High school golfers swing into action

As the fall golf season gets ready to tee off, the coaches of our southern Denton County schools have different expectations and objectives for their teams.

One thing is for certain, however, and that is that Argyle, Liberty Christian, Guyer, Flower Mound and Marcus should all be competitive on the links this season, and a few could be among the state’s elite.

Flower Mound coach Dave Self said that 2012-2013 promises to be a good year for the Jaguar golf teams and said the fall season, for him, is shaping up pretty well.

“It’s still pretty early, but we’ve got some good players coming back from last year,” Self said. “It’s looking pretty decent. We’ve got a few holes to fill in yet. Last year, we finished third in district as a team, but we’ve got a new district this year, so who knows.”

Self said he does believe that realignment worked out well for Flower Mound.

“We are now a six team district as opposed to eight,” Self said. “I have a good feeling about it.”

Self said his stronger returners include Nathan Gray, Bryant Evans and Wes Hunt on the boys side, and on the girls side Fran Rodriguez and Callie Morris should lead the way.

Self said the goal for the fall is essentially to get his players ready for the spring season.

“The objective is to try to find a nucleus of players that are going to compete in the spring,” Self said.

Hunt qualified for region last year for Flower Mound on the boys side.

Over at Guyer High School, coach Roddy Adams said he believes his team is poised for a strong season in 2012-2013, and said he thinks the fall is important to get off to a good start.

“I’ve got a really good player named Kyle Hodges,” Adams said. “He’s played a lot of summer tournaments and even been in the 60’s a few times. He will be a senior and should do real well this fall.

“On the girls side, I’ve got two seniors coming back in Jessica Moody and Rachel Steakley. I’ve also a good junior player in Allison Flack, and Piper Gleadhill is a sophomore I’ve got coming back, so the girls should be pretty good. I expect them to shoot about 350 in every tournament.”

Adams said he also expects good seasons from Garrett Underwood and Brady Hanley and a couple of other younger players.

“I’ve got a couple of freshman out of Lantana that I’m looking forward to seeing play, and they are Connor Ross and Alec Gray,” Adams said.

The goal for the fall season, said Adams, is to get as much experience as possible.

“We want to figure out where the cream is during the fall,” Adams said. “What I mean by that is which players are going to rise the top for the spring season. All of the tournaments allow us to see who those players are.”

For the Argyle golf team, 2012-2013 is an opportunity to continue upon the success it enjoyed last season, when the boys side made a trip to the state tournament.

The boys shot a 309-317 for a two day total of 626, good enough for fourth place in the state.

The Argyle boys and girls teams both won district championships, and Blake Lyle won an individual championship at district, while Hunter Thompson finished second.

The Liberty Christian golf teams are also gearing up for the 2012-2013 campaign, and coach Larry Frank said he feels pretty good about his team, as well.

“This is the time we go back to work,” Frank said. “I didn’t have any starting seniors graduate last year, so we’ve got some experience there. We’ve got all of our returning starters coming back on the boys side, and all but two girls coming back.”

Liberty Christian finished fourth in region on the girls side last year, and for the first time in Frank’s 15-year tenure as golf coach at Liberty, missed qualifying for the state tournament as a team on the boys side.

“We missed it by two strokes, and just didn’t play well,” Frank said. “But, Javier Manrique came in third in the state. He also won the Fort Worth Junior Classic about a month ago.”

Connor Hutcherson, Mason Shanahan, True Matthews and Evan York are all returning on the boys side, as well.

On the girls side, Clara Burr-Lonnon, Brooke Hadley and Brooke Morrissy are all returners from last year’s team and should provide leadership to this year’s squad.

“Last year, we had six teams, so we try to use the fall to determine who our varsity teams are going to be,” Frank said. “The fall is not our competitive season, but it is a great time to get some experience for all of the boys and girls.”

Coach Kerry Gabel could not be reached for comment regarding the Marcus golf program.