GOLF — Just hope for good weather.
That’s all the Petoskey boys’ golf team can do really when that one chance to host its annual Petoskey Golf Invite rolls around at the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club. Just hope.
A week ago, Monday was far from an ideal time to be anywhere near a golf course. Sitting by the fire with a blanket and a warm drink was more the feeling.
But, this Monday put a little faith back into hoping for the weather to turn, as that chance to host came for the Northmen golf program with some perfect spring weather.
Petoskey welcomed in 10 schools to Bay View and the Northmen put its young lineup to the test against the best out of northern Michigan, from the Big North to the Lake Michigan Conference.
Both Traverse City Central and West continued to show their strength this season, placing first and second, respectively, within the field.
Central carded a 295 and West a 320, while Central’s other team in attendance shot 337, good enough for a tie for fourth.
Charlevoix also shot 328, placing them third, followed by Gaylord, 337; Alpena, 339; Boyne City, 345; Elk Rapids, 355; and Petoskey, 356.
Despite the higher round, Petoskey coach Chad Loe knows what he has in a group that doesn’t include a senior and has some new to varsity golf, although he likes the effort and progress he’s seeing.
“Obviously the Traverse City schools are pretty impressive with their play,” said Loe. “We’re in a different spot. We are working on things in our game, like improving our short game here and there, improving our putting and getting back to the fundamentals of golf. We’re seeing our scores drop because of it and we’ll just continue to work on those things.”
Gaylord’s Kole Putnam led the field with a round of 68 to earn the medalist position, while Boston Price of TC Central was second with a 71. The Trojans had five golfers shoot sub 80 on the day, placing them all inside the top 10.
Charlevoix’s Hudson Vollmer was also sub 80 and tied for sixth with a round of 78. Vollmer almost shot even par on the back nine, carding a 37 with six birdies or pars.
Also for the Raiders, Sam Pletcher shot 80, Emmett Bergmann carded an 84; Bryce Boss, 86; Henry Herzog, 87; and Jack Herzog, 88.
Petoskey was led by Andrew Licata with an 81, along with Max Faulkner with an 82. Gavin Galbraith then came in with a 96, followed by Thomas Guiney, 97; William Rogier, 105; and Nolan Jarvis, 107.
For Loe, the rounds might appear high, but he liked a number of shots he saw from his guys on the day and little areas of improvement, the goal every time they take the course.
“I don’t expect my guys to come out and par every hole,” said Loe. “We don’t focus on score per-say, we focus on ‘Here’s my ball, how do I get it from here to where I want it to go in the least amount of strokes possible?’ It sounds simple, but that’s where we are.
“We’re definitely going in the right direction. I’m really pleased with my guys and how much work they’re putting in. They’re great young men and I’m extremely excited to coach them. I’m having a good time even though our scores are higher and I think they are too. We’re staying focused and not getting down on ourselves.”
For Boyne City, Ryan Reynolds led the way with a round of 80, while Jack Neer shot 85; Andrew Stadt, 88; Drew Neer, 92; Jack Snyder, 93; and Thomas Ager, 96.
Gaylord also had Aythen Kent shoot 83 and Luke Somerville card an 88, while Max Hart led Cheboygan with an 89.
Petoskey will next get in a Big North Conference match in Alpena on Friday, May 12, while Charlevoix, Boyne City and the rest of the LMC group will get in a league match on Wednesday, May 10 at the Charlevoix Country Club.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey golf gets chance to host, Charlevoix places third