Oct. 9—Despite sporting one of the younger rosters in the region, Josh Swallows had his Clarkrange High School Buffaloes firing on all cylinders at the region golf tournament last week.
CHS attacked the Southern Hills Golf Course in Baxter, finishing in the middle of the pack with a team score of 405.
“We’re playing a game that you can’t expect the kids to be on every time,” Swallows said after the tournament. “I just told my kids to try and be one shot better every time they play. You have to put it in their heads that they can do it.”
Bryton Swallows led Clarkrange with an 89 over 18 holes. Matthew Norris was next with a 99. Brady Sitton fired a 103, while Luke Thompson rounded things out with a 114.
Other players on the team include: Michael Howard, Noah Gunter and Landon Perry.
“We had one kid, Bryton Swallows, that missed the state tournament by two shots,” coach Swallows said. “Brady Sitton was probably our most improved golfer on the team.”
The Southern Hills course didn’t seem to have a big role in the tournament, according to coach Swallows. He said rain from the previous week may have slowed the greens down, but he said when golfers made the turn in the afternoon, the greens had dried out and were a little faster.
“Bryton has played a lot of golf this year,” the coach said. “He missed qualifying for state by two shots, so he left some shots on the course.
“He knows he did and that is what upset him the most. On the last hole, he double-bogeyed and if he had made par, he would have been going to the state.”
Coach Swallows said a big factor in the tournament result was also the fact the tournament was 18 holes, when most regular season golf matches are nine holes.
“We usually only play nine holes during the regular season. So, playing 18 holes in the region, considering, I think they’re doing well,” coach Swallows said. “I don’t know if it was pressure.”
The coach said sometimes he has to remind his players they’re not competing against the player in their foursome, they’re actually competing against their own score.
Molly Gunter was Clarkrange’s only member on the girls roster. Her score was not available.
“We have some good players coming back, so we could have a good season next year,” coach Swallows said. “We’ve got a couple of freshmen playing for us.
“I would liked to have made it to state, but I had a lot of fun with this team. They worked hard, and I am really proud of them.”
