Plains golfers improving with every stroke of ball

Plains High School will be about as “green” as the grass on which they play for the 2019 golf season.

The Horsemen and Trotters are scheduled to finally open play Thursday, April 11 at Florence/Darby Invitational at the Hamilton Golf Club. The first tee times on the shotgun start is 10 a.m.

Lisa Brown and Don Stamm return as co-head coaches for Plains. They have a crew of eight players — five girls and three boys.

The players’ first day on the Plains course was April 1, and Brown indicated the course should be completed clear of snow by early this week.

“They’re excited and nervous,” Brown said of the players. “We’re all young and fresh. Three of our golfers have never golfed until this year.”

Lone junior girl Mia Loberg is new to the game. Returning sophomores are Kaylee Cole and McKenna O’Lexey. Both freshmen — Taylor Angle and Grace Horton — are new to the sport of golf. Loberg will sit out Thursday’s opener since she missed a number of practices due to a family commitment.

Sophomore Kade Pardee is the most experienced Plains golfer. However, he will have to play at the junior varsity level since he transferred from Thompson Falls earlier this school year. “He’s pretty solid,” Brown said.

Back from freshman golf are sophomores Duncan Chisholm and Nick Dumm.

“The kids have spent 20 minutes a night raking the course to get it ready. We haven’t played as much golf as we’d like to. The kids put their time in,” Brown said in preparing the course for play.

WHERE DO the coaches start when you have such inexperience? “With the swing and the rules,” Brown said. “We did a lot of work indoors … what a fairway is, how to keep score on your scorecard … lining up a putt and developing a good putting routine.

We are glad to be outside,” the coach said. “We should get better. We tell them, ‘You don’t beat the course, you work to improve [your game].”

Since Class C teams such as Plains do not have a divisional tournament, golfers qualify for the state tourney May 14 and 15 by score. Boys must have an average score of 100 or lower, and 120 or lower for the girls.

Later this week, the Trotters and Plainsmen host the Plains Invitational on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. Also on the season schedule: April 18, at Bigfork Invitational; April 27, at Thompson Falls Invite; May 2, at St. Regis Invite; May 6, at St. Regis state qualifier; and May 14-15, Class C State Tournament at Seeley.