From the beginning of the harsh, non-forgiving humidity of the August atmosphere, the JV girls golf team has pushed through their hardships and taken every chance to prove themselves worthy of reaching the lowest scores.
Forest Hills Northern 8/18
The start of the girls’ season began at rival Forest Hills Northern, and was an interesting match-up to say the least.
The beginning of the girls’ season couldn’t have been more anticipated. First, the team was playing an in-district opponent, which couldn’t sound any better. The golfers began their success on the first two holes, hitting strong drives and recording low scores on their score cards. Nothing could be said about their performance when they reached the next few holes, having already a lead on the Huskies.
When the Rangers carried their success to the finishing holes, mental strength prevailed. The golfers gained every bit of patience to make those perfect shots in order to secure the matches. In the end, that focus paid off for them, finishing 186-204 to put the Huskies in their place. The FHC victory could only define them as the queens of the course of Forest Hills.
Forest Hills Eastern 10/1
The team had its final test of the season as the golfers traveled to Forest Hills Eastern’s home course at Arrowhead Golf Course in Lowell, MI.
Prior to stepping onto the course for the final time that season, Scarlett Dombrowski thought about what it was going to take to achieve a team win that day. “I’m going to try to focus and clear my mind when I step up onto the tee, and I’m not going to swing too hard.” Additionally, she added, “The course matters a lot because if it’s too wet, it’s easy to chunk balls. You have to strategize to play right because it’s likely that not everything is gonna go to plan.”
This course proved to be a test of true team spirit, strengths, and weaknesses. The team began its warm-ups at hole one with parents cheering them on. Fully motivated for a win, the ladies drove their tee shots off of the tee, knowing that they would not have the luxury of easy competition. Leading the way off of the tee box included golfers Hailey Fry, Maime Graceffa and Julia Knoester. Their clean drives foreshadowed a good connection to the course and its remaining holes and strong swings for the day.
Continuing from their excellent starts to the day, this momentum proved to stick around for their upcoming holes. A group consisting of Scarlett Dombrowski and her fellow teammates put on the pressure by using their short game with nice chips into hole four. Hole five seemed to become the team’s advantage as the Ranger golfers continued to hit what they call “bomb drives” which led to big putts to put Eastern far behind in points.
This came as no surprise as Central cleared up the score and came away winners at Arrowhead. Afterwards, head coach Michael Reese stated, “The team’s strength today was their bomb drives coming off the tee.”
When asked to look back on the hard work that was put into her season, Hailey Fry responded, “I have been working towards having a stronger short game, which has been progressing as the matches continue.”
However, golf isn’t always about the physical aspects of the game. When asked to comment about the mental side, Jillian Gordon responded, “Having a good strategy for me consists of creating a good mindset for me and my teammates while also staying positive.”
Already achieving so much and being so little recognized, the Rangers JV golf team seemed to leave a name on the course for themselves. They are already planning on ranking even higher next year.
