Babe is back; golf champs

By Dewey DeWitt  
Special to Houlton Pioneer Times
    Babe is back. Babe Caron has been associated with the Houlton Community Golf Course since 1973, shortly after a career in the United States Air Force. His many duties has included running the pro shop, caring for the greens and teaching professionally.
    His soft touch around the greens is something Babe has tried to teach many new players. But maybe some people don’t know that Babe didn’t have such a gentle touch in the boxing world. While serving at the Presque Isle Air Force Base, he fought professionally, and at one time, he was welterweight champion of the state of Maine. He had several bouts in the Boston Garden where he fought ranked fighters in his division, including Tony DeMarco, who at one time was world champion.
    In one fight, Babe was matched against a high-ranking boxer and as Babe recalls, “I scared him to death. He thought he killed me.”
    Each September a tournament is held at the Houlton course to honor Babe Caron before he travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to assume duties at one of the great golf courses in that area.
    On one of the walls in the clubhouse are several six-foot lists of the best players in the history of Houlton golf.
    Club champions who have won that honor more than once include, Joe McKay, Albert and Fred Putnam, Rick and brother Geoff Goodwin, Tim Guy, John Donato, Jerry Adams, Bob Gray, Tom Brown and current champion Jerry York, who inherited his power from his Dad, Gerard, who played baseball for the Houlton Collegians and could hit a baseball out of any park in the country.
    It would be tough to say who was the best of the group, but for sure, Joe McKay would be near or at the top. Joe was Intercollegiate State Champion while at Bowdoin College. His classic swing was a thing of beauty — one I tried to copy — while enjoying playing with he and Walter Reed, Jr. of Fort Fairfield, who also was intercollegiate champ while at U-of-Maine.
    At a later date, we’ll review winners of the President’s Cup, which allows players of higher handicaps a day in the sun.
    The first social event of the season is on Tuesday, May 18. It’s a Ladies’ Day banquet, with a social hour at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Chef Joe Bergan will offer prime rib or baked stuffed haddock. Members and guests should enjoy a very pleasant evening and a chance for ladies who are interested playing golf a welcome.
    Male members should sign up for Twilight League play as soon as possible. Enjoy the season and swing easy.
    Here’s a tip from David Grant, a certified golf professional.  Think Parallel Left:  Ninety to 95 percent of all swing problems arise out of alignment. Your target line is aiming at your target. Your toes, knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes, are aiming left of your target line. Think Parallel Left, as parallel lines never meet.