After the first day of district March 30 in Nocona, the teams were sitting at fourth place. The results of day two yesterday were unavailable at press time.
“We are well within striking distance of third for the boys,” gold coach Clint Coles said. “The girls do not have enough members to make up a team, but they individually came out and played very well.”
Senior Kelsey Aultman said the conditions that day affected her playing.
“It wasn’t my best game, due to the weather and the course was hard,” she said.
Sophomore Sam Machtolff said the weather affected everybody at Nocona.
“The first round of district wasn’t great,” he said. “I shot a 104 and most of the team shot worse than usual because of the bad weather.”
For sophomore Adelyn Harvey and freshman Joe Castles, district was a big first for them.
“I was really nervous because it was my first real tourney,” Castles said.
The girls team has three members: Aultman, Harvey and freshman Kori Keeter. Aultman and Harvey started with little to no golf experience.
“Aultman had never played before, and she has improved so much so quickly – it has been fun to see,” Coles said. “Harvey has finally gotten healthy enough to join us, and she did great for her first time out.”
Aultman said she wishes she had joined earlier.
“I definitely should’ve joined a lot sooner because for never having any experience, I’m doing really good and its fun,” she said. “Its not as competitive as other sports, and everyone is very friendly with each other.”
Keeter has been playing golf for around six months.
“I joined because my dad loves golf,” Keeter said. “I think I can do better at the second part of district.”
Coles said Keeter has improved throughout the season.

“The girls have improved so much it has been amazing,” Coles said. “Overall, I have been extremely impressed with this group of girls.”
The boys team have members with more experience.
“I’ve been playing golf for three years,” Castles said. “I go up to the country club here in town to practice.”
The golf teams have no official practices.
“I go out to the driving range and hit, chip and putt as much as I can,” Machtolff said.
Other members of the team utilize Archer’s country club for practice.
“I go with my dad to the country club to practice sometimes after school, but mostly on the weekends,” Keeter said.
Aultman said a little practice can go a long way for golf.
“Even one practice helped me improve a lot,” she said. “You don’t have to depend on someone else. The only thing that is going against you is the weather.”
Coles said the boys team have been steadily improving from week to week.
“At the beginning of the season, I would have thought we had no chance to be near the top three,” he said. “They have worked and played themselves into a chance to do just that.”
The golf teams have gone to several tourneys before district to practice.
“This season has been so much fun. We have made huge strides on both sides, boys and girls, Coles said. “I have really enjoyed watching all of them play, and I hope they continue on playing both personally and for the school.”