April 12, 2023 at 10:50 a.m.
Team preview: RHS golf
Hodag golfers look to build on strong 2022
Team preview: RHS golf
Duplicating that success this year will be far from easy - especially considering the team graduated three starters off of last year's squad - but coach Adam Schmidt said he is hopeful that his team and turn heads again this year.
"If we can stick to our game and keep playing, I think we'll do OK," he said. "I don't know what we'll shoot, I have no idea. It's up to the boys, and I don't think the boys even know. But we have some good players. It would be cool to get down there in the low 300s. That would be sweet."
The Hodags began to find out what they have yesterday in the first day of a 36-hole tournament at Trappers Turn Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells. That event concludes today. From there, the Hodags hope to have a non-conference invite at Marshfield this Tuesday before kicking off the Great Northern Conference campaign April 25 at Indianhead Golf Course in Mosinee.
Part of the reason the Hodags are eager to play down south is that, for much of practice, the team has been stuck inside the Hodag Dome. Some team members traveled south to play on their own over the Easter weekend but, otherwise, yesterday and today marked the first time this spring that the Hodags have hit on grass.
"We tried to schedule some early-season (matches) this year so we can get a leg up," Schmidt said. "We're trying to get some more matches early on so they can perform better in conference and be ready for when the tournament rolls around."
How the varsity team shakes out for this year is still a bit of a mystery. The team graduated three key seniors in Kole Gechas, Garrett Kulhanek and Cal Laggis.
Gechas was Rhinelander's lowest scorer in nine of the team's 13 meets last season as he finished with an 80.96 scoring average. He finished eighth overall in the GNC, broke 80 five times in competition this season and shot back-to-back 82s in the WIAA playoffs. His 82 at regionals was third overall while his 82 at sectionals finished in a tie for 10th, two shots out of a playoff for a spot in the WIAA state tournament.
Kulhanek improved as well, averaging 86.25 strokes per round and, while he never broke 80, he shot 81 or better on four separate occasions. Laggis was the Hodags' most improved player last year, seeing his scoring average drop nearly nine strokes from last year to a 96.1.
Two spots on the varsity seem secure as senior Andrew Henrichs and sophomore Brody Kowieski are the two returning starters from the squad.
Kowieski burst onto the scene with a strong freshman campaign. He finished second on the team with an 86.0 scoring average and shot a season-best 4-over round of 75 in the conference finale at Bass Lake, which vaulted him into the top 10 in the final GNC standings.
Henrichs has made it to sectionals twice, qualifying individually as a sophomore in 2021 before making it as part of the team last year. Henrichs scored a couple of top-10 finishes in the GNC last year, but did not accumulate enough points to earn all-conference recognition.
"Andrew, just watching him, he's gotten a lot more consistent. He's making a better move on the ball. The swing is smooth. Watching him when he connects, that ball goes. Brody's just been swinging really good," Schmidt said. "They've been coming into the dome all winter long, hitting balls, just working on their game. That's exciting to see, because you can tell that they've improved a lot over the last couple of years."
The Hodags are also hopeful that sophomore Sam Schoppe can make an immediate impact after crossing over from baseball this year.
"Sam's got a nice, smooth swing. He's a nice kid. He's nice to have," Schmidt said. "I think Sam will be able to play golf. Talking to the other kids, they say Sam's a player. Just watching, I think he'll be OK."
Beyond that, it's a bit of unknown. Seniors Tate Werner and Cooper Radke are the only other players back from last year's squad. First-year senior Braden Mork, junior Ryan Morien, and freshmen Isaac Mickevicius and Blake Petroff round out the squad.
"It's kind of an open ball game right now," Schmidt said of his lineup. "That's the coolest thing about golf, the lowest scores play varsity. Being only a nine-man team this year, it's going to be five (on varsity) and four (on JV)."
If the Hodags can sort out the bottom three spots in their lineup, they could be in the mix in the Great Northern Conference. Lakeland is still the favorite with three starters back from last year's state-qualifying team, but the T-Birds may come back to the field a bit after graduating GNC player of the year Kaeden Nomm. Medford returns four of its five starters from a team that finished second in the GNC last year. Beyond that, there seems to be a lot of parity and question marks in the league.
"It's always a matchup of how we're going to play in conference. Nobody ever knows. A lot of schools have good programs -Medford, Antigo, Lakeland obviously. Mosinee, they've got big numbers. They've got like 20 kids out and a bunch of kids coming back.
Rhinelander is slated to host the second leg of the GNC tournament April 28 at Northwood Golf Club, though activities director Brian Paulson said there's a possibility that Rhinelander and Medford may swap conference dates and have the league come to Rhinelander May 8 if Northwood is not open for play before the end of the month following a later-than-normal thaw.
Getting rounds in at Northwood will be more important than usual for the Hodags this year, considering that the course will also host a WIAA Division 1 regional tournament in late May.
"Historically speaking, our worst round is always at Northwood, so why we want to host a regional, I have no idea," Schmidt quipped about playing one of the tightest course in the GNC. "But the kids, the more they play it and stick to their game, (they'll be OK). Andrew's played it a lot. Brody's been playing it a lot and he's getting used to it. Having it as a home course is definitely an advantage. Other teams, they haven't played it nearly as much as we do."
Should the Hodags fare well at regionals, sectionals will take place at RiverEdge Golf Course in Marshfield, where the Hodags had their breakthrough round in the WIAA playoffs last spring.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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