Varsity golf to see new faces in 2023

While the 2023 Colby Hornets golf team is smaller than it has been in the past, there are still aspirations of meeting or exceeding last season’s successes. With a large number of seniors graduating from last season’s varsity squad, this year’s team will see a number of 2022 JV members stepping up to the varsity level for the first time.

Different challenges can come with a smaller team, but there are some additional benefits that head coach Brandon Butkus has found in the early weeks of practice.

“This year, with the numbers that we have, it is nice to kind of be on an individual basis,” Butkus said. “It can be a little more driven because they are all getting the level of what I’m teaching to the more experienced golfers.”

The ability to coach on a more personal level, as well as combining the practices of the JV and varsity squads, has had a positive effect on the development of the team’s younger members looking to make the jump to varsity meets. And while some of the focus is certainly on getting them up to speed, the Hornets won’t be without the services of a more veteran player.

Senior Kaden Wiese will be returning as a regular from last year’s varsity squad and is positioned as the team’s top option. He was one stroke away from making it to the 2022 sectionals and he will be aiming to advance this season.

“He’s the forerunner on this team in terms of having the mentality and the athleticism to achieve even better results this year,” Butkus said of his senior leader.

Fellow seniors Tucker Brost and Zander Engel spent most of their time on last year’s JV squad but have already shown that they will be looking to put in the time and dedication towards becoming regular varsity players. Jeremiah Bridger and John Kaiser will also be returning players that will be making their varsity debuts this season and Butkus is excited to see the contributions they can make “Tucker is taking a leap. This year he seems to have a whole different drive, so we are looking to see him perform well,” Butkus said. “Zander was a JV player last year, but we are looking to push him up and it looks like he wants to take that next step as well.”

“John has shown good progress. His fundamentals are good and his shot shape, now that we’ve been able to get outside, is also right there,” Butkus continued. “Jeremiah started golf last year and was new to the sport. I see a different kid in him this year; he seems more confident” Rounding out the squad will be newcomers Carter Hill and Eli Schmitt.

The difference between junior varsity and varsity competitions is not insignificant, with fewer opportunities for corrections and coaching moments during the varsity meets. It’s a challenge that the team is preparing for and will have to contend with early as they adjust to the more competitive nature of the matches.

“We’re asking seven guys to play five of the top spots, some of which have never played in that kind of match before,” Butkus said. “The main difference between the JV and varsity level match is that the varsity level matches are stricter. And we are asking some of these guys just to go straight from JV to varsity, so there will be a little bit of a learning curve early on in the season, but I hope that we can progress and succeed.”

The Hornets will also have to contend with being bumped up to Division 2 for this year’s WIAA postseason. This means they will have to go up against larger schools in their regionals, as well as any further competition they may reach, than they have had to in the past.

This is something that other Colby sports teams, like this year’s track and field teams and the boys basketball team, have had to deal with as well.

“There’s been a lot of strong competition just in our conference,” Butkus said, “and I only see Division 2 being stronger. So it’s going to be different. We are so used to playing our regional in Marathon, but it’s obviously not going to be there this year. So it’s new courses to learn, some of which these kids have never played. We won’t be able to go over and practice on the weekend like we did [at Marathon].”

Despite the challenges, Butkus is confident in his team and they have kept the bar high. After having one player go to sectionals, one miss sectionals by one stroke, he stated that their goal is to get two players to sectionals as individuals this year, though getting there as a team, while noted as potentially difficult, is a goal as well.

The team’s focus has always been primarily on improvement and teaching kids a game that they can play for the rest of their lives and that hasn’t changed this season. In fact, there are reasons to believe that, given the smaller size of the team that allows for more individual instruction, this is an even more achievable goal than in years’ past.

Because snow has resulted in their first two matches being canceled, the first opportunity the Hornets will have towards reaching those goals is currently at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Cadott. Their match is scheduled for Thursday, April 27th with a start time of 3:00 p.m.