Seniors form Monday golfing group for camaraderie and fun

Between 25 and 40 golfers out of a group of about 102, mostly seniors, show up at Pass Christian Isles Golf Club on any given Monday to play. They call themselves the Pass Holes.

Member Doyle Webb said about 90 percent of Pass Holes are retirees.

In addition to enjoying the weekly camaraderie and friendly wagers, the group gets together for a crawfish boil in the spring and a shrimp boil in the fall.

For golfers who play at least half of the time, there is no cost for the two parties, and spouses and significant others are invited.

“When it gets close to crawfish time, a lot more play,” Webb said with a laugh.

Pass Holes was created to attract Monday golfers, Webb said, because there was very little activity at Pass Christian Isles on Mondays, particularly after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

“Nobody was playing on Mondays,” he said. “Now we have a good Monday group. Anybody can play. You don’t have to be a member. We want you to come and play. We welcome outsiders to come and join us. We have a lot of fun.”

One of the regular Monday golfers is Ed Hilliard, whose name has shown up in a couple of press releases from Webb to the Sun Herald in the past year. Hilliard, 68, has twice shot below his age. Most recently he shot a 66. About nine months ago, he shot a 64.

“Didn’t get that one in the paper,” Hilliard said of the 64 round he shot in the spring. “You’re hitting greens and making putts. When I shot 66, I hit 18 greens and made some putts. I can still hit the ball a good distance.”

Hilliard lives in Long Beach and has been retired from Hancock Bank for four years. He said he misses the bank and the friendships his career gave him, but playing golf four times a week helps fill that void, as does fishing every chance he gets.

“I enjoy (Pass Christian Isles) because of the guys,” he said. “We have such a great group of guys. You can come on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and you can always have a game. There will always be enough guys to go out and play. That’s really the fun. And you get to play with different people all the time.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Seniors form Monday golfing group for camaraderie and fun."