Starting the season off strong, the boys varsity golf team has placed no lower than second at each of their first four golf tournaments. The season started in late February and will end with the state tournament in mid-May. The season has “been going good,” senior Dawson Stroud said. 

This year is slightly different from past seasons as the interest in the sport has grown more compared to years past. This meant that there were quite a few cuts that needed to be made during tryouts. Luckily for interested players, more spots will open up next season as there are three seniors on varsity right now.

The varsity team has six players, with a rotation that allows five players to compete in a tournament. JV is also made up of six players. 

For the last three years, the golf team has placed third in state, but with three seniors on the team this year, winning the championship is a primary goal. “We want to end on a good note,” Stroud said. Along with winning state, the team also wants to beat their rival Wilsonville High School this season. 

Competing for the golf team is a big time commitment. The team practices five days a week for up to four hours a day and misses school every Monday in the spring for tournaments. Missing school is one of the main challenges that the team faces during the week, especially since they have to play around the time of AP testing. However, they make it work, as “the school is pretty generous and understanding and works to make our schedules easier,” Stroud said.

Another challenge is that the team will play no matter the weather conditions, so they may have to play in some nasty conditions for tournaments. They also have to practice on a course while there are other people occupying it, which can lead to some disruptions. 

Because the tournaments are during school on Monday, it’s rare for there to be a strong student presence at games, but Stroud thinks “it would be fun maybe to get a little school spirit like once a year.”

Although the team has gotten more serious and popular this season, they still are able to have fun, especially at two day tournaments like state. Stroud sees the team not only as a place to play golf, but also a place to hang out with his teammates.