Bill Lingua's first season at the helm of the PATTONVILLE golf team couldn't have gone much better. The Pirates won the SNC regular-season crown and posted a 13-2 record overall.
Lingua could see a repeat of that in 2011, too. The Pirates return nearly everybody from that team including junior Jake Masek and senior Rick Barry, who shoot in the low 40s.
"They flip flop back and forth (as medalists)," said Lingua. "They're looking really good right now."
Sophomore Shawn Treat is another guy Lingua expects some solid play from this spring.
"His game has really improved," said Lingua of Treat. "He's gotten bigger and a lot stronger. That's helped him pick up some distance on his tee shot."
Lingua's got five other golfers who averaged in the middle 40s. Included in that group are juniors Logan Harnetz, Alex Maeirhoffer, Marc Prather and Danny Kranz and senior Joe Graff.
"I'm pretty well pleased with the way the scores are coming in right now," Lingua said. "I'm optimistic. Hopefully we can repeat as conference champions. We have a very good opportunity to do so."
Lingua had 18 boys try out, which made him happy.
"That's the most we've ever had come out," he said. "For us that's a good number."
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First-year HAZELWOOD WEST coach Scott Jones didn't seek out any information about how the Wildcats did last season.
"I didn't want to have any preconceived notions," he said.
That approach so far has worked just fine. The Wildcats were off to a 3-0 start through last Thursday with wins over Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East and McCluer North.
The Wildcats have been buoyed by the return of a number of golfers from last year's team including senior Todd Garland, who is averaging 41 strokes and has been the team medalist in each of the three matches.
"It's been difficult conditions so his 41 is probably a little better than a 41," said Jones. "We've been playing on aerated greens, and it's been a little wet and windy."
The Wildcats have also been helped by the presence of junior newcomer Alex Spurgetis, who is shooting in the low 40s despite not having played competitively before.
"He's got the capability of going to the high 30s pretty soon," said Jones of Spurgetis. "He's played a lot but this is the first year he's competed in high school golf."
Hazelwood West is also getting good play from juniors Cameron May and Louis Yn, sophomore Keith Garland and senior Brian Zurosky.
"We've got as good a shot as anybody else in the conference to win overall as well as the tournament," said Jones.
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MCCLUER NORTH likely would have won a few more matches if Coach Jim Schottmueller had convinced the Schulz brothers not to play pickup basketball.
Josh Schulz got hurt playing hoops last spring. The Stars dropped three of their last four matches with Schulz out of the lineup and that poor finish cost the Stars, who had been red hot up until that point, a Suburban North Conference championship.
Schulz's little brother, sophomore Zach, turned an ankle playing basketball, too, recently and hasn't been able to play golf which could have been the diffence when McCluer North fell by six strokes to Hazelwood West last Wednesday in its season opener.
Schottmueller said he wasn't going to ask his golfers to stop doing other sports that might hinder the progress of the golf team, though.
"I don't care," he said. "They're going to do it anyway."
When Schulz does get back in the lineup, he'll lead a Stars team that won the league tournament last year. Schulz averages around 41 strokes per nine holes and the other two top seven guys back – seniors Mike Wells and Tyler Brown – averaged in middle 40s.
Other golfers pencilled into the top seven right now include sophomore Willnard Anderson, freshmen Jeremy House and Andre Francis and senior Tyler Overstreet.
"I'm hoping we'll get better as the season goes along," said Schottmueller. "It was just the opposite last year."
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HAZELWOOD CENTRAL will find out what life will be without Stephen White this year. It's likely to not be as good since he won the Suburban North Conference tournament title the past two years and last year won the district title.
"That's obviously a huge hole that can never be filled," said Hawks coach Brian White.
The guy who will come the closest to doing that, however, will be senior Gerald Harsley who averages in the high 30s. He should vie for top honors at the SNC tournament this spring.
"He was struggling with his game last year," said White of Harsley. "He's straightened it out this year. His game is a lot better than it was last year. He'll be the top golfer on the team this year."
Others who White is hoping can help the Hawks come close to last year's 11-3 record include seniors Cedric Portis, Donovan Bates and Glenn Norwood, junior Isaiah Lewis and sophomores Harry Carr and Brandon Campbell.
The Hawks beat Hazelwood East but lost to Hazelwood West by 16 strokes in a tri-meet last week.
"We did not play to the level we're capable of," said White. "When we play to the level we're capable of we can play with anybody in our conference."
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TRINITY had a sub-.500 season in 2010 and lost its first three matches this season, but Coach Dan Reardon believes brighter days are dead ahead.
“We’re young, but I think we’ll be good young eventually,” he said. “The heart of the team is four freshmen and a sophomore.”
Tenth grader Max Kelly has been the team’s best golfer thus far. He averaged in the low to middle 40s.
“On paper, he comes back with a lot of anticipation of building on what he did as a freshman,” said Reardon of Kelly, who has been the medalist or co-medalist in all of the Titans’ matches to date.
Other golfers Reardon will lean heavily on this spring include seniors Klye Jacobsmeyer and Danny Wallace, who’s coming off of knee surgery.
“He’s been the most improved in matches so far,” said Reardon of Jacobsmeyer. “He’s trying to balance work and golf. He’s improved two or three strokes better than what he was shooting in the past.”
Reardon said senior Joe Pedrotty, freshmen Steven Leonard and Sam Freihoff and sophomore Nick Feuerstein are others who are adding depth to the team.
“I think we can compete in conference,” said Reardon. “I don’t think we can stay with the top two teams – St. Dominic or Lutheran St. Charles.”
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LUTHERAN NORTH has had trouble competing with the tough ABC League foes in the past few years, and with a thin roster and not a lot of experience the Crusaders likely will have trouble again this season.
Coach Elaine Hunt has just 10 players this season and just a handful with much experience. Senior David Withers, who averaged in the mid to high 40s and was a state qualifier last year, is the team's top returner.
"I expect to see him do really well," said Hunt. "Unfortunately we got moved up a class. He's a pretty solid player in relation to the level he plays."
Other senior players who are in the Crusaders' top six players right now include Tae Lee, Sam Boyd IV and Sean Hussy.
"He's a little more consistent than the other golfers," said Hunt of Lee.
Hunt said freshman Brandon Johnston and senior Travis Hamilton are two others who are showing some golf acumen.
