HELENA — Calm, cool and collected.

That’s how Helena Capital junior John Gilbert appeared Friday afternoon in Butte while sinking a birdie putt to secure his Class AA state championship. But that level of comfort on the golf course is only natural for someone who swung a club for the first time at the age of 2.

“That was when I first started swinging and getting used to the clubs,” said Gilbert while taking a break from hitting his iron at the Green Meadow driving range in Helena. “And then I picked up competitive events when I was around 9 or 10.

“And then I started going out of state for them. And I played pretty good in some of them. And that’s kind of when I got the spark or realization that I might be somewhat decent.”

And all those years of repeating swing after swing culminated

See Full Page