CCHS Golf Season is in Full Bloom

With the spring season in full swing, the CCHS men’s golf team is gearing up for a big season. The team is coming off of a sixth place finish in the state tournament last year due to several injuries among players that held the team back from their fullest potential. This year’s team has a bright season ahead of them. 

The team is led by seniors Will Hartman and Will Guthrie. Hartman is one of the best youth golfers in the country and is committed to Vanderbilt University. He has played in world championships for youth players and has represented the United States in the junior Ryder Cup. Will Guthrie is another NCAA DI commit who is headed to University of Georgia to play. 

Sophomore Bennett Cooper also stated that this year’s team has “much more depth than last year’s,” and is ready to take the state by storm. With the season starting up, the golf team has set some goals. Bennett said that the main goal of the team is to “improve their state ranking throughout the year, and to come out on top at the end of the year.” In order to do this, the team has to fill the gaps left by last year’s seniors, but Bennett is not worried about that, stating that they have “lots of young talent” with freshmen Patrick Bloch and James Hoefling. They also have other sophomores and juniors with experience who are ready to “step up and perform.” 

When asked what he is looking forward to most this year, Bennett said that he is very excited to play at Pinehurst #2, the prestigious course where the state tournament will be held. Pinehurst #2 is one of the 11 courses at the Pinehurst Golf Resort. Pinehurst #2 is one of the most famous golf courses in the world, and hosted the most recent U.S. Open Tournament. Pinehurst #2 is known as one of the most challenging golf courses in the world and is not for the average golfer. Bennett stated that it is one of his favorite courses, though it is frustrating in its difficulty. 

This year’s team has a chance to go all the way. They are led by some of the best senior golfers in the country, who have a “strong desire to win,” according to Bennett. Bennett is gearing up to learn as much as he can before they leave, and the team is yet again in new hands. He stated that the team are all “looking forward to another fun year,” and have hopes to improve from last year, but everybody also has the goal of improving individually too. 

“I have high expectations for this year,” Head Coach Mr. Panther said. “We have two excellent seniors in Will Hartman and Will Guthrie that I expect to be at or below par in every match. I expect junior Trevor Proicou to also be a key contributor.” When asked about his goals for the team, Coach Panther responded, “We have a number of younger players that I need to step up and contribute. If that happens I believe we can win conference and regionals and compete for a state title once again.”