NATCHEZ &045; Lee Havard and Gene Williams know every hill and turn in the Duncan Park golf course like their own backyard. After all, the two grew up riding bicycles to the park to play when the course only had nine holes.

Lee recalls wading in the pond on the fifth hole back then, feeling along the muddy bottom with his feet for lost golf balls.

Now 35, Lee was trying not to land any balls in the pond as he and Gene played through the course several times Sunday.

&uot;We’ve been out here since 9 o’clock this morning, and we’ll play until dark,&uot; said Lee, who kept the scorecard on the steering wheel of the golf cart.

&uot;You’ve got to watch him &045; he’ll cheat,&uot; Gene joked as they loaded up after their tee shots on the eighth hole.

Neither player would divulge his best-ever score at Duncan Park.

&uot;It’s a whole lot more than I’ll ever let you put in the paper,&uot; said Gene, who owns a local muffler shop.

The two both veered a couple of drives off the fairway as they worked their way through the first nine, but Gene laughed it off.

&uot;We’re hunters &045; we like like it rough,&uot; he said.

Lee, who works for a Natchez construction company, has been golfing since he was kid. A buddy got Gene interested in the sport about 15 years ago.

And while the two friends get a lot of honest pleasure and excitement from their heads-up matches, they also enjoy entering local scrambles and tournaments.

&uot;We’re just hackers, but the tournaments and scrambles are where you play your best golf,&uot; Gene said.

And while Duncan Park is familiar territory for Lee and Gene, the course remains a challenge. &uot;It’s a lot of fun to play to this course &045; it’s tough,’ said Gene.