Cole Davis of Telstar High School clearly has a passion for golf. But having played the game for only four years and being basically self-taught, his golf skills are a work in progress.

Davis, the senior captain of the Telstar golf team, which plays home matches at the Bethel Inn, averaged 44 per nine holes as No. 1 man last fall in a 5-16 season with a first-round playoff loss to St. Dominic Academy. That does not begin to tell the story about his love of golf.

During the offseason, he played simulated golf regularly at Indoor Virtual Golf in South Paris. He also set up an indoor putting green in the dining room of the family’s home in Woodstock, and hit balls outdoors there whenever weather would permit. When it snows, Davis uses the barn, hitting balls into a net.

“I have divots all over my lawn,” said his mother, Julie Davis, “and golf balls all over my horse pasture.”

During the summer, Cole works in two places — in the law offices of Boothby Perry in Turner and Norway, and on the greens crew at Paris Hill Golf Course in Paris — where he and his greens crew friends play daily after work. All this, combined with an excellent GPA (91.6 in advanced placement and honors classes) is why he has received a Maine State Golf Association scholarship, which he will apply toward enrollment at the University of Maine in Orono, where he will major in civil engineering. Davis is No. 2 in his Telstar graduating class.

“I pretty happy about getting the scholarship,” he said. “It was a shot in the dark thing.”

Clearly, the MSGA did not think giving Davis one of its 12 scholarships was a “shot in the dark.” Plus, the University of Maine has come up with three for him, and he received one of 12 Mitchell Institute scholarships from 1,400 applicants.

Davis’ resume is impressive. In addition to his academic record, which includes National Honor Society, he is a student ambassador at Telstar, and is a member of the Junior Rotary in Bethel. This spring he was the starting third baseman on the Telstar varsity baseball team, but because of an injury, the team captain has been switched to catcher. The position change has not affected his offense. He is batting .365.

Golf, however, remains the sport he enjoys most, as he begins to plan his golf and college future.

“I’m hoping to join a club in Orono,” he said, “Golf is a big part of my life.”

For one of his scholarship applications, Davis, whose late grandfather Joseph Bumbaca, is his golf inspiration, was asked to elaborate on his extracurricular activities or work experiences. Mathematics and science are Davis’ academic strengths, but what he wrote demonstrates his love and understanding for the sport, plus it is proof that his love of golf is powerful.

“Golf! A game played on a large open-air course, in which a small hard ball is struck with a club into a series of small holes in the ground. The objective is to use the fewest possible strokes to complete the course. At a glance, golf appears to be a simple game; however, further inspection reveals its complexity and intricacies, especially regarding how it correlates to my life. The aforementioned description is a mere physical definition of the sport, when actually, much of the sport is metaphysical. A game of the mind, one of infinite variables and possibilities. While providing a mental challenge: Determining club loft, ground slope, location of the hole, wind speed, etc. — for me, golf provides an escape. While golfing, I am free from the stresses of the world. I can temporarily set aside my nagging mom, the upcoming test, or the big life-changing decision I cannot stop thinking bout. I am immersed within the problem-solving nature of the game. I am focused only on the next shot.”

Noteworthy

June 9 is the entry deadline for the 94th Maine Amateur, which will be held July 9-11 at the Augusta Country Club. Information on the event is available at MESGA.org … June 10 is going to be a busy golf day in Maine with three big charity golf tournaments being held. The third annual First Tee of Maine Invitational will be at The Woodlands in Falmouth with Seth Wescott as honorary chairman. Information is available at 207-829-3549 … Also on June 10 is the 20th annual Downeast Energy Golf Tournament for the benefit of Camp Sunshine. It is being held at the Brunswick Golf Club with a 10 a.m. shotgun start. Information is available by telephoning Troy Pattison at 207-319-1219 …. A full field of 38 foursomes are registered for Camp Sunshine’s 19th annual tournament on June 10 with a 9 a.m. shotgun start at Point Sebago.