Team preview: RHS boys’ golf

The Rhinelander High School golf team will tee it up for real beginning this coming Monday, and while the Hodags have yet to get outside due to some pesky winter weather, coach Adam Schmidt said he has confidence his team can perform well this season, despite inconsistency last spring.

The Hodags struggled to get four golfers playing well on the same day, especially during the second half of the season. Rhinelander faded to fifth in the Great Northern Conference standings as a result and then wound up fifth at WIAA regionals, missing a playoff for the fourth and final sectional qualifying spot by a single stroke. 

Rhinelander returns three starters from that squad and Schmidt said he believes the squad still has a chance to perform well within the GNC, as long as it plays within itself and avoids making costly mistakes. 

“If we just stick to our game, we play our game and we can get the guys playing smart, keep the ball in play, they’re gonna score,” he said. “They’re all good golfers. They’re going to score. I believe, in them. We’ve worked with them for a lot of years. Keep the ball in play, play their game, and I think we’ll definitely see success.”

On paper, the Hodags lose their two strongest golfers from a season ago, graduating Sam Schoppe and Brody Kowieski. Schoppe was a two-time sectional qualifier, and made it all the way to the WIAA state tournament as a sophomore in 2023. He finished 10th in the final GNC standings a season ago

Kowieski, an individual sectional qualifier in 2024, finished 18th in the conference standings last year. 

The two had the best scoring averages on the team last year — Schoppe averaged 81.8 strokes per round while Kowieski averaged 84.5.

    In this May 12, 2025 file photo, Rhinelander’s Blake Petroff hits his tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole at Rhinelander Country Club during a GNC golf tournament round. Petroff, a senior, finished 21st in the GNC standing and had an 85.3 scoring average last season. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The remainder of the starting lineup is back. That includes sophomore Grant Gremban and Senior Blake Petroff. They finished 20th and 21st in the GNC standings, respectively last year. Gremban averaged 85.1 strokes per round as a freshman with Petroff right behind him at 85.3. Also returning are juniors Hank Kowieski and Chase West. Hank Kowieski saw the majority of the varsity starts between the two, averaging 86.7 strokes per round. West split time between the varsity and JV squads last year —averaging 88.8 on varsity.

“It’s exciting to see the four varsity guys coming back,” Schmidt said. “Their swings have improved over the summer, all of them have gotten better. They’ve all gotten bigger, stronger. Their swings are looking good, so ... things are looking good this year.” 

The Hodags have 13 golfers — including four freshmen — on the roster this season, and the chase is on to see which of the remaining golfers will nab the fifth spot in the varsity lineup. A couple of candidates include senior Dylan Shefveland and junior Drake Nelson. Both averaged 45.7 strokes per nine holes in JV play last year.

Schmidt said the two 36-hole tournaments the Hodags will play in Wisconsin Dells next week will go along way to solidifying the varsity lineup, but that No. 5 role will be crucial to provide an insurance policy if any of the varsity incumbents are having an off day. 

“We need the Nos. 4 and 5, but really we need our, we need our guys that are coming back. We need those four guys to play good,” Schmidt said. “And then the No. 5, you know, the No. 5 just has to put it together, so that when one of those guys has a bad round, we can count on a No. 5. That’s really what we’re looking for.”

Rhinelander doubled up on invites in the Dells this year. Thirty-two teams are scheduled to take part in a two-day event at Trappers Turn April 13-14. Rhinelander will be back in the Dells for the GNC Open, which will include five conference schools, plus seven others April 16-17 at Wild Rock G.C.

It’s part of a busy, early season stretch for the Hodags, who are slated to have another stretch where they play four rounds in four days at the end of this month. Trips to Somerset and Hudson April 29 and 30 will be bookended by GNC matches at Inshalla Country Club in Tomahawk April 28 and Northwood Golf Club in Rhinelander May 1.

“We have 15 matches, with one Saturday match. So that’s the most matches that we can play,” Schmidt said. “A couple of those are two-day events that count as one. So we’re playing a lot of golf this year … The good thing is we’re playing a lot of matches south.” 

The conference season is scheduled to open April 24, hosted by the league’s newest member, Merrill. The Bluejays figure to be a solid addition to the GNC after they finished sixth at regionals, six strokes behind Rhinelander, last spring. Like the Hodags, Merrill graduated its Nos. 1 and 2 players from its varsity lineup.  

“That’s gonna be different. I don’t really know, I don’t really know. I guess I never really paid attention to him last year, but you know, that’ll be a little different. We get another leg for conference, so that’s good,” Schmidt said of Merrill’s addition. 

On paper, Lakeland appears to be the favorite to go after an eighth consecutive Great Northern Conference title. Though the T-Birds graduated GNC player of the year Jeremy Hensen, the rest of their starting lineup is back — including seniors Talan Pockat and Davis Kock, who were fifth and sixth in the final conference standings last year. 

Mosinee, which also brings back four starters — including conference first-teamers Alex Steppke and Braiden Hoehn — should be in the hunt as well. 

Schmidt said he’d like to think his team could vie for the top half of the conference standings agin this year, but it all depends on who plays well round in and round out. 

“In the end, it’s golf. So, you know, we could, ‘oh, we’re going to be the best team’ and then somebody can go and squeeze out (a great round). It just is what it is on any given day.”

Rhinelander is still in Division 1 for WIAA postseason play and will take part in a nine-team regional at Wausau Country Club either the Tuesday or Wednesday after Memorial Day. The six schools in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, plus Lakeland and Merrill from the GNC, will join the Hodags at the tournament. Lakeland moved back to Division 1 via the WIAA performance factor after qualifying for state a season ago and winning the state title in Division 2 in 2024.

In addition to its home conference match, the Hodags will also hold their annual invite May 21 at Northwood. Seven other schools are scheduled to attend.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].

TEAM SCHEDULE

Date    Event    Time

4/13    Wisconsin Dells Invite    8 a.m.

4/14    Wisconsin Dells Invite    8 a.m.

4/16    GNC Invite at Wisconsin Dells    9 a.m.

4/17    GNC Invite at Wisconsin Dells    9 a.m.

4/24    at Merrill*    2 p.m.

4/28    at Tomahawk*    3 p.m.

4/29    Somerset Invite    9 a.m.

4/30    Hudson Invite    9 a.m.

5/1    RHINELANDER*    3 p.m.

5/5    at Antigo*    3 p.m.

5/8    at Northland Pines*    3 p.m.

5/9    Merrill Invite    8 a.m.

5/11    at Medford*    3 p.m.

5/14    at Lakeland*    3 p.m.

5/15    St. Germain Invite    Noon

5/18    at Mosinee*    2 p.m.

5/21    HODAG INVITE    8:30 a.m.

5/22    Laona/Wabeno Invite    9 a.m.

5/26 or 27    WIAA Regionals at Wausau CC    TBA

6/2 or 3    WIAA Sectionals at RiverEdge GC    TBA

* Conference matches | HOME MATCHES IN CAPS