Bunn Golf Course has been kind to surging Banks

Lightning struck twice in a month for Southeast High School sophomore golfer Daquarion “D.Q.” Banks in March 2010.

He made a hole-in-one on the 108-yard No. 8 hole at Bunn Golf Course not once, but twice. He used a pitching wedge both times.

“The first one I was super happy,” he said. “The second one I said, ‘Is this really happening?’”

Banks is no flash in the pan, and 2011 has been kind to the Spartans’ No. 1 golfer, who will tee it up in the Boys City Golf Tournament beginning today. With the exception of one round this high school season, all of his nine-hole scores have been in the 30s. He has tied twice for medalist.

“The key element and the main thing going in is he plays and practices all the time,” Southeast coach Dan Stauffer said. “This is not happening by accident. It’s not an accident that he’s getting better. He works really hard at it. In the summer, he plays seven days a week.”

Close to Bunn

Growing up literally a stone’s throw from a golf course has been advantageous. Banks, an honor roll student, lives across the street from No. 2 at Bunn.

“Bunn is my favorite course because I know it like the back of my hand and it has always been my home course,” Banks said.

Bunn is his home away from home.

“All the old guys that hang out at Bunn on Saturday morning know him and they’ve all played with him,” Stauffer said.

D.Q.’s late grandfather, Monroe Banks, introduced him to the game when he was about 4. He competed in his first tournament at 8.

Banks is golf’s version of a basketball gym rat.

“If it’s no snow on the ground or pouring rain, I’m out there playing golf,” he said.

That explains how he scored the hole-in-ones in March.

Good with irons

The strength of his game is iron play, according to Banks. “Accuracy is something I’ve worked on a lot,” he said.

He feels confident thanks to a solid summer during which he reached the semifinals of the sj-r.com Drysdale Tournament in the 14-15 division.

Playing with new clubs he received as a birthday gift in March has helped his game, as has a growth spurt. He now stands 5 feet 10. At this time last year, he was 5-6.

“I’m able to control them more and I’m hitting them a lot farther than I did last year,” Banks said. “I’m hitting it a club farther than last year.”

His scoring average for 18 holes is 75.

“My No. 1 goal this season is to get into sectionals, and I really just want to go to (the Class 2A state tournament),” he said.

Banks was an individual sectional qualifier as a freshman. He just missed earning a state berth.

“He ended the season last year playing very well,” Stauffer said. “He advanced to the sectional. He shot a 78 at a very hard course (Green Hills Golf Course in Mount Vernon) where 75 took people to state. He only missed going to state by three strokes.”

Marcia Martinez can be reached at 788-1547.

Taken from:http://www.sj-r.com/sports/x462620488/Bunn-has-been-kind-to-surging-Banks

Athletics

About Coach Larry Luster Sr.

I received an Associate of Arts degree from Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa. I then attended Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO. where I received a B.S. in Education. I am currently a candidate for a Masters degree at Quincy University.