Perhaps the best sight in all of golf is a well-struck ball flying through the air in the direction of a flagstick. It doesn’t matter if it’s off the tee or from the fairway, the high straight ball is something that every golfer hopes to achieve.
But oddly enough, it’s not the most effective shot when it comes to lowering a score. Those shots come from either around or on the green, and they’re crucial — especially in high school golf.
After playing in three tournaments, Manitou Springs boys golf coach Ken Vecchio likes what he’s seeing from an inexperienced group. But he knows there’s plenty of work to be done for their numbers to come down. And that work has to come around the green, not on the way to the green.
“They’re getting an idea of what they have to do with a full swing,” Vecchio said.
“What they’re really figuring out is how important chipping and putting are. We spent the first 40 minutes of practice (on Monday) just working on chipping and putting and the technique. Hopefully that will help us out a bit.”
It was no surprise that junior Jack Clifford fared well at the Aug. 24 Tri-Peaks League tournament at Hollydot. Clifford shot a 17-over-par 88 to finish ninth on the leaderboard. Sophomore Landon Foster and senior Kai Thomas shot matching 108 scores, while senior Landon May rounded out the effort with a 132.
Clifford put together another good round the next day at the Marauder Invitational at Cherokee Ridge, shooting 87 to finish sixth. The Mustangs are off this week and head to the Woodland Park Invitational at Shining Mountain on Tuesday, Sept. 6.