By Greg Jaklewicz | Wylie ISD Sports Writer
The Wylie boys golf team is three tournaments into their fall schedule and coach Mike Campbell is liking what he sees.
This is the time of athletic year to prepare for spring, when UIL competition will be held.
The Bulldogs most recently played in the West Texas Classic in Odessa. There, Wylie took on 23 other teams and came out on top. That included scoring lower than Highland Park.
HP took second and third at the state tournament last spring, the A team besting the B team by 16 shots, with both finishing behind Prosper Walnut Grove. The A team was just one shot from tying Walnut Grove.
“We beat them by one shot. That was a biiiiiiig win for us,” Campbell said, emphasizing big. “I am really proud of this group because we have four rookies.”
Before that, Wylie was third at the Red Raider Classic on two Lubbock courses.
Only junior Jack Steadman returns for last year’s team that qualified for the state tourney and finished eighth. The top five at this point are three juniors - Austin Beard and Carson Beal are the other two - and two freshmen - Landry Reed and Noah Potter.
It was Potter who carded a 2-under 73-69-142 to win individual honors at Odessa. Steadman was 69-75-144 for third place. Reed was consistent with a 75-75-150 for the next best Wylie scorecard.
Campbell was not surprised by his two players’ performance.
“They put it all together, and we were paired with Highland Park and it didn’t phase them a bit,” the coach said. “They handled things really well.
“It was a big deal to be paired with (HP) and given a chance to compete with them. To step up and get them this time was quite an accomplishment.”
He said the players’ experience in junior golf away from WHS golf paid off.
“They played like veterans,” Campbell said. “They handled the situation well and came out with a win.”
Adjusting to the high school routine
What is the difference between school golf and offseason tourneys?
Campbell said it's the chaos. First, there is travel with the team and coach. A school event brings more golfers to the course at the same time. They vie for range and putting time and it’s a shotgun start rather than assigned team times.
There’s a routine to, say, summer golf that is not as easy to duplicate at school tourney with hundreds of players at the golf course.
“The main thing is getting used to the process,” Campbell said. The chaos could distract even the best golfers.
Players have to manage the mental magnitude of the event vs. the relative quiet and organization of a summer tourney.
“A lot of them compete all summer long. They are just lacking the high school varsity team experience,” Campbell said.
Steadman early on helped the other players with the routine, he said.
“But at the last tournament, I saw everyone coming into their own comfort zone.”
There is one other difference - golfers are playing for their team, not just themselves. That could affect nerves and even shot selection. Is hitting short less of a risk than trying to make the highlight reel shot?
“You’ve got four other guys and the coach counting on you,” he said.“I always tell them, if you give 100 percent on every single shot, everything’s going to work out OK. And they do that.”
Campbell’s strategy is playing the percentages.
“At our level, if bogey is the worst score you’re going to make, you’re going to be OK,” he said. “It’s when you make those doubles and triples that the score goes up fast.”
That can take a team out of contention.
“At their age, that can be difficult. Everyone wants to pull off the great shot like they see on TV. They’re learning. Sometimes, there is a shot that isn’t so risky, but sometimes you’ve just got to chip it out into the fairway.”
Bulldogs get after it
Does Wylie, as a team, have a strength?
“I think it’s their competitiveness. When they get out there and play, I’ve seen some have bad holes but they fight back every time. They don’t let one bad hole ruin the whole round,” Campbell said.
“I have some who hit it a really long way, I have some who have a really good short game. The one common denominator is their competitiveness.”
Wylie’s play this fall is exciting the coach, for sure, and “it’s building their confidence”
The Bulldogs currently are ranked No. 9 in the state, so there is work to do. Yet, Highland Park was No. 2 going into the Odessa tourney, so the gap is not big.
The fall season winds up Friday, weather permitting, with the Pirate Invitational on the Decordova Bend and Harbor Lakes courses in Granbury.