It should have been another mean and nasty day on the links Tuesday for the South Whidbey boys golf team, with wet grass and the sort of cold wind that makes hooks and slices the norm.

Nasty, it was not. It turned out to be a pretty nice afternoon, save for a little wind on the back nine. A good day to take on a couple of big 4A golf powerhouses.

In a non-league warm-up match on the 18-hole, par-72 course at Useless Bay Golf & Country Club, the Falcons posted 411 to beat the 502 of Edmonds-Woodway and Shorecrest’s 519.

Falcon Shane Thompson led the charge with 74, while teammates Josh Yingling had 80, Harrison Price, 81, Connor Mock, 87 and Jesse Portillo, 89.

“Conditions were certainly better than we thought they’d be,” Thompson said. “I was able to score without hitting the ball that well.”

Price has been running first or second this season, so taking third didn’t make him real happy.

“I had some shots that didn’t go my way,” he said. “I can do better and I know it.”

The strategy of playing major teams this late in the season came from Falcon coach Steve Jones.

“My philosophy was to schedule these guys late so my team would sharpen up their skills, enabling them to peak at the right time,” Jones explained. “It worked; the boys shot well and they are looking good.”

Jones said that Cascade Conference coaches have abandoned the old-style dual meets and adopted a tournament format.

“Before now, the dual-meet style was useless in determining which team or individuals would qualify for districts or state,” he said. “It wouldn’t be until the final round at Snohomish Golf Course that we knew how well we were doing. Now, every school has hosted a league tournament so that teams and players will know how they stack up with the best.”

South Whidbey may — or may not — be leading the pack.

At the last league tournament, a couple of King’s players were dinged by scoring issues that may knock the first-place school off its perch.

“This could potentially put us in the lead,” Jones said. “It was unfortunate that their boys committed those rules violations.”

He added that golf is a special sport.

“We push them hard, but never to the degree that ‘winning-at-all-costs’ becomes the primary goal,” Jones said. “Integrity of the game and sportsmanship are among the values we teach here, and that will never change.”