Golfers wrap up season in Rawlins

Sonja Karp

NLJ Sports Editor

The Dogie golfers finished up their inaugural season at the 3A State Tournament last weekend in Rawlins. Head coach Scott Beehler, along with senior golfers Thatcher Troftgruben and Jayden Corley, admitted that the course they competed on was a challenge for everyone on the team.

“The course was definitely a unique one,” Beehler said.  “It was a links-type course. It was flat, no trees, a lot of sagebrush, older sand traps that weren’t really groomed, and really big greens. If you didn’t hit your ball straight to keep it on the fairway, you didn’t find your ball.”

Despite getting off to a slow start for the most part on day one, day two of the meet was better pretty much across the board for both the men and women.

“For some reason, we struggle a little bit the first day we golf,” Beehler said, chuckling. “But we ended up golfing about 20 strokes better on day two.”

Thatcher Troftgruben was again the top golfer for the Dogies, finishing the tournament in 27th place with a total score of 179, shooting 91 on day one and 88 on day two. Making three birdies on day two factored into the decrease in his score.

“It was exciting, but it was a very different experience than I’ve ever faced. The playing field was better than what we’ve faced, and it was also a very different course than we’ve ever played,” Troftgruben said. “The fairways were wider to compensate for the sagebrush that took the place of the rough, so if you were hitting good, it was great. However, if you were off and ended up in the sagebrush, it was impossible to get out.” 

According to Beehler, the size of the greens definitely impacted the kids’ game. He noted that if the ball was on the wrong side, the player could be faced with an 80-foot putt. 

“The greens were huge so it took a little while to get used to, and my short game really made a difference in my score on day one,” Troftgruben said. “I had to get used to putting maybe 60 feet, so I went from three-putting to make it to the hole to doing better the second day. It was a fun challenge, but I wish it wouldn’t have presented itself at state.”

Jayden Corley struggled a little on day one so didn’t put up a great score, but then shot nine strokes better on day two. Corley admitted that his attitude on day one probably played a big role in his performance.

“I didn’t have a great attitude, and that really got in the way of my game,” Corley said. “I really had to make an adjustment and get back in the right mind-set, which I was able to do the second day.”

DeLaney Fullerton was again the exception to the rule, given she turned in her lowest score of the year on day one of the tournament. On day two, she went up nine strokes, but was still the top golfer for the ladies.

“I asked her about golfing better the first day than she does on the second and she said she doesn’t know, maybe I’m a first-day golfer,” Beehler said. “Maybe she over thinks things the second day?”

With the fall season coming to a close, the Dogies are looking forward to the start of the spring season, which runs from the beginning of April though the end of May.

“It was a great start for our golfing program,” Beehler said. “The kids really enjoyed themselves and showed a lot of improvement in the last month.”