Golf is a game of inches.
The Durango boys golf team was only two strokes away at regionals from sending a full team to states. This could’ve been a putt that was an inch away from going in the hole. Or a miss-hit iron shot by less than an inch which put a player out of bounds and cost them at least a stroke.
Regardless of where the mistakes were made, the Durango boys golf team is back and ready to shoot some low scores to be a contender in 4A.
Zach Griswold, Durango’s top golfer from last season, has graduated after going to states multiple times as a Demon.
But Durango returns a large nucleus of last year’s team. Bayfield High School sophomore Drew Jepson is returning after a stellar freshman season where he finished second behind Griswold in average scoring in competitions. Senior Owen Muraro returns after a junior season where he finished third in scoring average.
Senior Ben Ogden, junior Wyatt Lafferty, senior Ro Rypkema, senior Bailey Burke and sophomore Roman Thompson return after finishing in the top 10 in scoring average last year. They will all be fighting for the spots left by Griswold and other graduated players Henry Howe and Eli Holden.
“I’m looking forward to getting all those guys back,” Demons golf head coach Kirk Rawles said. “I know I've seen a lot of them playing quite a bit this summer. We're going to do our first qualifier on Tuesday, so that'll give us the first kind of indication of where everybody's at and all the hard work that they've put in. So I'm excited. A lot of other guys that are coming back that were freshmen and sophomores are now juniors and a little bit bigger and stronger. They know what they need to be doing a little bit more out there.”
One player Rawles mentioned who looks noticeably bigger is Jepson. Rawles said he’s grown six inches. Jepson’s added height and weight should help him hit the ball further and shoot even lower.
What also will look noticeably bigger is the size of this year’s Durango boys golf team. Rawles said there are about 65 players signed up to play for the Demons. About 40 of those players are returners with about 25 new players. Some of the new players are freshmen, some are older and coming out for the team for the first time. Like Jepson, some of the players are from Bayfield High School which doesn’t have a golf team.
This is the biggest team Rawles has had in his 17 years as the DHS boys golf head coach.
The team will have its first qualifier on Tuesday to see how all the players are currently playing. Rawles likes to have qualifiers for his team and match plays each week so the spots are determined by how a player is playing. Rawles likes the golf and the scores to speak for themselves, therefore it’s not a personal judgment by Rawles when a player gets to play over another player.
“It’s beyond a record number for us,” Rawles said about the roster. “So the qualifier is actually going to mean more. I've always just been a big advocate that we try to keep everybody although at some point, you kind of have to maybe question that. But I think with some creative scheduling, I'll be able to kind of keep everybody in the fold that wants to be here.”
Typically with a smaller team, Rawles said his players would train at Hillcrest Golf Club on Monday-Thursday. But with a bigger team this year, Rawles said the top players from the qualifier will still have that schedule. The rest of the team will split into a Monday and Wednesday group and a Tuesday and Thursday group.
Rawles is going to try and keep the amount of players on Hillcrest manageable while giving all the kids the opportunity to practice after school. Rawles credited Hillcrest with being very accommodating and having incredible practice facilities.
He wants all the kids to have a sense of team and participation especially for the incoming freshmen. Rawles thinks the amount of players will keep the competition players on their toes because if someone has a couple of bad rounds they can easily be replaced.
Rawles is excited about the depth of experience mixing with the newcomers. He said junior Carter Hansen has been putting in a lot of time in the summer as well as junior Nolan Pace.
“If we have those eight to 10 that are really going to push each other when it really gets down to it, they'll be ready,” Rawles said. “They got some experience last year. Once we get up and get going again, I'm pretty optimistic with our depth and experience with Ben (Ogden) and Owen (Muraro) blending with Nolan (Pace) Carter (Hansen) and Drew (Jepson), that's a good core to work from.”
Rawles thinks the team will have a chance to send a full team to state. He said Grand Junction and Montrose will be tough like they usually are.
The first test for the Demons will be the Cortez Tournament at Conquistador Golf Course on Thursday. Rawles thinks he’ll take 10 to Cortez. Another tournament Rawles mentioned was the Montrose Tournament on Aug. 22 because a lot of the teams from the Western Slope will be there.
Rawles said it works out well for Durango this season because regionals will be in Montrose and the state championship will be in Grand Junction.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
