April 29, 2019 at 12:14 p.m.
Hodag golfers fifth at Medford Invite
Hodag golfers fifth at Medford Invite
The Hodags shot 391 as a team and placed fifth out of eight teams in the Medford Invite at Black River Golf Course. The meet was originally scheduled for Saturday but moved up a day to avoid a conflict with prom for several of the invited teams - including Rhinelander.
While mostly sunny skies greeted the golfers Friday, wet conditions and high winds made for a challenging afternoon.
"It was wet and it was windy. They had the tees up and it still played pretty long," coach Adam Schmidt said. "They hadn't mowed the greens yet and they were starting to grow. They were pretty shaggy. Hopefully on Tuesday, they'll mow them up."
Senior Nick Twite handled to conditions well, shot a round of 80 and placed third overall as the golfers played twice around the Great Northern Conference's only nine-hole varsity course. Twite didn't card any birdies, but was steady with 11 pars on his scorecard to go with six bogeys and a double on the par-72 layout.
"Nick put together a pretty solid round. That was very respectable," Schmidt said. "For Nick, there were a couple of holes (on the way down) where he was like, 'I hate this course. I hate this hole.' On the way back, he's like, 'It wasn't that bad. I hit my 3 wood to here and then knocked it on.' I think that confidence helps out."
Koldyn Gechas was second on the team with a round of 95, followed by Neil Mathews with a 102. Two golfers making their first varsity starts of the season - Cooper Kovac and freshman Garrett Kulhanek - shot 114 and 115, respectively.
"As a team, we averaged a lot of putts. We averaged like 38 putts. That was a little tough," Schmidt said. "We had a lot of penalties. We actually had a decent amount of fairways, averaging nine fairways. There were a lot of guys keeping it in play off the tee.
"If you hit to a spot, the course isn't that bad. It's when you try to cut corners that you start hitting trees and adding penalties."
Schmidt added the wind made it difficult for the golfers to gauge their distance.
"It was very challenging," he said. "There was one time I was sitting there talking to Cooper. We were probably 135 (yards) out and the wind was right in our face. He said he played it like 155-160 and it was in the center of the green. It just ballooned up."
The Hodags were fourth out of the five GNC schools in attendance Friday. Lakeland won the meet with a team score of 324 strokes, 36 shots better than runner-up Ashland. Medford (374) was third, followed by Antigo (375), Rhinelander and Tomahawk (393).
Lakeland's Ansen Nomm took medalist honors with a 76. Ashland's Scott Gregor was second with a 78.
The Hodags return to Black River Golf Course today and Schmidt hopes Friday's round comes in handy as Rhinelander looks to build off a third-place finish in the GNC opener last Tuesday at Inshalla Country Club in Tomahawk.
"It was really nice to see the course and for kids to get experience on it," Schmidt said. "Kole, for one, it was really nice for him to see the course because he'll play on Tuesday. Even the other guys, just the opportunity to see the course is really beneficial."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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