A Good Walk Un-Spoiled

Jillian Hutchinson hits her tee shot at the 14th hole at Sim Park. For the second time in three days, the East High girls golf team competed in an 18-hole varsity tournament, this time at the North High Invitational at Sim Park Golf Course.  I knew going into the tournament that our girls had been improving, but in my three years as coach, I have never seen our girls collectively hit the ball so well.  It was awesome! Even going back to last year, Jillian Hutchinson had been so close to breaking 100.  At this same tournament a year ago, she shot an even 100, but in my time as coach, that is as close as she has gotten.  But on Wednesday, she hit the ball as well as I've ever seen her hit it, especially off the tee.  Her first few holes were a bit shaky, but she improved as the day went on (which is always what I want to see), and on her back nine shot a 45, the best nine-hole score an East High golfer has posted in three years.  She ended up with a 96, and t...

Mackenzie Wright finishes her round at Rolling Hills CC. On Monday, September 25, the East High girls golf team got their week started right by competing in the Bishop Carroll Invitational.  This tournament is played at my favorite course in the city, Rolling Hills Country Club.  RHCC is just a classic, tree-lined course with a creek that winds through it and comes into play on numerous holes.  It is always in great condition, and it is a great experience for our girls to get to play it.  Of course, just because it's a nice play to play doesn't mean it's nice .  On the contrary, Rolling Hills is a challenging course with lots of hills, and on a hot day like today, our girls were tuckered out.  Despite all that, it was probably our best showing of the season. Leading up to the tournament, it was questionable if Jillian Hutchinson would be able to participate.  Last week she sustained a wrist injury that kept her out of the Ark City Invitational.  S...

Faith Mantze tees off at the Ark City Invitational The East High Girls Golf team took to the course for two tournaments this week.  The first was held on Tuesday, September 19, as East hosted a GWAL match at MacDonald Golf Course.  The last time a GWAL event was held, the skies opened up and it rained throughout the round.  But this time, the weather was cloudy, and almost cool.  It was really nice. While MacDonald is our home course, that doesn't mean it's easy for us.  Or anyone, for that matter.  Girls from many schools struggled with the undulating greens, numerous trees, and water hazards.  MacDonald is a stern test, to be certain. For East High, the golfer who was most up to the challenge was senior Jillian Hutchinson.  She finished T14 by shooting a 53.  Her solid bogey-bogey finish on her final two holes included putting her tee shot on the green at the par-three ninth, and then smashing a drive right down the middle on number one....

The East High girls golf team recently competed in two tournaments, the first of which took place on Thursday, September 7.  For the first time ever, East High hosted the MacDonald Cup Scramble.  This tournament was unique because the two-person scramble format is something we have never done in a high school tournament.  There were a handful of girls that really enjoyed the different format, but for many girls, both literally and figuratively, it was a long (and hot) day. I won't beat around the bush...for most of our girls, this tournament was a struggle.  The heat and wind played a factor, as did the fact that a couple of our East High teams didn't really enjoy their playing partners from other schools.  There was also probably some confusion about the format of the tournament, since normally the girls play as individuals.  Whatever the reason, the tournament just wasn't quite as successful as I had imagined while organizing it. The top pairing for East ...

  On Monday, April 17, the East High boys golf team competed in their first GWAL tournament of the season.  The tournament was held at Auburn Hills Golf Course, a challenging course when conditions are perfect.  Throw in steady 20-25 mph winds, along with dry conditions that made the greens exceptionally hard and fast, and it made for, at times, a rough day for our players.  Because of the conditions, and because there are more City League golfers this year than in past years, we were unable to conclude play before dark.  A handful of groups finished 18 holes, but most did not.  In order to tabulate fair results, only common holes were scored, meaning, we could only count the eleven holes that EVERYONE played (holes 1-9, 17 & 18, for a par of 45). As you’ve probably suspected or heard me say, there are some really good golfers in the city, especially at Kapaun & Carroll.  Of the top twelve finishers in this tournament, eleven were from those ...

  On Thursday, April 13, the boys varsity golf team competed in the Newton High School Invitational, held at windswept Sand Creek Station Golf Course.  Sand Creek (which will host this year’s 6A state tournament) is truly one of the  great courses in Kansas, having hosted a wide range of championships, including the 2023 NJCAA Men’s National Championship, which will take place this May.  It is certainly challenging, especially when the Kansas wind howls, because, except for a few select locations, the course has no shelter from it.  On Thursday, the wind maybe wasn’t quite howling, but it was certainly snarling, and it was literally a factor on EVERY shot.  Even putts.  Prior to the round I told them multiple times that, yes, the wind will be a factor, and you will need to take it into account on each shot. That is, unless, you are Talen Nasone.  The freshman got off to a little bit of a rough start, especially by his standards; if my memory i...

On Thursday, April 6, three East High golfers participated in their first tournament of the year: The West High JV Invitational, a nine-hole event held at Sim Park Golf Course.  When the day began I was worried it was going to be a little cool, but it turned out to be another spectacular day for golf. Two of our golfers (Arri Reilly and Alec Gatzulis) were playing in their first ever high school golf tournament.  Ismail Saeed, on the other hand, was a member of the team last year, and being the seasoned veteran that he is, showed all those other young whippersnappers how things are done.  Ismail played a nice round, shooting a 58, and ended up placing 5 th and earning a medal.  He even had his playing partners telling me he needs to be moved up to varsity! During a golf tournament, the groups are generally placed one right after the other, and it’s imperative that your group keep up with the group in front of you.  Arri Reilly had an interesting tournament ...