Boy golfers work for more consistency
Published 8:00 pm Saturday, April 3, 2004
Consistency. That’s what the Falcon boys golf team has been searching for during the past two weeks.
When they’ve had it, they’ve been among the best. And when they haven’t, well, things haven’t gone so well.
After dominating play in the North Cascades Conference last season, the South Whidbey boys have had a bit of a rough start this season, failing to win any one of three NCC meets since official play began. On March 18, they got nipped by Blaine at Loomis Trail Golf Course 227-235 in an NCC four way. Eight days later, the Borderites outshot the Falcons again at nine holes, taking them by 11 at Shuksan Golf Course near Meridian.
On Thursday, the Falcons came home to Useless Bay Golf and Country Club with hopes of keeping at least three golfers in the 40s for nine, which is typically enough to win in the NCC this time of season. But against Lakewood, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley, the Falcons alternated between center-of-the-fairway steady and in-the-water-shaky as they struggled to get three of five scoring players between 39 and 44.
Surprising the Falcons on their home course was Lakewood, which put up a strong score of 214 to edge the runner-up South Whidbey boys by 10 strokes. Mick Heggenes, South Whidbey’s coach, said the Cougars won the day on the backs of their lower-ranked players. Proving this was Brett Schuh, the Cougars’ No. 5 player, who tied Falcon junior Drew Aernie at 39 strokes to make co-medalist at the meet.
With the sun shining and the course drying out as much as it can in April, Heggenes said prior to the meet that he hoped his boys would be able to keep their stroke count in check on the early holes, then finish strong. But, as he watched his No. 1 player, senior Jeff Strong, tee off into a water hazard on the first hole, both Heggenes and the golfers getting set to hit the course could see it would not be an easy day.
Strong recovered from his early disaster, shooting a 41 despite three-putting for a seven on the par-4 sixth hole at Useless Bay. Behind him, senior Reed Dettrich alternated between birdies, bogies and par holes as he headed for a 44.
Behind the three leaders, juniors Ben Templeton and Byron Andrews finished their rounds with distant 50s.
Heggenes said his players all need to be shooting in the 40s at nine holes to rise to the top of the NCC this season. This is not an unreasonable expectation. On March 23, the Falcons made a match of it against Oak Harbor at the Oak Harbor Golf Course when four of the top five South Whidbey players came in with scores of 43 or under for nine holes. Though the two teams were playing a total of 12 holes on the day, through nine South Whidbey had Dettrich at 41, Aernie and Johnson at 42 and Strong at 43.
