Golf: Young guns ready to try their hand at the City Championship

Plenty of rounds of golf had passed since True Graves last lined up his putter at Ratliff Ranch Golf Links, the site of this weekend’s Odessa City Golf Championship.

Needing a practice round before the tournament gets under way today, Graves — a Texas State golfer who just finished his freshman season — called a couple of former Permian teammates to play on Thursday.

Zach Stokes and Jerry Dugan had no problem showing up. Part of the City Championship’s draw is the chance to play against a bunch of players that a golfer knows well.

“There’s a bunch of guys in this tournament, guys I looked up to when I was little,” Graves said. “Now, wherever we ended up in our mature life, we can come back and see who’s playing the best this summer.”

Graves, a 2009 Permian High School graduate, is making his first appearance in the City Championship.

But the younger players have a solid appreciation for tournament.

“It’s a great tournament, a lot of the better players from Odessa are going to be in it,” Stokes said. “I’m pretty excited to play.”

For collegiate players like Graves and Stokes — who played for Odessa College the last two seasons — it’s a chance to play against a field which has earned a little more experience through the years.

“We have people my age, and people who could be my dad,” Stokes said. “You kind of get a whole different variety of players, and you never know.”

And the Ratliff Ranch course the golfers will be attacking this weekend is probably going to feel a little different to a group of golfers who have grown up on the course.

Few summers in Odessa have been as rainy as this one, and the effects on the course are obvious.

“With all the rain, the course is in good shape, the rough is thicker than I’ve ever seen it,” Graves said. “The greens are probably going to be a little furry and slow, because it’s hard to get them cut fast.”

Keeping the ball on the fairway and knocking shots close to the pin is going to be key.

A little water can change a course in a lot of ways.

“You’re going to have to get it close on the second shot, because it’s going to be hard to make putts from 10, 15 feet,” Graves said. “It’s a ball-striker’s course right now, and you’re going to have to make a lot of birdies if you want to win.”

No matter how many times a golfer has played Ratliff Ranch, it all comes down to making shots.

>> Odessa City Golf Championship

Today’s Tee Times

At Ratliff Ranch Golf Links

No. 1 Tee

8 a.m. — Robert Miller; Charlie Burns; EV Rogers.

8:10 a.m. — Richard Alvarez; Dago Salvatierra; Val Carrillo.

8:20 a.m. — Jim Howard; Johnny Williams; Robert Walls; Pepper Martin.

8:30 a.m. — Mike Stewart; Jerry Thomas; Thomas Powell; Gary Bittick.

8:40 a.m. — David Boutin; Dr. James Goates; Fred Crawford; George McMillan.

8:50 a.m. — Allen Register; Bill Lisenbe; Gary Harmon.

9 a.m. — Michael King; John Kren; Ronnie Jones; Mark Oliver.

9:10 a.m. — Augie Martinez; Mark Aklin; Jeremy Hill; Brad Scoggins.

9:20 a.m. — Steve Huffman; Chris Walters; Mike Cook.

9:30 a.m. — Larry Roberts; Chad Kirkland; Phil Skelton; John Buchanan.

12:30 p.m. — Kerry James; Ronnie Seely; Mark McCollum.

12:40 p.m. — Rich Journeay; Andy Loyd; Derrill Eubanks.

12:50 p.m. — Rocky Smith; Angel Nabarrette; Larry Hagen; Scotter Murray.

1 p.m. — Steve Scoggin; Britt Vickers; Scotty Pence.

1:10 p.m. — Nick Stuart; Albert Cruz; Jesse Rodriquez, Jr.

1:20 p.m. — Mark Jones Sr.; Blake Lisenbe; Ryan Havens; Manuel Torres.

1:40 p.m. — JT Hawkins; Cory Chitty; Monty Randell.

1:50 p.m. — Alberto Nabarrette; Jerry Dugan Jr.; John Garrett.

No. 10 Tee

8 a.m. — Jim Gilliland; Norman Brownlee; Lonnie Mccomas.

8:10 a.m. — Steve Natividad; Franklin Catron; Bill Sabol.

8:20 a.m. — Richard Campbell; J.R. Cobos; Calvin Jackson.

8:30 a.m. — Chuck Lee; Larry Rimer; Bobby Davis; Bill Heuston.

8:40 a.m. — Clint Barsch; Abel Reyes; Reggie Robinson; James Hawkins.

8:50 a.m. — D.J. Cranfill; Landon Hobbs; Cody Holland; Randy Grice.

12:40 p.m. — William Patterson; Dickie Brown; Bradley Hindman; Hayden Burnett.

12:50 p.m. — Rick Sutherland; Dr. Marshall Morgan; Rocky Hutson; Adrian Cruz.

1 p.m. — Johnny Kidd; True Graves; Timmy Hawkins; David Waldrop.

1:10 p.m. — Mark Jones Jr.; Mark Deffenbaugh; Rusty Taylor.

1:20 p.m. — James Black; Kyle Donaldson; Billy Petty.

1:30 p.m. — Zack Stokes; Tom Hawkins; Mickey Jones.

1:40 p.m. — Chad Hanchey; Chase Ragsdale; Dylan Pierce.

1:50 p.m. — Ciro Baeza; Kevin Williams; Koy Stribling.