Plains golfers tee off season at Eureka
Plains High golfer Drew Carey prepares to drive out of the rough during last year's Plains Invitational at Wildhorse Golf Course. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
Mother Nature willing, it’s time for some high school golf.
And one group of those who will be hitting the links in the coming weeks is Plains High, which welcomes back a small but talented group of golfers who are preparing for their season opener.
The Horsemen/Trotters golfers begin their 2023 campaign with an appearance at the Eureka Invitational event Friday and Saturday, April 7-8. The event, which will be held at two Eureka area courses, Wilderness and Indian Springs, gets underway at 10 a.m.
In the meantime, the small contingent of Plains golfers will continue working to hone their skills while battling typical Montana early spring weather conditions.
Plains golfers use the Wildhorse Golf Course just north of Plains as their home turf.
Coming back this year for another season of golf are three boys and one girl who anchored last year’s team. Not returning for another season is long time golf coach/advisor Don Stamm who is no longer a resident of the Plains/Paradise area.
Brandt Snead, Drew Carey and Kort Craft form a trio of golfers who represented the school last year, while Hallie Corbin is listed as the top returner golfer for the Trotters. New head coach Lisa Brown is anxious to get the season underway while the team works hard on several fundamental aspects of the game.
“Our team strength this year will be our team chemistry”, Brown said. “Our kids are more than willing to help each other out”.
That working together approach has been crucial as the season rapidly approaches, with added focus on the basic front and center.
“We really need to improve around the green,” Jones said. “Chipping and putting is such an important par of the game”.
That being said, Jones concedes game management and on-course decision making skills are also being emphasized.
“Another area of focus for us will be the mental aspect of the game,” coach Jones added. “Managing choices based on strategy versus emotion”.
Jones said the team has added two promising new players for this season, Jayden Weeks and Isaiah Pasemen.
“I’m excited to see them join our team”.
Following their opener in the Eureka event, Plains is scheduled for a road match versus Hamilton, Tuesday April 11.
They open their home season Friday the 15th when they host the annual Plains Invitational, which this year features the home team along with Darby, Eureka, Thompson Falls, Seeley, Superior, St. Regis, Bigfork, Florence and Loyola of Missoula.