Hoyt Foss gently taps the ball toward the hole, sinking the putt as his golfing buddies quietly watch at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Baker City.

“Good ball, Hoyt,” says his grandpa, Bill Tiedemann.

“Nailed that one,” Gary “Hoppy” Hopkins agrees.

Foss smiles at the comments and quickly retrieves his ball, then heads for the golf cart — and a quick snack of sour Skittles.

Foss, 9, spends as much time on the golf course as he can, joining a group of golfers who are, on average, eight times his age.

He started golfing at age 4.

“He showed interest,” Tiedemann said. “My theory is as long as he’s having fun and wants to practice, he’ll get better.”

In Foss’ estimation, he’s at the golf course “probably 75% of the time.”

“Except when I have school,” he said.

Several of his original golfing group — Jack Wilson and Duane Hutton — are now in their 90s and don’t golf much anymore, but Foss still sees them when the gang gathers for breakfast before heading to the golf course.

“They taught him some about golf, but a lot about life,” Tiedemann said. “It’s been great.”

Golf, Foss said, wasn’t too hard to learn.

“At first I started putting from three feet away, then chipping,” he said.

He kept practicing, and how he plays nine holes on a regular basis and some tournaments as well — in May, he won the ages 8-9 division in the Eastern Oregon Major at Buffalo Peak Golf Course in Union.

He also loves to watch golf on TV.

“Yes, a lot. And my sister hates it,” he said with a grin.

In February, he had the chance to attend the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona. He even had three players sign his hat: Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Sungjae Im.

His skills on the course aren’t confined to driving and chipping and putting.

There’s the matter of finding golf balls, too.

On one hole, as the golf carts circled like sharks to find a ball, Foss finally jumped out to search on foot.

“I found it!” he quickly hollered, pointing to a ball barely visible in the taller grass.

“Old eagle eye,” Hopkins said with a chuckle and shake of his head.

Indeed, almost every shot elicits a word of praise or encouragement as the group made their way through nine holes at Quail Ridge. At hole number six, Foss took a break on a bench dedicated to his favorite golfing buddies. It reads: “Always great times! Dedicated to the ‘Nuts.’ Past, Present and Future.”

“And I’m the peanut,” he said with a grin.

“We love to have him, and he loves to be with us,” said Larry Raley, who golfs with Hoyt’s group on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“They taught him some about golf, but a lot about life. It’s been great.”

— Bill Tiedemann, talking about the golfers who have played with his 9-year-old grandson, Hoyt Foss