East High Golf, State Edition - Monday, October 16, 2023

Jillian Hutchinson waits to tee off on the 5th hole at Emporia.

The girls golf season is a whirlwind that begins under the hot August sun, continues under the hot September sun, and then, if a golfer has played well enough at regionals, concludes on a chilly October morning at the state tournament.  Even though the season lasts two months, it goes sooooo fast.  Over the last couple of weeks, senior Jillian Hutchinson lamented multiple times that she couldn't believe the season was nearly over.  I personally am NEVER ready for golf season to end, and this year was no exception.

This year's KSHSAA 6A state tournament was held at Emporia Golf Course, a place that brought Jillian and I full circle as player and coach.  The first tournament I ever took Jillian to as the East High coach was during her sophomore year, and it was held at Emporia.  My memories of that first tournament are hilarious (before the tournament even started, I accidentally dumped the water cooler in the parking lot when I turned the cart too quickly), painful (Natalie Schafer, playing in her first-ever tournament, got sunburned BADLY that day), disappointing (it was really hot that day, the course was long and difficult, and none of our girls played all that well), and embarrassing (one unnamed team member ate something that didn't agree with them, and on the way home lost their lunch all over the rental van).  Good times 😁.

This time around, expectations were a little different.  Jillian was no longer a sophomore with only one real year of golf experience.  She had shot in the 90s in two of her three most recent tournaments, so her game was rounding into shape.  She had qualified for the state tournament last season, so the experience would not be new and overwhelming.  And in a practice round the day before the first round of the state tournament, Jillian had played the best round of golf she had ever played.  Although unsaid, I think both of us felt like making the cut and playing on Day 2 was a reasonable expectation.

Jillian hits a chip shot onto the 5th green at Emporia.

Unfortunately, the state golf tournament doesn't just hand out free tickets to Day 2.  And because golf is golf, just because you play awesome one day doesn't mean you're going to play awesome the next day.  Or even play good.  Even if it is the same course.  And even if the weather is better than it was the day before when you played awesome.  Golf is so awesome.  But it can also just rip your heart out.

I won't go into too many details about Jillian's round (even though I saw every shot and could probably give you the details of each of those shots).  And truth be told, it wasn't all bad.  She shot a 103, good enough to tie for 66th, but not quite good enough to get her to Day 2 (click here for complete Day 1 results, and here for Day 2 results).  Jillian was pretty frustrated, and understandably so.  Her inconsistency was probably the most maddening thing, because at times she hit the ball wonderfully.  She had several nice chip shots, and her putting was pretty solid, as she two-putted nearly  every green.  It's just that she would have a really bad hole, then follow it up with a really good hole.  And then another bad one.  It was like that for most of the round.  At the end of her round, she didn't even feel like talking.  She was just ready to go home.

I still remember moments from the state tournament I played in during my senior year.  I specifically remember one bad hole that helped knock me down to 21st place.  That year, the top 20 got a medal.  So I know how it feels to end your career on a sour note.  I'm sure Jillian will occasionally think of her final day of competitive golf and wish things had turned out a little different.  But hopefully she also remembers the good moments, the great group of girls she got to play with, the beautiful day it turned into, and of course, the great company, sage advice, and hilarious jokes provided by her old coach.

Jillian's final tee shot of her high school career.

This is my third season as a high school golf coach, and in all three I had the privilege of walking with Jillian for the entirety of her final round of the season (the 2021 Regional in Hutchinson, the 2022 State tournament in Salina, and the 2023 State Tournament in Emporia).  Because of that, and so many other reasons, no matter how long I am the coach at East, Jillian will always be special to me.  From our first practice together, she established herself as a hard worker, and as someone the rest of the team could look up to.  She was one of two juniors (with no seniors) on the team last year, and she may not have realized it, but she was certainly our leader.  And this year, she was our lone senior.  Her best friend, who had played the previous two seasons, decided not to play golf this year, and I wondered how that might affect Jillian.  While I can't speak to that exactly, I know that it didn't affect the way she worked and the way she treated everyone, and I know for a fact that she was liked and respected by all of her teammates.  And she gained that respect without doing anything special or out-of-the-ordinary.  She was just Jillian, and that was more than enough.

In addition to all the golf-related things I got to see Jillian do, she has been my teacher aide this semester.  I assumed she would get tired of me sending her on secret missions to the golf equipment closet, but she claims that she actually loves going down there (which I find hilarious).  And when my wife and I needed a night out, who else do you think I would ask to watch my kids?  Jillian (along with Natalie) have babysat for us on at least two occasions, and she is most certainly at the top of my daughter Nora's babysitter request list.  When I brought Nora out to one of the tournaments this year, her first question was, "where's Jillian?"

So yeah, I'm gonna miss Jillian, and our team will too.  But I am excited for her and what the future holds.  She has no plans to play golf in college, but that is certainly an option.  She has a beautiful swing and a ton of potential.  If she wanted to truly commit herself to the game, I know she would be a successful college player.  But she is such a well-rounded person with varied interests, and golf is just a small part of who she is.  No matter what path she chooses, she is going to be a success.  So thank you, Jillian, for your dedication and hard work, and for representing East High with such class.  I am so proud to have been your coach.