United States Golf Association qualifier tournament in 2008.
 
The prize for the winner was a trip to Alabama to compete in the U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championships, and after the first 18 holes Jake sat in the lead with a 74 on the course he had called home his entire life.
 
Winding through the cavernous holes a second time, Hedge was just as efficient, not fazed by the relentless heat or worried about hitting the perfect shot each time. By the time he reached the 18th green, his chip shot landed about 25 feet from the hole.
 
"I had about a 25-footer and I needed to make it to win," Hedge said. "If I missed it, we would have gone to a playoff, but I made it. It was easily the greatest moment and feeling of success that I've had in golf, especially with it being on a course that I see every day. It's a memory that always comes back to me and that I will cherish forever."
 
One of the young players in that tournament with Hedge was Brandon McIver, one of his best friends growing up as the two had bonded during their time on the course together. The duo became a force to be reckoned with at Billings West High School, as they helped the Golden Bears claim the boys' golf state title four times during Hedge's prep career.
 
"Brandon was one of my best influences, and he also grew up at the country club," Hedge said regarding McIver, who is now a junior on the men's golf team at the University of Oregon. "We played together every single day, and he is a friend I really enjoyed spending time with on the course. Golf solidified our friendship and we made each other better players."
 
As Hedge and McIver assisted each other and learned the game together, Hedge felt well-prepared to carry his game on to the collegiate level. With his education at the forefront of his university selection process, Hedge elected to attend the University of Wyoming, where he could pursue a degree in accounting while continuing to play golf.
 
After redshirting as a freshman, Hedge competed for the Cowboys for two seasons as a sophomore and junior. By the time his senior year rolled around, Hedge had completed his degree early and had a tough decision in front of him. "I graduated early, but I wasn't sure that I was ready to move forward with my career," Hedge said. "I felt like I still had some passion left for golf, and that I had something to offer to a program."
 
Hedge obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting in the fall of his senior year at UW, and after deciding not to play golf in the spring season with the Cowboys he turned to an old friend who he played with in high school to seek advice.
 
"Jake called me one day when he was on a road trip, and I could tell he was trying to figure out a place where he could keep playing," commented MSUB assistant coach Marcus Drange who at the time was a junior on the Yellowjackets' golf team. "I told him I really enjoyed being on the team here and encouraged him to think about it."
 
"Marcus is the one I really talked to, and he helped solidify my decision to come back to Billings," Hedge said. "I knew I wanted to pursue my education further, and I also didn't want to have any regrets finishing my college career early. I knew I would never get those years back and that I would have regretted it if I hadn't kept playing."
 
Currently working towards a second bachelor's degree in finance, Hedge has lived up to the expectations and has been MSUB's top golfer this season. Hedge has been the top finisher in each of MSUB's six events thus far, has three top-10 finishes and has a low round of 68 on the season. Currently averaging a score of 71.5, Hedge is the leading golfer in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
"We realized that Jake had the potential to play for two more years, and we really put our best foot forward in trying to get a player of his caliber to come to MSUB," commented Yellowjacket head coach Shawn O'Brien. "Any time you can get a student-athlete of Jake's caliber, it is going to help your program succeed. To top it off, Jake's academic performance and work ethic are outstanding."
 

 
GETTING A GRIP
 
While Hedge has realized tremendous success during his time at MSUB, there was a time in his golf career where continuing on didn't even present itself as an option in his mind. A time when the simplest choice seemed to be walking away from the game altogether and quitting.
 

After reaching the U.S. Junior Amateur and finishing his prep career with another team state title, Hedge took a major step back in his game and fought a mental battle that not all players are resilient enough to overcome.
 
"By the time he graduated high school, Jake had reached a plateau as a player," commented Bob Eames, the 41-year veteran as Golf Professional at Yellowstone Country Club. "He was holding back and couldn't maneuver the ball the way he wanted to. His grip wasn't very fundamentally sound, and that was limiting him on his shot making ability."
 
After carefully developing his skills for a decade and a half, Hedge made the toughest call of his career and accepted the notion of completely reworking his grip. Entering the transition, Hedge understood that the change would be drastic, and the frustration he was about to face would test him mentally.
 
"It was a very unnatural feeling, and Bob told me I was going to go through a couple of years struggling," Hedge said. "I trusted Bob and his advice, and I knew if I wanted to enjoy golf to my fullest potential that I had to make a change. It ended up being the best thing for me, and it has made the game of golf much more fun."
 
"I said, 'Jake you're going to get worse before you get better, but you have to trust me,'" Eames remembered. "He had total faith in what we were doing, and when you look at him play now he can hit any shot that is required."
 
Hedge entrusting Eames with his entire golf game as he knew it was not a blind leap of faith, as much of the credit for Hedge's progression as a player he credits to the University of Wyoming alumnus. "Bob's positivity, energy and reassurance throughout my career has helped me more than anything," Hedge said. "I always appreciate what he has to say, and in the last few years he's been a big part of me getting better."
 
Before Hedge's prep career, it was the constant encouragement from Eames that reminded Hedge of the incredible potential he had. When Hedge left for the state tournament as a freshman at Billings West, Eames told him that winning the tournament was not out of his reach. A short time later, Hedge hoisting the individual trophy after cruising to victory is a moment he will not soon forget.
 
"I have known Jake and his brothers and sister since they were itty-bitty," Eames said. "They come from an incredibly strong family. John and Pete Hedge are two of the greatest parents in the whole world, and they have raised some of the best kids I have ever been around."
 
PLAYING FOR CANDY BARS
 
"None of what I've done would be possible without my dad and mom. My dad supplied my clubs, my membership to the country club and he made it possible for me to live my dream. I am very thankful to him and my

mom for allowing me to pursue my dream so easily." – Jake Hedge on his father John and mother Pete.
 
As the sun sets on Yellowstone Country club these days, John Hedge looks far into the distance and contently smiles over the marvel that has served as the breeding ground for his family. He has been witness to the once-nonexistent trees growing into landmarks and serving as a means of navigation through the long course to golfers young and old, beginner and expert alike.
 
Although his children are now all grown, he won't soon forget the slow evenings they would spend strolling the course. Some nights they would play nine, some nights he would lay back and look on as Jake dug around in the sand, electing to make patterns and let his imagination roam over finding a way to loft his lodged golf ball out of the trap.
 
"We just think it is fun as long as he is having fun," John said. "We never pushed Jake, but he just loved the game. We never wanted him to get his identity from the game, and I think that's why he likes playing so much."
 
The evening-ending putting contests always brought out the best in Jake, as he never showed more determination than when a candy bar was on the line. Those losses were the happiest of John's life, and every time he handed over the prize, he was reminded he was raising his family right.