Boys’ Golf (8-1) faced a hard fought loss on May 20 with a score of 386 in their CIF match against 20 teams at Bear Valley Country Club. Despite the defeat, the team looks forward to a new season with a stronger emphasis on refining mental strength and techniques on the course.
“A big challenge was definitely the greens, because they were rolling pretty smooth, but also slow at the same time, so they took a while to get adjusted to,” sophomore Kingston Wu said. “I had teammates in front and behind me. I just had to work on staying focused on myself, not worrying about what everybody else was shooting and just trying to shoot the best score I can.”
Even though conditions were tough and the stakes were high, the team kept up a resilient score throughout the competition. Halfway through the match, the team was in contention for the CIF title after regaining strokes in later holes.
“The biggest challenge for me was not putting well, and I made strategic mistakes that showed up on the scorecard,” said senior Leon Yang. “I tried to plan my shots ahead and focused on putting the ball closer rather than making it later on which helped.”
However, players like Yang and Wu later battled through setbacks from tough pin locations and narrow fairways which pushed them down and out of contention.
“You’re thinking that you can get a birdie, when in reality, the safer play is hitting off a hybrid or a lower fairway wood and leaving yourself back, so you would have a better option of hitting the green,” head boys’ golf coach and social studies teacher Wind Ralston said. “For some of my younger players, it’s hard for them not to want to take the risk, and then that can affect your game in a negative way. Every experience isn’t a failure, it’s a chance to learn golf.”
While the match was tough, the team shifted its focus onto building a stronger foundation for next season. Ralston aims to prepare the team, which mainly consists of underclassmen, to compete in stressful situations. Many of the new players aren’t used to the high-pressure situations that are common in league matches so Ralston hopes to push them to a next level in the offseason to obtain an advantage in future CIF matches.
Boys’ Golf prioritizes building a stronger foundation and mindset in their off season with more focus on positive energy in the team and hopes to win CIF next season.
