May 4, 2018 at 12:34 p.m.
Hodag golfers 5th in GNC opener
Hodag golfers 5th in GNC opener
The Hodags shot 367 as a team and placed two golfers in the top 10 around Black River's par-70 layout.
"All together the team just needs to hit more greens. As a team I think we averaged below 10 greens in regulation," Hodag coach Adam Schmidt said. "Medford's a good track. It's not super hard. It's kind of nice because you can play smart golf. You don't have to bang the driver. If you just keep the ball in play, you'll be in good shape."
Rhinelander's two returning all-conference recipients from last year - Nick Twite and Zach Olds - earned conference points in the opener. Both shot 13-over-par 83s to finish in a five-way tie for seventh place, earning two points a piece. Schmidt said both took different paths to reach that number.
"Zach had 9 of 10 one-putts. He putted really well. We just struggled to hit greens in regulation," Schmidt said. "Nick actually hit nine greens but he had a lot of three-putts. Nick struggled a little bit on putting but, otherwise, he was hitting the ball really well when I was following him."
The rest of the team struggled. Will England shot 99, Joseph Schmitz shot 102 and Nick Schiek carded a 114.
Lakeland shot a blistering 312 to defeat host Medford by 24 strokes for the team title. Antigo shot 349, followed by Mosinee (351), Rhinelander, Northland Pines (440) and Tomahawk (446). Lakeland's Kyle Bengston took home medalist honors with a 1-over-par round of 71.
Long day at Lawsonia
The Hodags shot 390 on Monday as they placed last in an invite hosted by Princeton High School in Green Lake at the Links of Lawsonia.
"We kind of struggled, had lots of putts," Schmidt said. "We struggled around the greens and didn't hit that many greens today."
Olds paced the Hodags with a round of 90, despite struggling to hit greens in regulation.
"I think Zach said he hit like five greens," Schmidt said. "If he hit 12 greens, that's probably six more pars, so he probably could have been anywhere from six to 12 strokes."
England shot 99, Jacob Mahner carded a 100 and Devon Gaber shot 101.
The Hodags will be back on the course Monday and Tuesday for the second and third legs of the GNC tournament at Indianhead Golf Course in Mosinee and Bass Lake Golf Club in Antigo. In the interim, Schmidt said the team was going to spend time on the practice range over the weekend working on distance control.
"Friday at practice we're going to work on our yardage - what you hit from 150 yards, what you hit from 100 yards - so that the kids know," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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