Golf team competes at region, conference next

Three Custer High School girls golf team members will get to play in the state tournament next Monday and Tuesday, after qualifying for the tournament at the Region 4A golf meet last Thursday in Hot Springs.

Juniors Katie Starr and Taylor Kuhn, along with eighth grader Rachel Petik, all qualified for the meet, by virtue of placing in the top 55 percent of the golfer who competed at the meet.

“At the beginning of the year, our goal was to have two or three qualify for state,”â��said head coach Dale Schaffer. “Iâ��feel very good about it.”

Petik had the best score of the three, firing a score of 117 during the course of the 18-hole tournament. Starr finished with a 121, while Kuhn just made the state cut at 125. The fourth golfer to compete for Custer was Jessy Harbach, who finished at 133.

That three Wildcats made the state tournament is a testament to the team’s improvement. Most of the girls had not played competitive golf in the season, and horrible weather has postponed and cancelled many tournaments this season. The Wildcats were never even able to host a home meet because of the constant rain and snow this spring.

“We just haven’t had a great deal of time to practice,” Schaffer said. “Practicing inside is only good for so long. Practicing outside is key.”

Because they haven’t been able to practice outside much, the team has struggled with its short game, Schaffer said.

“You can’t develop any consistancy or touch around the greens unless you get outside and do it,” he said.

Schaffer said Kuhn has shown dramatic improvement this spring. She is one of the players who had not played competitively when the season started, but her competitiveness and solid work ethic has helped her become better than even Schaffer expected in her first year.

Petik recently shot a 46 on nine holes at Custer, which Schaffer said is the lowest round by a ’Cat golfer in quite some time. He added that Starr has been a consistant captain and leader for the team.

“She has been right in there every time. She is a good No. 1 player for us,”â��he said.

Because of family matters, Schaffer had to miss some time this spring, and Jason Petik has helped pick up the slack when Schaffer was gone, taking girls to meets and helping with practice when needed.

“He’s been a wonderful asset to the program,” Schaffer said.

Now that the sun is out, Schaffer said the team will continue to work on its short game for the upcoming conference tournament, which is today at Hart Ranch, and next week’s state tournament, which is also at Hart Ranch. The team travelled to Hart Ranch and played nine holes recently, before rain put an end to the practice. Although they weren’t able to get in a full round, the practice on a course they will be playing twice in a week was invaluable, Schaffer said.

“I was able to talk to the girls about where trouble is and how to avoid it,”â��he said.

Today’s conferene meet will be the final meet of the year for Harbach and seventh grader Kendall Ashmore, both of who will return to the team next year. Schaffer said he would like to see those two—and all the girls, for that matter—continue to play and improve this summer.

“I think they have done very well considering the time we have had to work together,” he said. “The state tournament for the three girls will be very good for them. It will set us up well as a team to do much better than we did this year.”