THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Back in the swing, with help from local pros

At first glance, the idea of having golf as a prep fall sport was something that didn’t sit well with some coaches in the area.

Tougher to get tee times for athletes.

In some cases, teams had to make cuts in programs that hadn’t even had to approach that subject in recent years.

AFTER A two-year trial run, the higher classifications — now 6A and 5A — continue to compete in golf starting in early August.

Admittingly, as some sports need to get 10 practices in before they can play, some golf teams were playing the day after practices began on Aug. 13. 

“The nice part is that the kids come in and feel ready to go right away,” said Lake City girls coach Corey Owen, in his 10th season. “Having to have a few more practices doesn’t seem to happen as much when we get started.”

At Post Falls, new coach Steve Mills — an assistant the past two years before taking over this fall for Matt Barkley — said the girls' numbers are up from 7 to 10 this fall.

“I think there’s some kids that are finding golf now,” Mills said. “Everyone is trying to build their girls program, but there’s so much other stuff going on in the fall with volleyball, soccer and cross country.”

Coeur d’Alene’s girls were second at state in 5A last year. Sandpoint's girls were third at state in 4A.

“Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint are the teams to beat and have the depth,” Mills said. “And they’re playing some amazing golf. We’ve got 10 girls out, and that might be the most we’ve had since I’ve been coaching golf. We played the entire year with seven last year, so it makes things quite a bit better.”

The downside, if there is one with the growth, is that it becomes tougher to find time to practice and play as area courses hit their busiest time of the year.

That being said, it hasn’t been an issue yet.

“In the heart of their busiest season, they’ve gone out of their way to find practice time for us,” said Mills, who thanked Tim Morton at The Highlands and Darrell Hull at The Links, both in Post Falls, for their efforts this year. “I’ve been impressed with Tim and Darrell, and both courses. It’s a big ask to give us time when they could be making money with other groups coming in. They just continue to step up for us. It’s really generous of them.”

AS A fan of the Seattle Mariners, you really have to wonder sometimes, don’t you?

Can we do anything that resembles what the other organizations in Major League Baseball do, or conduct themselves?

Thursday’s news of the team firing Scott Servais as manager wasn’t much of a surprise. Very rarely can you lose a 10-game lead and go 1-8 on the road and hope to keep your job.

That trip was fresh on the heels of what should have been a boost for the club, right?

National television game against the New York Mets — at home — with your superstar Julio Rodriguez making his return to the lineup.

Nope, not this time.

To be fair, Julio hasn’t looked as bad of late, but since he hasn’t played centerfield since his return, it might indicate he’s a lot further from 100% than some might think.

Back to Servais.

Did he deserve to get fired? Probably, with the way the team had played this year.

In his exit, did he deserve better than finding out he’d been fired on a news app on his phone? Absolutely.

Seattle has long been trying to relive the glory days and those magical playoff runs in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001.

So the Mariners turned to former catcher Dan Wilson as manager and, for at least the remainder of the season, Edgar Martinez as hitting coach.

Who knows, this could light the fire they’ve been searching for since the All-Star break.

Stranger things have happened before, right?

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.