The De Soto High School boy’s golf team competed at Dub’s Dread Golf Course on April 6th, placing fourth out of 12 teams in the Piper High School tournament. The Wildcats combined score of 374, earned them their high placement in the tournament. 

“I placed fourth with a score of 86. All of the other guys did very well with their scores, which led to us scoring high out of all of the other teams,” junior Jack Bakerink said.

Although most of the time golf is an individual sport, competing with a team could be considered a challenge since each player’s score could affect the whole team. 

“Our biggest strength as a team is that we all genuinely like each other. We all have a good time when we are practicing,” Bakerink said. “I think that makes a huge difference.”

Preparing for games and tournaments with practice is very important for sports, playing every day to improve your individual skill for your team is something the golf players have to do constantly. 

“We practice almost every day in preparation for the tournaments,” Bakerink said “Practice ranges anywhere from playing nine holes, to practicing putting and chipping. We try to improve every aspect of our game every day.” 

Starting self-improvement by yourself and holding yourself accountable is a trait that some athletes lack, however all of the golfers want to improve. 

“All of the players have been practicing super hard and really focusing on their weaknesses during team practice and individually,” junior Logan Baechle said

Working around the struggles of COVID-19 protocol can be very challenging at times, but for golf, not much of their routine has changed. 

“The changes really haven’t been that big of a deal, just because we all really want to play golf,” Baechle said. “No matter what COVID does we’re still going to push through it and try to figure out a way to overcome it.” 

Having a strong team bond is something that is not only a good thing to have but also helps the players play better and help them overcome obstacles that their peers could help with.

“The main strengths of the De Soto golf team are the friendships that we have and the talent on the team,” Baechle said. “There are a lot of kids that didn’t do great their first or second year, but are now competing at the highest level.”