Golfers improve in second weekend of play

Sonja Karp

NLJ Sports Editor

It was another good weekend of golf for the Dogies as they traveled to Pine Haven for their second tournament of the season Friday. Once again, the men’s team finished third behind Wright and Sundance, while the ladies’ team didn’t register a score given only one Newcastle golfer competed.

As a team, the men improved by 41 strokes over last week. The weather probably played a role in the improvement since it wasn’t windy like it was in Sundance. However, Coach Scott Beehler also noted that his athletes were also more comfortable going into Friday’s competition than they were in their first meet last weekend.

“It was a great day of golf!” Beehler said. “The kids were excited to play, not nervous to play, which made a huge difference.”

Though still a par 72 course, Beehler admitted that the Pine Haven course was shorter than the one in Sundance. However, given the space was a little tighter, there were other challenges that it presented.

“It’s condensed in a small area so you had to be really aware of where you were at when the balls were flying and keep your head on a swivel a little bit,” he said, laughing. “Nobody got hurt, and nobody got hit, so we were happy.”

There were a couple of pretty easy holes, but there were also a couple of par 5 holes that were 600 feet long — longer than anything the team has faced thus far. Also, the greens presented a challenge that the Dogies were not accustomed to. 

“In our neck of the woods, our longest par five is 545, so it was a big difference,” Beehler explained.

Senior Jayden Corley also commented on the challenges that the Pine Haven course presented. He mused that the course in Sundance was probably more difficult, but he also admitted that may have had more to do with the fact that he had more nerves working against him in his first meet than he had last Friday.

“There were a few holes that dog-legged, so we had to navigate those 90-degree turns, and those long par fives were something new for us,” Corley said. “The greens were also a little difficult which made the short game challenging.”

Corley definitely had a better day in Pine Haven, given he shaved 14 strokes off his score from Sundance. All of his teammates shot better on Friday, scoring personal bests across the board. Kaden Hall improved by 24 strokes, Thatcher Troftgruben by nine, Jaden McGuire by 7 and Coen Tavegie by 6. For the Ladies, DeLaney Fullerton took 15 strokes off her score from last week. 

This week, the Dogies will golf in Wright on Friday beginning at 10 a.m., and then will host their home tournament on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.