While many regard golf as an individual sport, when playing on a high school team, the scores are combined, leading to an element of teamwork and camaraderie.
“Teamwork is still very important in the game of golf, due to its combined score to win matches. Your personal score matters greatly in the bigger picture due to how close you can be to winning or losing by one stroke,” said freshman Carter VanWinkle.
Since there is such an element of teamwork, communication is important, because you need to help each other and lead the team to be the best it can be.
“Communication is important because at the end of the day, it is a team sport. If you know someone isn’t playing well that day, you can be talking to the coach and saying ‘we need you to do this’ so you can keep your team up and get you back onto the leaderboard,” said junior Aiden Allen.
Since the team has to build each other up to get the best scores possible, there needs to be a strong bond between the players on and off the course. This means that they have to work outside of practice to make a strong team connection.
“You have to hang out outside of the team in order to get to know each other well. Every week we eat dinner as a team. We go out on our off days and go play together to try to build that relationship,” said Allen.
Golf is such a universal sport, that it does a great job bringing all kinds of people together. Creating these relationships is a major part of what golfing is all about.
“[My favorite part of golf is] the community. Not only have I found a second family with the golf team, I have met people all over the state I would never had known if it wasn’t for golf,” said senior Gabe Lamb.
Another important aspect of the team relationship is the bond between the upper and underclassmen. For a team that is made up primarily of upperclassmen, there is a responsibility that comes with making sure the newer players feel welcome on the team.
“I will work one on one with the underclassmen and just tell them everything I know about the game of golf. I also help them with their swing mechanics,” said senior Cody Coleman.
For the seniors, this type of mentorship is very important considering they are leaving the team in the hands of the juniors in just a few weeks. This gives a whole new level of responsibility to the current juniors on the team.
“We [next year’s co-captains] also just have to get control of the freshman and sophomore. They’re young, and they don’t really know the ropes yet, but we’re trying to lead them and get them better prepared for when they’re our age,” said Allen.
Having such a strong connection with the team is a factor that majorly improves gameplay. Having a team where players enjoy being together makes winning feel much more special.
“The feeling of winning a tournament is a feeling that I can’t explain. It just feels like everything in the world is right for a few moments,” said Coleman.
That feeling of victory is the ultimate goal every season. The FC boy’s gold team placed thirteenth in the state last year and believe they have what it takes to bring a championship home to FC this season.
“…as a team, I really think we can get to state. We’re a lot better this year, and more experienced,” said Allen.
Despite lofty goals for the end of the season, at the end of the round, it is not not what you shot, it is who you shot it with. That is why the team is making sure everyone is playing to the best of their ability, so everyone can have a taste of postseason golf.
“My goal is definitely to win state, but also to make sure that everyone on the team has a good year. I want all of us there at the end, not just me,” said Coleman.
Having a positive mindset and team atmosphere is what makes a team successful, and the FC boys golf team continually works to improve their game at every practice. Come out and support them at the Hoosier Hills Conference match this afternoon!