Watching the Dolores High School golf team warm up, it’s hard to believe that before this season, only one player had experience hitting a golf ball.
Thanks to assistance from several of the area’s top golfers however, the seven-player team consisting of two sophomores and five freshmen already looks good on the driving range and appears ready to start its season.
“We’ve got zero experience,” said head coach Monica Plewe, when asked about her team. “Nobody has ever gone to regionals or state, so we are starting from scratch. Considering that these girls are brand-new, they are doing fabulous.”
Among the team’s players looking to produce a solid first season is Montezuma-Cortez High School sophomore Kailey Case, who just recently picked up a club for the first time. Already swinging with form and confidence, Case said that she is excited for the year.
“I wanted to try something new and I thought it would be fun to try golf,” Case said. “I have never played 18 holes, so I want to accomplish that with a pretty good score. This is my first year ever touching a club, so it’s all brand new to me.”
Joining Case as one of the team’s oldest players is Dolores High School sophomore Tawnee Benavidez, who decided to come out for golf after running track last season.
“I never played golf prior to this year, not even putt-putt,” Benavidez said. “Monica (Plewe) talked to my mom and kept asking me to do it, so I decided to try it this year.”
Other players on the team include M-CHS freshmen Kalli Partington, LaBrea Matteston, Sarah McDonald and Dimery Plewe, as well as Dove Creek High School freshman Kiara Lingenfelter.
Discussing her goals for the season, Plewe said that she hopes that her team can learn the rules, gain experience, and compete in the regional tournament.
Plewe also expressed confidence that the team will continue to improve thanks to the help it is receiving from local golfers Micah Rudosky, Todd Plewe, Keenan Lovett, Jeff Carr and Shea Sena.
“A lot of coaches in the area have been working with our players indoors at the rec center since January,” Monica Plewe said. “I can’t thank those coaches enough for the work that they have done with our players.”
This year’s team will compete in several regular season tournaments, including its season-opening tournament in Kirtland, New Mexico, on April 3 and a home tournament at Conquistador Golf Course on April 20 that local fans are encouraged to attend.
“Having fans would probably make them nervous, but it’s good for them because they have to experience that,” Monica Plewe said.