I think I can make up the distance with what I do around the green.” “I have enough trust in my game, my irons, I can hit it close, and I have a short game I practice a lot on my chipping and putting. “I know I am not as long as them they can hit it a mile,” Henderson said. Henderson said that he knows he won’t be able to hit the ball as far as the golfers in the Maine Am who are in their 20s and 30s, so his short game needs to be sharp. I have a mobile game that can go anywhere and challenge myself, getting all the butterflies and the pressure.” “A lot of people can play well at their home course, but they go somewhere else, it’s kind of different. “I felt I had the talent and the skill enough to do it, and I like going to these (tournaments) to challenge my game,” Henderson said. When he began playing in Maine Golf - formerly the Maine State Golf Association - events in 2018, he wanted to find a new challenge in the game. I just got into it, and I really like it out here at Springbrook, the members, it’s like family, and it’s fun to play.” “We started, and I am kind of one of those guys that takes the thing and runs with it. “I met my wife (Amy), and she got me into golf,” Henderson said. Last year he got it down to a 3.1 - though it has climbed up a bit this year to 5. He said that when he began playing, his handicap was 26. Henderson, a 1991 Hall-Dale graduate, didn’t start playing golf until 2000, and he has come a long way in 23 years. “Augusta caught my mind, ‘Oh, that’s close by,’ but I am going to stick with my guns and play what I know,'” Henderson said. He had to get back to Springbrook that evening. Henderson didn’t wait around for a potential playoff to crown the low medalist. He ended up winning the qualifier by one stroke over Max Woodman of Barnes Brook Golf Course. Due to his morning tee time, it would be a while before Henderson knew how important that birdie was. His fourth and final birdie on the back nine came on the par-5 18th hole. “I had to go, ‘One shot at a time, one hole at a time.'”
“The thoughts of wanting to qualify and playing at the Samoset were going through my head,” Henderson said. Getting back to par settled his nerves a bit, but then he had to fight the urge to look ahead. “I didn’t necessarily hit greens, but I did get up and down for par or birdie.
“They were difficult holes, and I was able to put myself in a position where I wasn’t in too much trouble,” Henderson said. He said the setup of those holes led to the birdies. Henderson, 50, opened the back nine with birdies on three of the first four holes to get back to even par. “I knew once I got to the back, there were some opportunities for some birdies. “It was very hard because I was 3-over par going into the second nine, but I made a great par-saving putt on (hole) nine,” Henderson said. The hole Henderson said he will remember the most isn’t one that he made birdie on, but a par at the turn. “I went to the next hole, played the hole, and when you add them all up, that’s where I ended up.” “The biggest thing was when I went into it, and it’s kind of cliché, but I was going shot-by-shot and playing each hole in (as few) strokes as I can,” Henderson said. He also qualified for his third Maine Amateur, which runs Tuesday through Thursday at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Henderson, who is a member at Springbrook Golf Club in Leeds, regrouped on the back nine, going low with a 4-under 32 to finish 1-under 70 and earn medalist honors. He shot a 3-over 38 through the opening nine holes, including two bogeys, a double-bogey, a birdie and five pars. However, execution in golf can be tricky, as evidenced in Henderson’s round at the Bangor Municipal Golf Couse qualifier on June 20.
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