79°F
weather icon Clear

94-year-old still out on the green

Feeling younger than ever, 94-year old Virginia “Birdie” Hurst is an avid golfer who has no plans to slow down.

“I’m not thinking of stopping anytime soon,” Hurst said. “I guess when the time comes, the time comes, but the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. The game is still fun for me.”

Called Birdie by her peers, the name is fitting for a game she loves. Ironically, her nickname came long before she ever thought of hitting the ball off the tee.

“When I was younger, my older sister couldn’t pronounce Virginia, so she called me Birdie and the name just stuck,” the Boulder City resident said. “I always said I had the name but not the game. Every year my mother would enroll me in school as Virginia, but after two or three days, I would be Birdie.”

Certainly having the game now to pair with the name, Hurst stays busy golfing with the 55ers on the first Thursday of every month at the municipal course and as active member of the Boulder City Women’s Golf Association.

While the heat has reduced her to nine holes at the moment, Hurst said she sees no sign of slowing down at her age, calling herself lucky to be able to still enjoy the activity.

“I have a lot of willpower,” she said. “I do a lot of exercises. I work out on my treadmill a lot. At the end of the day, I just kind of look at myself as pretty lucky to be able to keep going at this age.”

Although she first picked up a club in 1967, Hurst said it wasn’t until 1989, when she retired along with her husband, H.B. Hurst, that she had a chance to take the game more seriously and falling in love with the sport.

Traveling with a Canadian-American group, Hurst said she has fond memories of her retirement, playing in several different tournaments.

“We’ve traveled all over during our retirement,” Hurst said. “We’ve been all over the United States and Canada and seen a lot of really nice golf courses.”

She said she enjoys the camaraderie the game brings and jests that the 19th hole is her favorite.

Hurst said she doesn’t know if she’ll get the chance to travel out of state again, but knows for certain that every first Thursday of the month she’ll be out at the municipal course enjoying the game she loves.

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
Boys, girls tennis teams claim regional titles

Finishing the first step of their postseason journey, both Boulder City High School tennis programs claimed 3A southern region championships this week.

Hinds leads Lady Eagles to state crown

Repeating as 3A state champions, Boulder City High School girls golf dominated the field at Boulder Creek Golf Club on Oct. 14.

Eagles rebound with road victory, 21-20

Rebounding from defeat, Boulder City High School football leaned on their rushing attack to pull out a 21-20 victory over The Meadows on Oct. 10.

Eagles grounded at homecoming

The scoreboard may have reflected a dreaded 44-8 loss to rival Moapa Valley on Oct. 3, but the optimism surrounding the Boulder City High School football team is much brighter heading into this week.

Girls golf ends season undefeated

Finishing the regular season with an undefeated record, Boulder City High School girls golf finished strong at Casablanca on Sept. 30.

BC seniors swim to victory

Competing at the Silver State Senior Games swim meet at Pavilion Pool in Las Vegas October 4-5, four members of Boulder City’s Masters swim team SONAR dominated the field.

Runners look toward postseason

Competing at the CSN Invitational at Floyd Lamb Park on Oct. 3, Aiden MacPherson and Caleb Wolfe finished fourth and fifth respectively out of 121 runners.

Tennis teams look toward postseason

Clinching regular-season league titles, both Boulder City High School programs defeated Adelson on Sept. 30.

Lady Eagles volleyball goes 3-4 in Las Vegas tournament

Facing strong competition in the Del Sol tournament on Sept. 26-27, Boulder City High School girls volleyball advanced to 11-14 on the season.

Eagles win third game in a row

Starting off league play strong, Boulder City High School defeated Democracy Prep 30-14 on Sept. 26.