Simi Valley Golfer Beats Back Ailment for Shot at State Title

Mitch Voges walked off the 18th green at Pebble Beach with the feeling that his putter had betrayed him.

That he was able to walk at all, however, was probably more important than the state of his golf game, which had him in a tie for sixth place overall at the 75th California Amateur Championship with a two-day total of 150.

Less than two years ago, Voges could walk and he could golf. But he couldn’t do both.

Ruptured discs in his back had made his hobby a threat to his health.

“Golf was a four-hole activity for me,” Voges said Tuesday after shooting a 78. “About two or three years ago, I would play six holes and then be so stiff I couldn’t hit the ball. Then I’d be all right for six holes, but after the last six, I’d limp in.

“Then it got to the point where after three or four holes, my knees would be buckling and I couldn’t play.”

Finally, Voges went ahead with surgery that he now wishes he had undergone 10 years ago. He had what is called a three-level fusion of vertebrae in which surgeons removed two ruptured discs.

It was a gamble that paid off.

“There was a chance that I wouldn’t get up off the table,” the Simi Valley resident said. “Realistically, I should never complain about my golf game.”

Golf, however, is not what prompted Voges to have the surgery. There was much more at stake, he said.

“I’ve played enough golf in my day that I’d be happy if I never picked up another club,” Voges said. “But when I couldn’t pick up my 2-year-old girl or get into a pillow fight with my 6-year-old son, my quality of life just wasn’t there.

“The truth is, I’m just happy to be walking around. But it’s not a lot of fun when you don’t play well.”

Voges’ round Tuesday was marred by his putting. En route to a 40 on the front-nine, he three-putted one hole and four-putted another.

“I only made two putts over three feet all day,” Voges said. “I really didn’t do anything. I played like a carpet salesman today.”

Voges, in fact, is a carpet salesman. His job as a regional manager for a carpet company keeps him on the road a lot and limits his golf to about one afternoon a week.

His relative inactivity on the golf course wasn’t apparent Monday, when he shot a one-under par 71 at Cypress Point. Following his six-over par outing Tuesday, Voges offered no excuses.

“I’m probably not playing enough to be good around the greens, but I just should have played better than I did,” he said. “Every hole is a challenge when you’re not stroking it very good. I don’t think Pebble played that hard. I just didn’t play that good.”

Despite his disappointment in the second round, Voges is still among the top 12 golfers in the tournament. The top 32 advance to match play Thursday and will receive automatic exemptions to qualify for next year’s state amateur tournament.

For Jim Lundstrom of Chatsworth, who won the Los Angeles City championship at Rancho Park two weeks ago on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff, the end may be near.

Lundstrom, coach of the boys golf team at L.A. Baptist High, was among a group of 14 golfers who just made the cut with a two-round total of 157. Lundstrom figures he will need a 73 to have a chance at advancing to match play and earning an exemption. But after successive rounds of 78 and 79, he isn’t making any bets.

“I need to start hitting the ball in a position where I can attack the course,” Lundstrom said. “I started off good today--I was one-under after six holes--but then I started hitting the ball to places where you just can’t hit it, and I had to play defensive. You can’t do that on these courses.”

Like Voges, Lundstrom said his chipping and putting haven’t been crisp in the tournament.

“I’m not comfortable around the greens,” he said. “Today, depending on the pin placements, I want to stay below the hole as often as I can. Those four-foot downhill putts can make you old in a hurry.”

So far, Lundstrom’s fifth trip to the state amateur has held few surprises.

“Every year, I seem to shoot the same scores and be right on the cut,” he said. “I’ve had some of the same shots and same putts as before.”

Now, he just needs some of them to find the hole. And fast.