A Good Walk Un-Spoiled

The East High golfers warm up before Day 1 of the state tournament. Coming off of an exciting Regional tournament, where we coupled a third-place team finish with an individual championship, the East High Golf team culminated their season with the ultimate reward for their months-long effort: a trip to the KSHSAA 6A State Tournament, held at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City. We arrived Sunday afternoon for a practice round that was interrupted by a storm/monsoon, complete with gale-force winds and sideways rain.  But after the storm, you couldn't have imagined a prettier day.  We finished our round, and the boys' excitement for the next day was palpable. Monday morning dawned a bit cloudy and cooler than expected.  And even though the weather eventually turned spectacular, for most of our golfers, their games and moods remained cloudy and cool.  Here is a quick rundown of how five of our golfers fared: Kyran Shane - 116 (or 117), 93rd place - Just an all-arou...

On Sunday the East High boys golf team traveled to the happiest place on earth, Manhattan, Kansas, to compete in their 6A regional golf tournament.  Before we were to get down to business on Monday, the team took part in a variety of fun activities, including: learning the nuances of sand green golf at the Peabody Country Club; savoring the deliciousness of Freddy’s in Junction City; getting a first-hand look at the Manhattan Country Club during a practice round; partying at one of Aggieville’s more notorious hot spots, Chipotle; and finally, discovering just how sweet Connie, the front desk person at the Best Western, actually was.  Sunday was a great day. Monday dawned, and as expected, dark clouds filled the sky.  Rain had been anticipated, but we were hopeful it might just miss us.  No such luck.  We arrived at the course around 9:00, and by 9:30, it was steadily raining.  And while it never really opened up and poured, it didn’t stop raining until 3:...

The East High Golf team following Tuesday's Regional tournament. Last season's Regional tournament in Manhattan was played in a chilly downpour, an experience memorable for it's misery.  So as I checked the forecast in days leading up to this season's Regional, I was less than excited.  Rather than giving a percentage chance of rain, it could've just said, "it's definitely going to rain...all day". On Sunday morning, after one last glance at the forecast, I hoped I would soon get a call telling me they were postponing to Tuesday and it's spectacular forecast.  Sadly that call never came...until we pulled into the parking lot of Rolling Meadows Golf Course in Junction City to play our practice round.  Frustrated, we went ahead and played nine holes, me on my phone nearly the entire time attempting to make arrangements for the one day delay.  And then we drove back home. As is the case with most moments of frustration and disgust, everything worked o...

The top-12 finishers at the 2024 GWAL  Varsity  Championship. Golf practice began way back in February, and at the time it felt like we were starting soooo early.  We played in a JV tournament at the end of March, but our first varsity tournament wasn't until April 8, so it was quite a long stretch between first practice and first tournament.  Now here we are, on May 8, and our season has less than two weeks left.  It is incredible how fast it has gone. Our regular season ended with last Saturday's tournament in Garden City, and we now begin a stretch of three tournaments that I consider the postseason.  This coming Monday will be our regional tournament, and state is the following Monday and Tuesday.  But this week, the GWAL Golf Championships were played, and it feels like our boys are starting to peak at just the right time. Four of our golfers played in the JV GWAL Championship on Monday, May 6.  The tournament was held at Sim Park, and with t...

The East High golfers were still smiling after 36 holes in Garden City. As a native of western Kansas, I am aware that the area carries a bit of a stigma.  It stinks (blame the cows).  It's desolate and barren (but beauty is in the eye of the beholder).  It's too windy (not wholly untrue).  There's nothing to do (then you're not trying).  So say what you want about the area, or Garden City in particular.  But one thing you  cannot say is that the people of Garden City don't take their golf seriously. On Saturday, May 4, the East High Golf team took part in the 6A State Preview Tournament.  The one-day tournament would consist of two 18-hole rounds of golf, one each on Garden City's two fabulous courses: Buffalo Dunes, and Southwind Golf & Dining.  And fabulous might be an understatement.  It could be argued that Garden City possesses two of the finest courses in the entire state, a remarkable feat considering how little rain the are...

Talen Nasone tees off on the par-three 13th at Quail Ridge. The East High golfers headed down to Winfield on Thursday, May 2, for the Winfield Invitational.  Last year's tournament was played at the Winfield Country Club, an old-school golf course with style and character that didn't agree with the young whipper-snappers that make up our squad.  Quail Ridge Golf Course, the site of this year's event, is a more modern setup that our boys were excited to have the chance to play. After a rough tournament at MacDonald on Monday, I was encouraged by how the boys performed in Winfield.  As has been the case all season, our squad was led by Talen Nasone.  Talen shot a five-over par 77 to finish T4th.  Obviously that is a solid finish, and if it weren't for some bad luck on the greens he might be winning some of these tournaments.  Still, a solid finish from Talen. Despite being on "62 watch" when the tournament began, Anderson Tung instead had to settle for an ele...

Arri Reilly tees off on the par-four eighth hole at MacDonald GC. On Monday, April 29, the East High Golf team kicked off their busiest week ever with a GWAL event at their home course, MacDonald GC.  It was an absolutely spectacular day, the first tournament in weeks that we weren't blown away.  And while our JV squad produced a couple of solid rounds, for most of our varsity squad, it was not home sweet home. And I gotta be honest...this week has been crazy, and it is Friday night, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Garden City, Ka nsas, I am just now sitting down to write this, AND I'm even having a difficult time remembering what happened on Monday.  Soooooo, I'm just gonna tell you how everyone finished, and then move on to the next tournament 😀.  Here we go: Varsity Results ( click here for complete tournament results ) Talen Nasone - 78 (+6), T7th Anderson Tung - 80 (+8), 11th Donovan Bergen - 98 (+26), 20th Alec Gatzulis - 109 (+37), 33rd Hagen Shane - 117, (+45...