The Le Mars Community boys golf team was able to open their season at home on Monday and do so with a win over Sioux City North and Sioux City West. The Bulldogs scored a 301 to lead both the Stars and Wolverines in the triangular.
The Bulldogs were led by Carter Baumgartner who paced the field shooting a 73 in the 18-hole competition. Baumgartner says his short game was on point keeping his score low.
Baumgartner says this competition is mainly just to get the feet wet. He says the Bulldogs just want to be playing solid golf throughout the season to prepare them for a postseason run.
Cole Brownmiller shot a 77 as one of the four scoring golfers for the Bulldogs and finished in a tie for third overall with his brother Drake. He had the opposite experience of Baumgartner saying his short game let him down on a few holes.
Brownmiller says what kept him from letting the score get too high was being really solid with his drives and approaches.
The other scoring golfer for Le Mars was Jacob Plueger who shot a 74 and finished second individually. The four scores at 77 or lower meant Le Mars did not even score the fifth best individual in the meet in Tate Murphy who only shot a 79. That depth will be the strength of this year’s Bulldog team. Baumgartner says that depth helps take the pressure off everyone.
Of course, having four seniors on the roster who have played golf with each other for a long time helps the cause too. Brownmiller says getting to be a part of a team together like this has been very fun.
Baumgartner says all that time spent with each other has led to a strong bond between all four classmates.
Now that the competition has started for Le Mars, they will stay busy competing on a regular basis. The Bulldogs will be busy with two more meets this week and then gearing up for the big Fort Dodge Invitational next week. Brownmiller says preparation is just continuing to get repetitions to get things to be muscle memory in competition.
Le Mars’ next competition is a dual at Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Wednesday. They will then compete the next day in a triangular in Sioux City against Bishop Heelan and Council Bluffs TJ.
