Mitch Hufstetler Edges Gary Baker By 1 to Win Red Bud

All day long, as he marched toward victory in the Red Bud at Valleybrook on Sunday, Mitch Hufstetler’s playing partners and friends marveled at his putting ability.

“He’s the best putter in town,” said John Lambert, who has played countless rounds with Hufstetler and should know. “He makes putts you never see made.”

“He’s a great putter,” said David McKenna, another long-time golf buddy. “He’s so steady. Inside of eight feet, he’s automatic.”

Hufstetler had a chance to live up to that high praise, because a funny thing happened on his way to a sure win. Hufstetler was 5-under-par for the tournament as he faced a 145-yard approach into the 18^th green. Lambert, playing in Hufstetler’s group, had already told him that Gary Baker finished at 3-under.

“I just wanted to hit it on the green, two-putt, and get out of there,” Hufstetler said.

It wasn’t that easy. Hufstetler pushed his approach into the right greenside bunker, and his sand shot got away from him, rolling to the back of the green, 45 feet from the hole.

Hufstetler’s lag putt left him with a 6-footer for bogey, “firmly in the throw-up zone,” as he described it. But luckily for Hufstetler, his many years of playing on Valleybrook’s unique Bermuda greens had taught him what that last putt would do.

“It looks like it’s straight, but it actually breaks a little left,” Hufstetler said.

Armed with that knowledge, he promptly drained the putt for his best finish in a Chattanooga-area tournament since he came in second to Neil Spitalny in the 1993 Metro at Brown Acres.

Baker finished second and Lambert third, completing a clean sweep for the older set. All three are between 50 and 52. Local amateur tournaments had long ago become a playground for hotshot college and high school players, but not on this day.

“It just feels good to be back in contention again,” Baker said.

“Life is good,” Lambert said. “50’s just a number. The older guys can still compete out here.”

Hufstetler always seems to qualify for the season ending Chattanooga TPC at Council Fire, but until this year had been unable to play many tournaments. He coached his daughter’s softball team from the time she was four until she turned 18.

“That didn’t leave time for much golf in the summer,” Hufstetler said. “In fact, I’d have been at Warner Park today if she were still playing. It was always late July to August before I could play.”

There’s no telling how many tournaments Hufstetler might have won had he played more often. He’s as consistent a ball striker as he is a putter. “He always hits it solid,” McKenna said. “You hardly see him miss a shot,” Lambert said.

Hufstetler didn’t have many misses on Sunday, that errant approach at 18 being a notable exception. Other than that, he did exactly what he had to do after shooting a 4-under-par 67 on Saturday and taking the first-round lead. Hufstetler shot par 35 on the front after a birdie at the par 4 4^th and a bogey at the par-4 6^th.

He birdied the par-5 11^th hole and cruised around with pars until No. 18.

Hufstetler knew what he had to do before he got to the 18^th tee.

“I asked him if he wanted to know what the leaderboard was like on No. 17,” Lambert said. “He said yes. Hell, I’d have probably told him anyway.”

Baker, who turned in the day’s best round with a 3-under-68, had battled his way into second place. Had Hufstetler three-putted at 18, the two old friends would have gone to extra holes.

“I’m proud of Mitch,” Baker said. “We’ve been playing golf together for 30 years. He played well enough to win.”

Hufstetler had a theory as to why the 50-plus players dominated the Red Bud leaderboard. “Valleybrook is not a bomber’s golf course,” he said. “You’ve got to know where to hit it. And these greens are tricky. David [McKenna] helps out with the UTC golf team and he says their qualifying scores are always higher at Valleybrook. That’s because of the greens.”