“Golf is more of a mental sport than people realize,” junior Morgan Lashley said. [Ten percent mechanical, ninety percent mental.] Many goals were accomplished this season for the Lady Bulldogs golf team. Lashley wanted to medal in every tournament and keep from shooting in the 90’s. She met both goals, along with achieving a personal record at Districts, and a 7th place finish at state. “Making it to state as a team is always a goal for me. This year we were able to do the right things at the right time,” head coach Jim Orcutt said.
The team finished 11th place with a score of 817 over both days. “Golf is a very mental game. One has to have confidence in order to give themselves a chance to do well. As the season progressed and some of the girls had scores that were, for them, personal bests, I think this helped them realize that they could play well and they gained confidence from these experiences,” Orcutt said.
Golf meets can last for hours and staying focused can be challenging, Lashley said that she maintains her focus by always thinking about what she can do next after every shot. Lashley has been perfecting her skills since she was 3 years old when she received her first set of plastic golf clubs. Her dad has been very influential in her love for the sport and Lashley says it helps to see him along with other supporters at the meets.
For senior Hope Wilke, however, golf was a new experience. Wilke had played volleyball since 5th grade, but decided to switch from spandex and knee pads, to khakis and collared shirts her senior year. “I had two private lessons and went to the golf course about five times for practice, prior to going out for the high school team,” Wilke said. She had been considering the sport for a while, but it was finalized when she purchased a shiny new set of clubs in July. “Golf is more individual, you pool your scores together with your team, but my mistakes don’t affect my teammates as directly as they do in volleyball. I like it because I don’t let anyone down but myself,” Wilke said.

She didn’t let her inexperience get in the way of securing a varsity spot, even coming inches away from shooting a hole-in-one at her first tournament. “I think the hardest thing for me this season was remembering that I had only been playing for a few months. I couldn’t expect to be a pro,” Wilke said. After her experience with her team at state, she reflected on the season as a whole, “I’m glad I played golf because not only did I experience something different, I made good friends along the way.”