Author: Andrew Dinh
The 2018 MHS Golf season has officially begun with hopes for progressive improvement through the support of the coaches. The team looks forward to strong performances this year, Golf Coach Brett Burns said.
“Last season, we finished the year with an overall record of 5-7 in league and 7-9 overall. That is the best season we have had since I took over the team in 2013,” Burns said. “We expect to improve upon last years record.”
This season, spots on the team are especially limited, Burns said. Try-outs will be competitive as the team expects to finish strong in the standings this year.
“Eight of our top players are back this year as Sophomores and Juniors,” Burns said. “This year we are anticipating keeping the top 12-15 players who try out.”
Last year’s golf team was very strong compared to other years, Senior Brooke Indihar said. The sophomores and freshmen on the team should impress and stand out this season, especially with the help of a strong coaching staff, she added.
“I expect good coaching overall. Coach Burns is a really good coach,” Indihar said. “I think he’s going to really push harder this year so we go further because I know we can do it.”
The coaches maintain a strong presence within the team, joining the athletes on the course daily, Junior Alan Trinh said. The coaches constantly drill putting, chipping, and hitting in order to help the athletes become better golfers, Trinh added.
“The golf season last year was one of the best experiences of my life. It was my first year playing golf, and the coaches, along with the teammates, made every practice fun and enjoyable,” Trinh said. “I can improve the most this season by becoming more consistent and learning how to strategize and become a smarter golfer.”
Junior Hanna Fei also aims to work hard this season to improve further. The continuous encouragement and guidance from the coaches help motivate the athletes to finetune their game, Fei said.
“My goals for the upcoming season are improving my short game and staying in the top six,” Fei said. “The coaches help us improve by giving us tips, practice drills, and constantly encouraging us to play our best.”
The coaches identify issues in the athletes’ golfing skills and work to address them. Last year, many athletes would take too many strokes from within 50 yards of the pin, Burns said.
“We plan to address this issue with a steady diet of drills and practice from those distances, as well as plenty of practice on the putting green,” Burns said. “As the old saying goes, ‘Hit for show, putt for dough!’”
Another area where the overall team can improve this season is recruitment, Indihar said. Students at MHS are not aware of the existence of a golf team.
“People don’t really know about golf. They ask, ‘Oh, we have a golf team?’” Indihar said. “I’d like to see more girls try out for golf. We have a lot of guys on the team.”
The upcoming season holds a lot of promise for the golf athletes. The prospects of improving as an athlete and building long-lasting relationships among the team are highly rewarding, Trinh said.
“My favorite experience of being on the team is seeing my improvement,” Trinh said. “At the beginning of the season, I had never played golf before, and I just decided to tryout. By the end of the season, seeing how much I had improved as a golfer was very meaningful.”