Men’s Outlook:

Despite losing two of his top players from last year when the Lewis-Clark State College men’s golf team enjoyed its best finish ever at the NAIA National Tournament, Warrior coach Paul Thompson is surprisingly upbeat in looking ahead to this season.

“This team is a bit deeper,” says Thompson, who is in his 10^th season as LCSC’s coach. “Last year, we were probably 5-6 deep and in the past, we usually have been four deep and the fifth guy was marginal. He would have to shoot his best round for us to count the score. Now we have seven guys who can probably win the tournament.”

That’s a big statement because the Warriors only have seven players this season.

LCSC is coming off its seventh Frontier Conference title in the last nine years and a tournament-best fifth-place finish at nationals. Gone from that squad is three-time conference Player of the Year Connor McCracken and Jason Molner, who tied for 24^th at nationals and earned first-team all-conference honors. McCracken was a senior last year, while Molner was declared academically ineligible this season.

Still, the Warriors have three returners from a year ago, including sophomore Drew Reinland, who was the conference’s Freshman of the Year and the medalist at the conference’s postseason tournament. Also back are seniors Kyler Gable and Tyler Johnson, both of Hayden, Idaho.

Reinland, who is from College Place, Wash., earned NAIA Player of the Week honors, the first Warrior in the program to earn such an honor, after shooting a 67 in the second round of the conference tournament. He finished at 6-under in the three rounds of the tournament despite windy and sometimes wet playing conditions.

“You know you have a good player when he doesn’t have his game – it’s obviously gone – and yet he still shoots in the 60s,” Thompson said. “I’m blown away from his ability to scramble to make something out of nothing.”

Gable was a first-team all-conference member last season after he finished tied for fifth overall in the individual standings. The all-conference team is based on the top five players from the five regular-season conference matches with their combined overall score from each round. Johnson earned second-team all-conference honors. The two have been teammates throughout high school and college, playing at Coeur d’Alene High and then Spokane Falls Community College before LCSC.

The Warriors also have two returners back in juniors Dillon Williams and James Rooney. Williams seemed to be peaking at the right time last year when he shot the Warriors’ third-best score at the LCSC Invitational, but then was declared ineligible. Rooney came back to the Warrior program after missing the previous two seasons.

“James worked pretty hard this summer and his golf game has really improved,” Thompson said. “And Dillon should help us. We are pretty deep with our returners.”

Thompson also is excited with his two freshmen Jordan Beveridge and Brennan Hansen. Beveridge’s older sister, Chantelle, played at LCSC, while Hansen earned three varsity golf letters at Lewiston High School.

Thompson says the mindset of the team appears to be strong, especially coming off last season.

“I think last season, in terms of confidence, helps a lot,” Thompson says. “If you know or play golf, confidence means an awful lot. For them to come back and shoot a really good round at nationals says a lot. We had a good first round and a horrible second round. It was so bad we went from second to 12th. But that same day for them to come back and shoot their way back into the tournament, was great. I think what they found from that is that they can bring it back.”

Thompson says the team will concentrate on its short game, especially putting, in the fall.

“I’ve been doing this for nearly 10 years now and the one thing that stands out is putting,” he says. “The kids hit the ball so solid and their full swing is not the problem. It’s the short 6-foot-and-shorter putts. Sometimes you add up those three putts in a tournament and if you eliminate them, you win by 10-15 strokes.

“As a coaching staff, our philosophy has changed. Our philosophy is we are not going to change the golf swing at all. Instead we are going to focus on the short game and putting every day. We want to get them where they walk up to a 4-foot putt confident that they are going to make it.”

Thompson expects Rocky Mountain, Carroll and Westminster, along with the Warriors, to be the favorites in the league this season.

Women's Outlook:

As with the men, Thompson and his assistant Cliff Carrick hope the fall workout schedule will reap benefits in the spring. Aided by a program set up by former Warrior and current student-assistant coach Cortney Shrout, the Warrior women will concentrate on practicing their short game in the fall.

“We are going to pound the short game with putting and chipping with our program,” Carrick says. “I know the girls won’t love it at first, but we are initiating a program where they have to make 50 putts when they start practice. And then they will attempt to make another 50 before they go out and play. And when they are done, they have to make another 50.”

On alternate days, Carrick says the team will practice chipping from 100 yards in both before and after their rounds.

“Hopefully we will see a big improvement in a short period of time,” says Carrick, who is in his second year as Thompson’s assistant and mainly oversees the women’s team. “In watching the women’s game for a year at the conference tournaments, if there is a weakness, it is in the short game. If we can get their short games to come around, we should see big improvements.”

The Warriors finished third in the conference last year and missed the national tournament for only the second time in the last eight years. The team has two freshmen and two sophomores on the varsity for nearly the entire season after injuries took their toll.

Sophomore Heather Bruce of Enterprise, Ore., returns after redshirting last season. Bruce was expected to be the No. 1 player for LCSC last season but wound up missing the year after surgeries to both of her calves.

“Heather hits the ball well, about 260 or 270 (yards) on her drive and she shoots in the 70s most rounds,” Thompson says. “Losing her last year really hurt. If we had her, our team score is 10-20 strokes better. We’re taking something in the 90s instead of the 70s and you times that by three rounds and that makes a big difference.”

The Warriors are still fairly young with no seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen. The juniors are Kelsey Haycock of Ogden, Utah, and Shanna Herman of Orofino, who were among the top five last season. Haycock hits 230-240 yards on her drives and both showed vast improvement last season. Both were shooting in the mid to high 80s at the end of last season.

Sophomores Idah Whisenant of Lewiston and Brooke Dagner of Sonoma, Calif., both played well last season. Whisenant shot a personal best of 73 last season and hits the ball extremely well, Carrick says. He notes that she drives the ball 260-270 and regularly outdrove him during a round over the summer. Carrick says Dagner is the most consistent player on the team.

The Warrior coaching staff is hoping the two freshmen on the squad, Kelsey Bottorff of Meridian and Paige Blackburn of Walla Walla, can step in and challenge for varsity spots. Bottorff qualified for the Idaho State 5A meet all four years and placed third as a junior. Blackburn lettered in golf her first two years in high school, but then quit sports to concentrate on other things.

“If we continue to improve in the short game, we should be right there,” Carrick said.

The women’s race should be fairly open this year with Westminster, LCSC, and RMC as the teams to beat.

2010-11 outlooks

2009-10 outlooks

2008-09 outlooks