The girls’ golf team finally made it on to the course last week with weather nice enough to get out on the links for their first match of the season. Two Rivers took first place with a team score of 343, Hastings placed fifth with a team score 425. It was a chilly morning on Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale, but the girls were happy to be out playing.

New head coach Ryan Mulvihill was excited for the girls. “The girls competed well for their first match, and I was happy to see positives from all six girls who competed. I feel this was a good first meet to get the ball rolling and seeing some great conference competition and hitting on a very nice course. Emily Thuet was our lowest shooter on the day. It’s back to the course to work on fundamentals and the short game to prepare for our next match Tuesday, May 2nd.”

Individually, the girls shot well for the first time competing this year. Here are their scores.

Emily Thuet - 102, Lauren Judge - 107, Brooke Jelley - 108, Harmon Brown - 108, Madison Haines - 118 and Gabi McDowell - 128.

As a reporter, it is fun to get out on the course and see the kids. What is interesting is just how many times they will admit their shortcomings or express their struggles for the day. McDowell was struggling to hit her driver that first time out and it was frustrating her. Clearly it affected her overall game and score. This is where the coaching staff will step in and help with those specific areas for the next round. But the hope is that immediate words of encouragement will help them settle down and maybe even reset. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not, but they will always get them.

The other side of the coin is it was the first true golfing action they have seen all year. The expectation of playing a perfect game the first time out is a bit lofty. Now, with the first meet jitters out of the way, hopefully the girls can settle in for the season and continue to improve.

Being a fan of golf and going to an event is a bit more complicated than going to a football game. Fans need to walk with the golfer they wish to follow and for an 18-hole event, they should expect to be there for a solid four hours. The Minnesota State High School League teamed up with the iWanamaker app to bring fans a live scoring update from the links. Search for ‘MSHSL Golf’ on your phone’s app store to get the official scoring app. There is a subscription fee for the end user to see scores and the app is a little clunky to use, but it does offer live updates.

The Girls will head to Oak Glen on Thursday, May 4th against Mahtomedi and then on Friday, May 5th they head to Rosemount and Emerald Greens for the Irish Invite.