Colby golf welcomes vets and newcomers
New faces are eager to usher in the future
The future of Colby golf is in good hands. Not only are the Hornets returning a seasoned coach in Brandon Butkus, there’s also experienced golfers coming back, and plenty of new faces that will keep the program humming along in 2021 and beyond.
This new blood comes in the form of multiple underclassmen, and they’ll be careful to pay attention to what Jaden Underwood has to say. Underwood is the lone four year golfer on the team, and he expects to take a leadership position this year. His multiple years of varsity experience on the links will be invaluable.
“Yeah, for sure, I feel a little more pressure,” Underwood says about being one of two seniors on the team.
Jaden accepts his role as a leader, and he cautions his teammates not to become too obsessed with results.
“I just want them to develop a love of the game,” Underwood says. “I’d like to help grow the program and hopefully finish in the top three for team, and then see what happens.”
There’s more than new golfers on the 2021 edition of Colby Hornets golf. Ben Bartelt will be this year’s JV coach. 2020 would have been Bartelt’s first year as JV coach, and after waiting a full year, he’s eager to get started.
“Since I’m a brand new JV golf coach I’m going to be coming up with these kids. So I’m hoping we have a bond because it’s going to be my first year and their first year. I was supposed to do it last year, and then it got stolen away from me. So I’m pumped about it.”
With just two seniors on the team, there will be new faces on varsity, with last year’s sophomores now shouldering more of the workload as juniors. That’s what makes the WIAA’s 15 contact days so crucial.
“I have to try and get as much out of them as I can,” Butkus says about the contact days. “So that’s technique, that’s fundamentals, that’s rules. I have to try and get as much as I can in the time that I have, being that our season this year is so compacted.”
Outside of Underwood returning for another year is Tony Derrico, Maggie Sobek and Xavier Nutter. Each golfer has qualities that will help the Hornets get back to form.
“Jaden has been with the program for four years now. We look for him for some leadership. Tony, he’s the life of the team there, but he’s definitely involved and loves the game,” Butkus says. “Maggie is back again, and she’s got a good, strong idea about how the game is played.”
Among the newcomers, Butkus feels Carson Rau is one to watch.
“He looks like he’s got a swing and has the rules and background down from his brothers being on the team through high school. So we have some leadership and kids coming in with some experience.”
The gap year still weighs heavily on the program, and many Colby golfers think about what might have in 2020.
“I had high hopes for the team last year,” Underwood. “We had a pretty good team coming back, so this year we got a little more work to do.”
Bartelt also thinks about what might have been last year, and says that not only did his seniors miss out on the chance to earn all-conference accolades, but this year’s juniors lost the chance to improve and get better.
“One of the biggest hurdles they’re going to have to overcome is going to be is just the cool down from last year,” Bartelt says about the work ahead of him.
“We have a lot of fresh faces this year, a lot of people joining golf for the first time. There’s a couple kids who have not picked up a club in their lives. So it’s just to get them to know the basics, but that’s what JV is all about.”
Now that they are upperclassmen, they’ll be tasked with a greater burden to succeed and improve. Not having a sophomore year to build on could prove a big stumbling block in the early weeks of competition.
“The biggest hurdle to overcome, when it comes to not having a season, is honestly . . . the fact that we had a whole year of not having kids in the program.,” Butkus says about the lack of a season last year.
“We lost seniors from previous years that had the chance to succeed, and others missed the chance to grow and improve. So I would say that was the biggest loss from last year.”
That’s where a coach like Butkus comes in. Brandon has been a coach with the program for eleven years now. He knows his golfers strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. And it doesn’t hurt that Colby is adding new equipment to their training regime.
“I would say just being through every year and seeing what we need to improve on, and being around the kids and seeing what they respond to the best, that really helps a lot. At this point it’s all about hitting as much solid shots as we can, as early as we can, and then just knowing what techniques they respond to the best.”
Butkus, like Underwood, doesn’t want his golfers to focus too much with the product on the field.
“We have a couple from last year that did golf through the summer here and there, but we have a lot of new kids, and a lot of kids that haven’t even swung a club. So, for them, it’s key for us to get in some early season practice.”
He knows he has a young team, and expecting a conference title is a bit unrealistic at this point. He’s more concerned with growing the program and creating a positive atmosphere.
“A successful season is making sure the kids are happy with their game. I don’t ever come in wanting to have a goal of winning a championship. It’s all about making sure the kids are happy with their game, and that at the end of the season they want to continue this sport.”
That’s not to say there aren’t goals that Butkus wants his golfers to hit. At the start of each year Butkus creates a list of short term and long term goals for each individual golfer to achieve.
“We pull that up halfway through the season, and if they’re meeting their goals, that’s a win for me.”
There will still be some changes to this season, Butkus says, with the spread of COVID-19 still a concern. But he, along with the rest of the coaches in the Cloverbelt Conference want to bring back some sense of normalcy.
“It’s a great feeling being back. That’s our first thing, being able to try to get back to some normalcy, that’s a great feeling, and great for the kids.”
Yes, there will still be some masks worn by golfers, and Colby and the Cloverbelt Conference will abide by WIAA rules, and try to keep any mingling from happening.
There will be some changes in 2021, but at least Colby will be on the green come the first match of the 2021 season. The Hornets could not be happier.
“I think the biggest thing the kids are looking forward is just to get out there,” Bartelt says. “Golf is all about fun, being outside. You get to breathe in the fresh air, get to work on that tan, and play a lifelong sport. It doesn’t much better than that.”
