Records and Championships

Course Records

Mike White held the course record while the course was a 9-hole track; shooting back-to-back 30s, playing the blue tees on the front nine and the white tees for the back nine. This resulted in an 18-hole score of 60, or 12-under par.

Shortly after the back nine was opened, a new course record was achieved by one of the most decorated golfers in Southern WV history, Scott George. Scott was a quiet young man but a fierce competitor known for his ability to always make the putt or pull off the miracle shot when he absolutely had to. Scott won the WV High School Golf Championship in AA back-to-back years before becoming an All-American for Concord University. Scott shot a 65 from the newly created 18-hole blue tees and there are rumors he shot scores lower than 65, but no official scorecards were ever submitted. The following year another local legend, Tink Morton equaled the 65; but this time the course record was recorded in the final round of the Club Championship allowing Tink to claim his second Club Championship title in dramatic come from behind fashion. That 65 remains the tournament course record.

Five years later in 2003, the current course record from the blue tees was shot by Aaron Kemlock who fired a 63 that included a bogey on the difficult par 3, fourth hole. That was the only bogey in a round that included 9 birdies.

With the addition of a new set of championship tees known as the Stripe Show tees, the summer of 2024 saw a lot of players take a crack at getting their name on the wall. Indy Eades shot rounds of 68 and 67 to claim his spot on the wall early in the summer but Aaron Kemlock would match the 67 and then best that score by one to hold the current record with a -5, 66.

Aaron shares the course record from the white tees, shooting a bogey-free round of 60 that included nine birdies and one eagle. A round that started on hole 11, he had an opportunity for the elusive “59”, but his birdie putt on hole 10 slide by the edge of the cup. That record stood by itself until 2024 when Mark Strickland equaled the record score of 60. Mark had birdie opportunities coming down the stretch on 17 and 18 but they would narrowly miss, leaving him ever so close to breaking 60 and recording that elusive “59.”

Don “Scuffy” Goins is the course record holder from the gold (Senior) tees, firing a round of 60. Scuffy has threatened 59 a number of times from the gold tees, but his score of 60 remains the apex for all senior golfers at Bridge Haven Golf Club.

History of the Tournament

The first ever Club Championship remains the only Club Championship in club history to name the overall champion using a match play format. Tink Morton claimed that title over Ira Ingram. As mentioned previously, Tink would later claim his second title in 1997 firing a competitive course record 65, winning in come from behind fashion.

Scott George was the youngest champion in club history when he won his first title the following year. He would go on to win two more titles in 1999 and 2002 before graduating college and moving to Florida. His last title included a finish for the ages when he drove his ball into the hazard on the last hole, managed to hack the ball out of the weeds and save par. He would beat his college roommate, Aaron Kemlock, by one stroke.

Pete Srednicki is a 2-time champion and won his second title in a made for television back nine showdown with the aforementioned Scott George. Pete shot an opening round 64 from the white tees before surrendering his lead to Scott on the back nine. Scott took a one-shot lead into the final few holes but missed a short putt on the penultimate hole allowing Pete to secure the win on the 18th hole.

There are two Club Champions that hold the honor of being the only two individuals to win Club Championships at both Bridge Haven Golf Club and White Oak Country Club. Joel Davis, well known as the Oak Hill High School Golf coach for a number of years and a very accomplished golfer in WVGA State competitions, was a long-time member at White Oak Country Club winning their club tournament a number of times. He would join Bridge Haven and win the Club Championship in dominant fashion in his second year as a member, shooting rounds of 65-67, becoming the first and only person to ever reach double digits under par for the tournament.

The second individual to win both of those tournaments is Nathaniel Begley. Nathaniel was a decorated junior golfer, growing up at White Oak Country Club before joining Bridge Haven when White Oak closed. Nathaniel has had a number of close calls in the tournament, finishing runner-up to Aaron Kemlock in 2019 before losing in a playoff to Charlie Honaker in 2020. A year later, Nathaniel would get his revenge by securing his 1st tournament triumph, holding off a host of charging golfers on Sunday afternoon and then winning again in 2024.

Scott George held the record for youngest Club Champion in course history until Oak Hill High School standout Senior, and soon to be Fairmont State golfer, Jack Hayes overcame a 5-shot deficit with 8 holes to play to win the tournament in 2022. Jack made dramatic birdies on holes 13, 14, & 17 en route to a final round 67, securing his first victory at the age of 17.

The second most decorated Club Champion in course history is Drew Boyd. Drew has won five Club Championships, all in a 10-year timeframe from 2006-2015. Standing over 6 feet tall, his long silky-smooth swing resulted in tremendous power that he used to overpower the Bridge Haven course layout. With his putting stroke in-tune, Drew became one of the most talented golfers to ever stroll the fairways in Fayette County. Drew also holds the distinction of being the only champion in club history to have won the tournament while not qualifying for the Championship Flight after day one. His second round 67 from the blue tees was enough to overcome a 6-stroke deficit starting the final round.

The most decorated Club Champion in course history is Aaron Kemlock. Since 1994, Aaron has played in every Club Championship tournament except two. His first win came in 2001 after rounds of 68-69, defeating his college roommate Scott George by two strokes. In 2004, he became the first individual to win the tournament with an over-par score (+1), fighting blustering conditions on both Saturday and Sunday. His last victory was in 2023 when he overcame a 3-stroke deficit with 3 holes to play by birding the 16th and 18th holes before birding the first playoff hole, securing his 11th title.

Close calls: Lifetime members Jeff Hughes and Josh Howell have never won the Club Championship Tournament, but have each finished runner up multiple times; each recording Top-5 finishes nearly 10 times.

Bridge Haven started recognizing a Women’s and Senior and Junior Club Champion in 2015. Don “Scuffy” Goins would win the Senior Division of the Club Championship that year which followed up his overall Club Championship win in 2014. Don still holds the distinction of being the only player to win the Club Championship and the Senior Club Championship. Scuffy would go on to win his second Senior Club Championship in 2024.

Sam Persinger has been a member of the club since the mid-90s and won his first Senior Club Championship in 2016. He would go on to win three more amassing a record 4 titles. Bruce Williams won back-to-back titles in 2021 & 2022 before Bill Paul McKnight claimed the 2023 title.

Valerie Holt won the 2015 Women’s Club Championship and would claim her second title in 2017. The most decorated female Club Champion in club history however, is Vickie Pralley. Vickie has won 6 titles in all, including a record five straight from 2018 – 2022.

The 2023 and 2024 Women’s Club Champion was Madison Lilly who had previously won the junior division of the tournament in 2015. She will look to add a third title in 2025.

Following in his aunt’s footsteps, Anderson Lilly has won back-to-back-to-back Junior Division titles starting in 2022. Can he make it four in a row in 2025?

Club Championship History

Team Matches

Bridge Haven Golf Club has a rich history in team format matches. Starting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the course would traditionally hold intra-club matches mimicking the traditional Ryder Cup format. Credit for the initiation of these matches goes to the late Nick D’Angelo, a long-time employee and member of the club.

In 2015, Bridge Haven started an annual team match against cross county rival White Oak Country Club. Bridge Haven would go on to win all three years the matches were played, winning at Bridge Haven in 2015 and 2017 and on White Oak soil in 2016. Those teams were captained by Drew Boyd, David Cassis and Aaron Kemlock.

Several years later, Bridge Haven would start a new team play event tradition, playing an annual Ryder Cup style tournament against Grandview Country Club. The matches started in 2020 with Grandview defeating Bridge Haven convincingly, hosting both days at the Raleigh County location. Bridge Haven would return the favor the following year, handing Grandview a defeat on the friendly fairways in Fayette County. Bridge Haven would go on to win again in 2022 and 2023, this time each course hosting one day.

The Bridge Haven team would again start fast in the 2024 edition of the event with a 4.5-3.5 lead after the morning Four-Ball matches. However, Grandview would roll through the afternoon matches 6-2 taking at 2.5 point lead into Sunday. They would hold that lead most of the day before falling behind midway through the back nine. However, the Grandview team came up clutch down the stretch reversing that trend and ultimately taking the Ryder Cup back to Raleigh County with an 18-14 victory.

These teams have been Captained by Aaron Kemlock, Josh Howell, David Cassis and Andy Kees.

Rob Howell and Jeff Hughes are the only two members to have represented Bridge Haven and also play against Bridge Haven in these team matches.

Josh Howell, with a record of 17-3-1, is the all-time points leader for BHGC with 17.5 points.

Aaron Kemlock and Rob Howell have scored 16.5 and 15.5 points respectively, with records of 13-4-7 and 14-4-3.

David Cassis is the 4th all-time leading points earner, securing 12.5 points thanks to a record of 11-4-3.

The highest winning percentage for players who have played in at least 2 team matches is held by Jack Hayes and Tim Harrison; owning records of 8-1 and 7-1-1 respectively.

Other notable performers in these matches for Bridge Haven Golf Club are Don “Scuffy” Goins, scoring 11 points and having an 9-5-4 record; and Andy Kees, accumulating 9.5 points while amassing an 9-4-1 record.

Overall, Bridge Haven Golf Club owns a 6-2 record in team matches.