Just getting there was a goal to be proud of for DeKalb’s girls golfers last year.
The Barons made it to state to go against the best teams in Indiana.
This year, DeKalb belongs there and the feeling is different. The Barons have had the experience before and won conference, sectional and regional championships building up to to it.
“There’s a lot more confidence,” DeKalb coach James Fislar said. “Last year it was making it past regional, making it to state. This year, winning regional, we’re going in with a lot of confidence.
“Having played in the state preview and last year, and a practice round, we’re getting about six rounds under our belt to play that course again. There’s going to be people, they know that, they’re kind of used to that already.”
The Barons will be making their first back-to-back state appearances since they went to the big show six straight times from 2005-2010. They’re coming off the fifth regional crown in school history.
The state tournament will be played today and Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. All teams will play two 18-hole rounds.
Succeeding involves the long and short of it. At 6,100 yards, the Prairie View course is the longest the Barons have played, and they like longer courses. The catch is that Prairie View has more than 70 bunkers.
“The tee shots become very important,” Fislar said. “Not only do you have to get some good distance, you have to hit it in the fairway. Try to avoid the bunkers as much as possible.
“We like longer golf courses. We’re strong off the tee, hitting it long and straight.
The greens are much larger than many of the high school teams are used to, however. You can feel good about getting onto the green, but you’re still a couple of long putts from the pin.
“The greens are twice the size of the greens around here,” Fislar said. “You can hit it on the green but you’re not in the hole yet. Putting becomes a very important part.”
The ability to shake off a bad shot or hole has also been a strength of the team this season.
“They would have a bad hole, and they just put it behind them,” Fislar said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to teach them all these years. Play each hole at a time, play each shot at a time.
“Your round is not over after the first two holes, it’s not over till the 18th hole.”
Paige Williams agrees.
“Your score doesn’t define you. Even if you don’t do great, it doesn’t define you as a player,” she said. “You can always grow from that. All these tournaments are learning experiences.
“Just taking some deep breaths and building each other up, having that attitude will positively impact your score.”
“Don’t get stuck on one hole or one shot,” Ellington Sparkman added. “The course is really hard. You need to forget and move on to the next one. There are a lot of holes that are birdiable but others can be bogey.”
There’s no place that Jadan Tompkins, the sectional champ and the top finisher for the team at regional, would rather be this weekend.
“I’m happy I got to play with my friends and people who have the same goals as me,” she said.
She’s aiming to hit it long and straight this weekend.
“You’ve got to keep a good attitude,” she said. “It’s a long course so you’ve got to focus on your longer clubs. Your woods, you have to be a little more accurate with those.”
Grace Pfister feels the Barons have put in the work to get to state.
“We practiced outside of practice a little more,” she said. “We took it a little more serious. Positive mindsets are the big change.
“Knowing we can do it, and not selling ourselves short. Everyone picking each other up makes it 10 times better.”
She said she had her own battle with keeping things upbeat.
“At the beginning of the season I was struggling with that, not overcoming the hole,” Pfister said. “Once I overcame the hole it was better just knowing it was one hole, it’s golf, it can change really quick.”
Mollee Sonnenberg felt a strong offseason helped her land the fifth spot in the starting lineup.
“It’s been great. I’m glad to be part of the team this year,” she said. “Last year I was just watching. It really put a chip on my shoulder to work during the offseason so I could get that fifth spot and go to state with them.”
“All the team is in the right head space and encouraging each other to do well,” Sonneberg said.
“For sectional, a lot of the girls gave me tips and their notes on the holes. That would help me a lot.”
DeKalb will try to keep the focus of one shot at a time.
“It’s really hard to sometimes,” Sparkman said. “We always look at each other and build each other up.
“We have a really strong bond through all of us, one through eight. We’re very good friends.”
