Central Montcalm, Lakeview, Tri County golf continuing growth at Big Rapids jamboree

BIG RAPIDS — Golf is a mental sport as much as it is a physical sport — as is the decades-old phrase.

Famed amateur player and course designer, Bobby Jones, once said that, “Golf is played on a five-and-a-half inch course — the distance between your ears.”

Many weekend warriors struggle with their mental game, cracking jokes about how they will screw up the upcoming shot following a well-hit ball. High school players sometimes struggle with the mental game, putting themselves in a competitive mindset and allowing a small margin for error.

On the other hand, some high school players work hard on their mental game.

At the Central State Activities Conference jamboree on Thursday at Clear Lake Golf Club, Central Montcalm, Lakeview and Tri County all kept their mental games sharp.

The Green Hornets, Wildcats and Vikings kept bad shots out of their minds and focused on what they could control, the next shot. Some cases, as in a bad tee shot or a wayward approach that left the ball in the trees, were met with a split-second of disappointment and it was right back to work.

Again, another decades-old golf adage, “If it’s findable, it’s hittable.”

LAKEVIEW PROGRESSING ‘BETTER THAN EXPECTED’

Going into the season, Lakeview’s head coach, Brian Corwin, said he had quite a few questions about what his team was going to be.

He saw a young and relatively inexperienced roster, a couple of players that play both baseball and golf for the Wildcats and a tough, yet manageable, CSAA schedule.

With about three weeks left in the season, Corwin said he has been surprised with how his guys have been progressing.

“It’s definitely a fun challenge,” Corwin said. “The inexperience where they’ll just be out with their friends or their family and they tell me they can do something, then all of a sudden they get out on the golf course in competition and it’s a little different. So I kind of walk them through that learning process, but they’re getting there. … We’re progressing far better than I thought we would.”

One of the highlights to this point of the season came last week, at a CSAA jamboree at Moss Ridge in Sparta. The Wildcats had two of their freshmen, Aydehn Lutzke and Boston Syrjala, lead the way with seven-over and nine-over par, respectively, before the rain shut the event down.

Through the trees, Lakeview’s Brock Outman hits out and toward the green during Tuesday’s CSAA jamboree at Clear Lake Golf Club in Big Rapids. — DN Photo | Austin Chastain

While the Wildcats were disappointed they couldn’t finish the round, they were still excited with what they were able to accomplish — showing steady improvement, Corwin said.

“That marked improvement, I was really excited about that and seeing where they’d finish the day but we couldn’t finish,” Corwin said. “On top of dealing with their disappointment and frustration, trying to talk them down so they’re not super frustrated, that was definitely a nice point in the season.”

Corwin said he had some surprises in the Wildcats’ lineup on Tuesday, but he was happy to see guys pick each other up when one was struggling.

Figuring out how to have all of the guys playing well at one point in time is difficult. Corwin said that is his biggest challenge for the remainder of the season. He added that he can look back at moments, such as April 23 at Brookside Golf Club for the Lakeview Invitational — where the Wildcats broke 400 as a team for the first time since 2018 with a 396.

“There was a bit of a golfing-talent drought at Lakeview,” Corwin said. “We’re starting to turn that around, there’s some youth coming up and a couple of other kids that, if we can get them on board, the future looks a little brighter.”

VIKINGS WORKING TO DIAL IN

At the Sparty Cup last week at North Kent Golf Course, Vikings head coach Corey Renner said he was happy with the way his team has driven the ball, struck the irons and rolled the putts this season. The biggest aspect of the game Renner said the Vikings need to improve is the short game, 100 yards and in.

Tri County’s Andrew Lenon tees off during Tuesday’s CSAA jamboree at Clear Lake Golf Club in Big Rapids. — DN Photo | Austin Chastain

“Everybody misses greens,” Renner said. “We’ve gotta get up and down. That’s where we really need work in these last couple of weeks.”

With the weather mercifully turning for the better, scores for the Vikings are beginning to improve with each tournament. Shooting a 359 on Tuesday, finishing third, is a steady improvement from where the season began, Renner said.

The Vikings have a team-first mindset to help manifest success from their steady improvement. Tuesday was a prime example. Gavin Welch shot 87, and was tied for third at the turn, Renner said Welch was disappointed in the way he scored, but seeing his teammates succeed was a big lift to him. Taka Hauenstein was one of the guys that picked up his teammates — he shot 89 and had a smile on his face, and that encouraged the team, too, Renner said.

Central Montcalm’s Carter Bolton tees off on a par-3 during Tuesday’s CSAA jamboree at Clear Lake Golf Club in Big Rapids. — DN Photo | Austin Chastain

“It’s really fun to see them be happy for each other,” Renner said.

That encouragement can help breed confidence, which goes a long way in golf. Wiping away any hint of doubt can help any player and team improve as the season begins to wind down.

It can also help a team potentially make some noise.

“If you’re thinking about everything that can go wrong, it probably will,” Renner said. “Having a bit of confidence makes it easier and then things tend to go a lot better; so, gain some confidence from today and then things can start to snowball for us in the right direction.”

UP NEXT

The conference season for the three area teams concludes tomorrow at Brookside Golf Club for Central Montcalm’s hosted jamboree at 9 a.m. today. Like other jamborees, today’s event is a shotgun start.

Central Montcalm’s Gary Buchholz was unavailable for comment before press time.