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Electricity was in air for 72-hole golf outing By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN It was marathon golf for four local men dubbed the Four Amigos. After watching them in action, I could think of a better name for them. The words crazy or unflappable would probably fit. The order of the day Tuesday, when the Four Amigos played 72 holes of golf, was: Fire and keep moving. Playing 72 holes on four local courses in 14 hours proved to be a test of willpower, nerve and physical toughness in changing conditions. Those conditions went from cool in the morning, to steamy hot in the afternoon, and to cold and wet in the late afternoon and early evening. Through it all, the Amigos -- Rick Dyer, Keith Steinkamp, Chris Blaylock and Stan Reiter -- kept firing golf shots. From near-dawn to dusk. Why would these guys risk life and limb, and their handicaps, to brave the elements they faced and finish 72 holes in one day? Good question. "It seemed like a good idea, but we were doubting ourselves by the last round when thunder and lightning hit (at Eagle Point Golf Course)," says Dyer, sales manager of Airport Chevrolet in Medford. "We probably shouldn't have finished it, but we were determined." The day started quietly. Our four heroes teed off at approximately 5:45 a.m. at Cedar Links. They would play the round in less than three hours, and then move on to Stone Ridge for the second round. By 12:30 p.m., the Amigos were having lunch at Rogue Valley Country Club, waiting to start their third round. When they reached Eagle Point Golf Course at about 5 p.m., it was raining and the wind was blowing hard. They were told by Eagle Point officials their dream of playing 72 holes would end. "They said the course was closed," says Dyer. "But we wouldn't take no for an answer. "They gave us four carts to use and we took off in the rain." It was more like a trophy dash of stock cars at Southern Oregon Speedway, with pit stops to hit these funny white balls caked with mud. "We had lightning all around us the first two holes and then the wind was blowing about 60 to 80 miles an hour by the third hole," says Dyer. The wet greens and fairways didn't absorb the rain water as course designer and owner Robert Trent Jones said they would three years ago when he opened the course. Not close. "There were puddles on the greens and the fairways were like rivers," says Dyer. "The course couldn't absorb all the water." By the 10th hole, our golfers encountered a lightning bolt touching down in a grove of trees just behind them. "It was less than 30 yards away," says Dyer. "We turned around in time to see a big branch of a tree fall to the ground. We were getting scared by then." They say one of the worst things a golfer can do in a lightning storm is drive a cart on the course. But on chugged our heroes, four carts abreast. "I thought it was safe since the carts have rubber tires," says Dyer. Problem is, the carts are metal and they carry 14 lightning rods, in the form of metal and steel clubs, with them. That's like a magnet to lightning. The rest of the way, conditions got worse and worse. And the premium became to finish the 72-hole ordeal before getting washed away or hit by lightning. But the Amigos kept sloshing through standing water and driving to their next shots. The premium on scoring had vanished by then. "When we were finished, somebody wanted to go play nine holes at Quail Point," says Dyer, who lives on the seventh hole at Eagle Point Golf Course. "I said `no way.' I'm going home."' After 72 holes, Dyer emerged as the low net winner and big-money winner on the skins game within the group. He netted $58 in net winnings. He shot rounds of 78 at Cedar Links, 83 at Stone Ridge, 83 at Rogue Valley Country Club and 82 at Eagle Point. Blaylock, who received 17 strokes per round from Dyer, failed to reach his goal of shooting under 400 for four rounds. He shot 402. Reiter was low-gross winner at 295 and Dyer was second at 326. Steinkamp, a salesman who works for Dyer at Airport Chevrolet, finished with a 359 gross score and a 299 net. That meant Steinkamp and Blaylock both owe money to their boss. "I haven't seen the money," says Dyer. "I guess that means they will have some extra paycheck deductions." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.