Whitehall knows it's in perhaps the toughest region in the state - a region so good that a 313 wasn't a good enough team score to reach state from the Division 2 regional last year. However, that doesn't mean the Vikings are just going to roll over.
"It's a tough region and it's been that way the last few years in Division 2," Whitehall coach Bill Borgman said. "The boys know what they need to do. It's just a matter of trying to get them to that level."
Whitehall does have the enviable position of returning its top two scorers from last season in Brady Tate and Braedon Bond. Both have worked over the offseason, as have many of the Viking golfers, and have high goals for themselves this year. Borgman said Tate is aiming to always shoot in the 30s in nine-hole rounds and get 75 or better over 18 holes.
The Vikings also return one other varsity starter in sophomore Jones McDowell. Senior Royce Freed, who played his first season for the team last fall, has improved quickly and should be a varsity player, as should Finn Novy. The coaches are also optimistic about some of the freshmen who enter high school golf with experience; Robert Belinger, Eli Loera and Dominic Puehler were names assistant coach Jim Hams specifically mentioned.
The large freshmen group should pay dividends in the future; Whitehall has 19 players on the team to begin the season, so it can field three different lineups. It also creates added competition as players can jockey for position among the teams and work their way up the ladder.
Whitehall was a middle of the pack West Michigan Conference Lakes team last season, though its experience and the choppy weather this spring - Borgman said as of late March the team had only been on the course three times, and the weather since has hardly been much better - could introduce some unpredictability to the standings.
The key to Whitehall's team success this year is likely to be how the rest of the lineup shakes out behind Tate and Bond, but with so many options, it's likely competitive players will emerge.
"I think the other guys will step up for sure," Borgman said. "We have a good idea who those six or seven will be going forward. We're looking forward to seeing what they can do."
