Horsemen, Trotters roll with changes

Plains High School golf coach Carl Benson felt his young golf team gained a variety of experiences when they participated in the Seeley-Swan Invitational last Tuesday and Libby Invitational Friday.

Benson, whose team is still relatively new to the game, said his Horsemen golf team responded “well” to the various changes in conditions and adversity they faced in this week’s competition.

“Every golfer goes through a slump during the season,” Benson said. “Each kid on our team is focusing on the part of the game that they need to work on. Our greens in Plains are really a lot slower. That is a transition our golfers have to go through and try to figure out the difference between our courses and the other courses.”

Benson said he “enjoys” watching his players progress.

“It is a neat opportunity to actually see and watch their progression,” Benson said. “What I am seeing is they are looking at a par four and the distance on the hole. They have now progressed to thinking ‘Oh, I would be better off using a five iron instead of a driver.’ That’s the thinking part the game when you are swinging and making contact with the ball.”

At the Seeley-Swan Invite, Horsemen golfer Alec Cole finished in the top five, firing an 86. Plains teammate Fame Lopez shot a 99, Carson Krebs finished the tournament with a 107, and Logan Benson and Conner Sampson both shot a 122.

“We are still going through all kinds of conditions, especially when we played in Libby,” Benson said. “The course was still pretty wet, especially on the back nine. Our team is still going through all kinds of conditions because it’s not warming up very fast.”

The lone Trotter golfer, Shayna Burgess, didn’t participate in the Seeley-Swan tourney because she was at a conference.

Horsemen face ‘adverse’ conditions in Libby

Benson said he knows part of the growth of a golfer comes with dealing with adversity.

The Horsemen and the lone Trotter golfer, Burgess, powered through the adversity, according to coach Benson, to shoot well on the front nine.

The Plains golfers struggled on the back nine because of wet conditions, Benson said.

“It is just a learning process that golfers have to go through, and our kids are working hard and I like to see that,” Benson said. “When our kids go to those bigger courses like that, there is a change in the speed of the greens. They are competing and all working hard. They are practicing on specific portions of their game. We have improved on chipping and putting, and that has become a more consistent part of their game.”

Cole led the Horsemen and shot a team-leading 93, Sampson finished with a 115, Krebs had a 122 and Benson shot a 143 in the tournament.

“I wish it was a little warmer and dryer,” Benson said. “The playing conditions are a little bit different this time of year. The weather here is like it was 10 or 15 years ago. I guess you get used to having warmer temperatures because it was different in the past few years than the conditions we are seeing now.”

Benson said the temperature drop can drastically affect a player’s golf swing.

“You just don’t swing the same when it is 10 or 15 degrees colder than what you are used to,” Benson said. “In golf, it takes a while to get back in the swing of things and golfers like that Johnston kid from Libby, he golfs year-round. He uses a computer program in his house when conditions aren’t as good.”

Trotter golfer Burgess shot a 141 in Libby.

“The back nine was rough and there was a lot of water on the back nine,” Benson said. “The course was really tight and it still had a lot of casual water on the course. Our golfers that have been progressing, I think it affected them a little bit. We are still getting adjusted to the speed and the pace of the greens and we take Libby as a learning experience.”

The Horsemen will have another opportunity to qualify for state when they compete at St. Regis Thursday.

“The Monday after this, there are two meets,” Benson said. “I am going to send the ones that haven’t qualified back to St. Regis. The ones that have qualified, I am sending them back to Seeley. It will be another chance to play at Seeley before state.”

The Plains and Trotter competitors that qualify for the Class C state tournament will have three chances to play at Seeley’s Double Arrow Golf Course, the sight of this year’s Class C tournament.

“It is nice that the tournament is in the west this year,” Benson said. “Seeley is a really interesting course. It has a lot of holes that are really short. There are a lot of issues with water and out-of-bounds areas on the course. You have to change your club selection and things like that. By getting a chance to see the course three times, our players will know where not to get themselves in trouble.”

Reporter Jason Blasco can be reached at (406) 883-4343 or jblasco@leaderadvertiser.com.