Boys golf Tribe looking for improvement in 2005 season

After a 1-13 season in 2004, the 2005 Waukon boys golf team is looking up. The Indians are hoping to improve on last year’s finish and play the links competitively this spring. Youth once again dominates the Tribe’s roster. Fifteen freshmen are preparing for the season, as are 11 sophomores. “We will be fairly inexperienced,” said head coach Leon Mindham, “but I think we should be improved.” Should the Indians make strides this spring, Mindham thinks it will be because of the offseason work several athletes put in last summer. “We got together about once a week during the summer to work on things and we had about six or eight guys who showed up pretty regularly. Our letterwinners and a few other guys played a lot of golf last year,” the coach added. Unfortunately, lingering winter weather has kept Waukon from hitting the links this year. Mindham is even a bit skeptical that his charges will play through a course before their first meet on April 5. “We haven’t had any practice yet, and the weather doesn’t look real promising,” the coach noted. Mindham has worked some with his freshmen charges, however it’s just been a bit of work in the gym. Some of the veterans have traveled to Cresco to practice at indoor facilities there. “These guys are putting in the work on their own. It shows they want to improve and hopefully we will,” Mindham added. “I’m optimistic that if we can turn those practice rounds into some good rounds this spring, we should shoot lower scores.” Basically, the coach stated, the Tribe is just looking to improve on last spring. “What we’re looking for more than anything is just to improve. Instead of shooting a team score in the 170s, we’re aiming for the 160s,” Mindham said. Five letterwinners will return in 2005. Graduation resulted in the loss of only two golfers last year, however one was the Indians’ top shooter. “We lost Charlie Folsom and Torm Hustvet, which leaves a few holes for us to fill,” Mindham mentioned. In Folsom’s absence, the Tribe is looking for someone to step forward and provide leadership on the course. Senior Jon Promnitz is a likely candidate after recording Waukon’s low round last spring. As a junior Promnitz scored a 39 to pace Waukon and had the year’s second lowest average, needing about 46.6 strokes to complete a 9-hole course. Joining Promnitz with letterwinning experience are juniors Jared Haberichter and Ben Sweeney and sophomores Ross Christianson and Todd Leikvold. Christianson averaged 48.9 last spring while Haberichter and Sweeney had identical averages of 49.6 strokes. “We have five starters coming back, but there are others who could have an impact. There should be a battle for the number six spot,” the coach added. Mindham predicts juniors Bren Jacobs, Derek Wicks, and Andy Burroughs and sophomores Ben Grangaard and Kyle Dreckman as frontrunners for the sixth varsity spot. “These guys showed up and played a lot of golf. The ones that don’t make varsity should make it on JV,” Mindham stated. Of the Tribe’s 15 freshmen, the coach says it’s way too early to tell where they’ll fit in. “Two or three have really played and could battle for JV. It’s just hard to judge until we can get out on the course,” the coach added. Looking to the Northeast Iowa Conference schedule, the Indians will have to face some fine competition. With the strength of squads, Mindham knows the Indians will have to make leaps to finish better than the 0-6 record they had in 2004. “Especially in conference matches, our improvement might not show in wins. There are a lot of other conference schools that were young last year and will also show improvement. If we shoot better golf, we’ll be more competitive,” Mindham said. At this point, Mindham isn’t counting any team out for winning the league championship. “My guess is that it will be between New Hampton and Decorah, but I know it will be a battle,” he noted. Decorah, the coach pointed out did lose three seniors to graduation, but had a pair of freshmen golfers post outstanding seasons. New Hampton returns its entire lineup, as do Charles City and Crestwood. Oelwein also lost a few athletes to graduation, but the Huskies have a strong links tradition and could also contend for the top spot. Where Waukon places, Mindham said, hinges on improvement. “We’re hoping we can shoot better scores, but it also depends on the other teams’ improvements.” The Indians will look to possibly get their season underway next Tuesday, April 5 when they host MFL-Mar Mac/Postville. That meet is slated to get underway at 4 p.m. should course conditions dry out in time.