It was that kind of day here at Useless Bay on Wednesday.

What kind? Well, if the English artist Gainsborough had put in an appearance on the pristine links, he’d have switched from portraits to landscapes in a brushstroke.

The South Whidbey girls golf team took on the Lady Knights from King’s in a rematch game. The girls played well, but King’s is a golf powerhouse, winning 573-607.

For South Whidbey, Morgan Thomson shot 116, Brandi Winn 121, Olivia Hamilton 119, Danyelle Leggett 122, Sydney Miller 129, Emily Lindus 127 and Sarah Muncey-Gordon 142.

“The girls are now preparing for league, district and state,” said Falcon coach Tom Sage. “They are currently in fourth place in the league.”

Sage teaches the importance of learning the rules of the game to prevent disqualification, upgrading the short game — putting and chipping — and course management.

“Golfers at every level need to be able to read the course to stay out of trouble; whether to use a 7-iron or a driver can make a big difference,” he said.

Winn is the team’s leading scorer this season.

“What’s made the difference? My swing sped up on the back end, and that gave me more power,” she said while waiting to tee off. “But the real change is that I started caring and devoting myself to the game.”

As the girls paired up in preparation for the first shot — 485 yards from the red tee box — Sage noted that golf is a unique sport.

“There are no referees in golf, and that can lead to making some tough decisions when no one is looking,” he said.

“That builds character and teaches players to referee themselves and become self-reliant; something they’ll take with them for the rest of their lives.”

Olivia Hamilton noted that this is her second year and credits a better understanding of Coach Sage’s advice for helping her out of a rut.

“He knows a lot about correcting a slice and hook, how to hold your wrist just so,” she said.

“It’s the little things in golf that make the difference.”

Teammate Sarah Muncey-Gordon feels she’s progressed a lot.

“My distance has improved and I’ve doubled my scores since the season began,” she said.

Both girls know when a swing is headed south.

“You can feel it,” Hamilton explained.

“That’s right,” Muncey-Gordon added. “Just before your arm starts to come down, you can tell something’s wrong.

“You really should back away from it if you can. Hard to do, though.”

As an eagle rode thermals in a lazy figure-eight pattern high above the fairway, Muncey-Gordon had to shoo a duck away from her ball near a water hazard. All in a day’s work.

Next week, the girls wrap up the year at Lakewood and Cedarcrest.

“Hopefully, the good weather will hold, but it doesn’t get much better than this,” Sage said.