Wildcats get home course advantage

The sudden winter weather put a damper on the Custer Jr./Sr. High School golf plans as the Belle Fourche Pre-Black Hills Conference and Pre-Region Invite as well as the Douglas Golf Meet were cancelled. Unable to practice outdoors, the Wildcats retreated to Xtreme Sports in Custer to use its simulator.
“That’s become a big thing with golf,” said head coach Paul Kelley. “A lot of schools are picking those up. It hurts sometimes. You can putt on a simulator, but it’s just a lot different. ”
On April 30, the Wildcats headed to the Sturgis Invite. Kelley said that between weather and other school activities, it was the first opportunity for some of the athletes to compete.
“It’s a new golf course, and just gaining that familiarity with it is a difficult thing. A lot of these are courses our kids have never played on before,” said Kelley.
The course is very open, according to Kelley, and the athletes played the same nine holes twice to make it more accessible for the girls on foot.
“I think they’re progressing,” said Kelley, although they still need to work on avoiding “train wrecks” or high scores.
“We’re just having too many of those at this moment in time, but that has a lot to do with the experience,” said Kelley.
In the meet, Kendra Hanrichs placed 28th with a 132, and Maggie Lewison placed 32nd with a 140. Payton Halls placed 34th with a 141, followed by Addi Kainz in 35th with a 141. Finally, Payton Zeimet placed 38th with a 158.
“They’ll have a good hole, and then they’ll have a disastrous hole. It comes back to developing that trust and that confidence in your golf swing,” said Kelley. “It was a good experience for them.”
On May 4, the Custer Invite was hosted at Rocky Knolls Golf Course, giving the Wildcats a home course advantage. Kelley was able to get nine Wildcats on the green to gain experience during the meet. As for the new island on the course, Kelley said it has been tough for the girls, considering their experience level, but it will be a cool addition.
For the first time playing 18 holes, Makeda Sumption placed 16th with a 106.
“She even had an eagle on hole four, so that was something that excited her. I thought she played well,” said Kelley. “That was a bright moment for her.”
Meanwhile, Kainz placed 23rd with a 112.
“Her goal going into yesterday was to shoot about a 105,” said Kelley. “I told her if she can get down around a 100 during her eighth grade year, it would be something that we can build off of as we move forward into the future.”
Two strokes behind her was Lewison in 24th with a 114. Zeimet placed 29th with a 133, Halls placed 31st with a 137, Hanrichs placed 32nd with a 138 and Lexi Wilkins placed 37th with a 164.
“They had some good shots. I think our putting really was lacking, and it’s just the lack of time to be out on the course getting to experience that,” said Kelley. “That’s going to be a target area that we work on over the next couple of days.”
Next up, the Wildcats are heading to the Southern Hills Invite in Hot Springs Thursday, May 7. Three of the girls competed on the Hot Springs course earlier this season, so Kelley hopes they can improve on their scores.
“The more you play a course, the easier it gets, or you hope so,” said Kelley.
After that, the Wildcats are already heading to the Black Hills Conference in Belle Fourche Monday, May 11. Since the previous meet in Belle Fourche was cancelled, the girls have not played on the course this season.
“Fortunately, it’s a nine hole course that we get to play twice in 18 holes. So hopefully that will be a positive for them,” said Kelley. “Hopefully the weather improves here in the last two or three weeks as we head down the stretch.”