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-around rough da

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 threatening weather on the horiz

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 area traditionally gets.  An

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 eleven

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) 3

The victorious East High varsity golf team outside the Auburn Hills clubhouse. Let's cut right to the chase.  On Monday, we played at Auburn Hills (again).  In gale-force winds (again).  And we brought home "the dub" (as the kids say; for complete tournament results, click here ). Inspired by a fiery pre-round pep talk from their coach, which centered around the themes of mental toughness and 70-year-old ladies who had already walked the course in the tough conditions they were about to face, the boys brought home East High's first team victory in my tenure as coach.  It was a tremendous accomplishment for our team, and a confidence booster that will hopefully pay dividends as we continue to prepare for postseason play. During the round there were numerous exciting moments for our players, and several moments of pride for me personally.  Here are just a few: Talen Nasone for eagle!  Talen carded a three on the par-five ninth, and according to one coach, very nearly m

Talen Nasone (3rd) and Anderson Tung (T13) earned medals in Newton. After kicking off our season with a relatively rough day at Auburn Hills on April 8, the East High golfers got right back at it last Thursday as they took part in the Newton Invitational at Sand Creek Station Golf Course.  If you're not familiar with Sand Creek Station, it is truly one of the best courses in the region, and in fact, this July will host its second USGA championship, the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open .  It is a challenging course that, coupled with the gale-force winds that were forecasted, would be an extreme test for our golfers. At Auburn Hills, sophomore Talen Nasone did not get his season off to the kind of start he was hoping for.  I was curious as to how he would react in Newton, especially considering how difficult the conditions would be.  I think he accepted the conditions as a challenge, because he reacted just fine.  He returned to form with a three-over par 75, which included a one-under front

Alec Gatzulis tees off on the par-three 6th hole at Sim Park. Following a week of tackling two of the more difficult courses in the area, the East High boys golf team returned this past Monday to more forgiving territory (or so we hoped) at Sim Park Golf Course, competing in the first GWAL regular season event of the season.  Despite the looming tax-filing deadline, our boys full focus was on golf.  And it needed to be because the wind was a bear once again, making the easiest course in the city play much harder than it normally does. Even with the wind, East High showed improvement compared to our first two events of the year.  As usual, the Aces were led by sophomore Talen Nasone, who shot a six-over 77 to finish in 3rd place.  Most of us would be pleased with a third place finish, but most of us are not as talented as Talen.  And it's true that if he had been able to make a few putts, he might've had an opportunity to win the tournament.  Still, I was pleased with his perfor

Junior Anderson Tung putts on 18 at Auburn Hills. Anderson shot a 12-over 84. After five weeks of practice, the East High boys varsity golf team finally got their season underway on a spectacular, made-for-golf Monday, as they competed in the Bishop Carroll Invitational at Auburn Hills Golf Course.   This tournament had traditionally been played at Rolling Hills Country Club, possibly my favorite course in the Wichita area.  So you can imagine my disappointment when last week I realized it would be at Auburn Hills, the most difficult public course in the city.  As the tournament teed off, and the effects of the solar eclipse began to subside, the question was: would Auburn Hills  prove too challenging for the first tournament of the season? Unfortunately,  for most of our golfers, the answer was yes. Our entire team has high expectations for this season, as we return our entire lineup.  This includes two state-qualifiers from last season, and seven other players with at least some vars

The boys golf season got underway on Monday, March 25, with the West High JV Invitational at Sim Park Golf Course.  It is widely known that East High golfers are simply tougher than golfers from other schools, so we were hoping some truly abysmal weather would roll in for the tournament, rendering helpless our feeble competition. Thankfully we got our wish.  Allegedly the temperature was in the lower 40s when we teed off, but it felt much colder than that.  And by the end of the tournament, in addition to the cold, a heavy mist was coming down.  Because of the conditions, there was talk amongst the coaches of shortening the event.  But, with the image of the super-tough East High golfer in my mind, I told the other coaches, "you'll have to DRAG   my golfers off this course.  They live for this!" Okay, that last quote never happened.  I personally was miserable.  And to be honest, most of the golfers (from all schools) were miserable.  Regarding the weather, the quote of t

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 parkin

Jillian Hutchinson shot a 97 to qualify for next week's state golf tournament. On Monday, October 9, the East High girls golf team competed in the KSHSAA 6A Regional tournament hosted by North High, one of three 6A regionals taking place around the state.  The tournament was held at Sim Park Golf Course, and while it was cool in the morning, it turned into a beautiful day for golf.  Our last two tournaments had been played at Sim Park, so I was hopeful that the girls familiarity with the course would pay off.  That was true for some of our golfers, but because golf is golf, familiarity with the course wasn't enough for some others. Prior to the first tee times, I met the girls at the MacDonald driving range.  The first thing I noticed was that Jillian Hutchinson was in a great mood.  I have had the privilege of coaching Jillian for three years now, and generally, when she is in a good mood, good things happen for her on the course.  Monday was no exception.  After a triple-boge