Editor’s note: In addition to writing about sports for the Brown County Democrat, Brad Baughman is the varsity boys golf coach. He wrote this reflection about the team so far this season.

When we were just three or four days away from our first match this spring, a couple thoughts cluttered my mind. One was pleasant and made me smile. The other was actually a bit painful and caused my brow to furrow.

With only five golfers on the roster, I knew it would be easy to get them all on the course for matches, and that all five would get a heavy dose of experience this season. Hence, the smile.

However, since two of the five were complete strangers to the game when they arrived at our first practice, and only one of the five had ever really played competitively, I knew we would struggle mightily this season.

The lone golfer with any real experience is junior Cooper VanNess. When he was a freshman, Cooper latched on to the No. 3 spot in the lineup behind two seniors. As our No. 1 golfer this season, he will be paired with the opponent’s best player in every match, which hopefully will bring out the best in Cooper.

In addition to a skill set that will enable him to post some low scores, Cooper has also proven himself to be a leader by working with his teammates on the range and practice green.

Competing for spots two through five in our lineup will be junior Jordan Burnett, sophomores Bradley Arndt and Dylan Taylor, and freshman Clay Austin.

Jordan was on the roster as a freshman but saw limited action. His ball striking has improved, and with continued work on his short game, he could be very helpful to us as the season progresses. Jordan has played in the No. 3 spot for us in our first four events.

Bradley, currently playing No. 2 for us, has played some golf before, but had never competed until this spring. Once we tweak a few things and get him comfortable and confident on the course, his scores should plummet.

Our other sophomore, Dylan, has been our fifth man this season. Dylan, who had never played before, has made significant progress and continues to show improvement.

Clay, our lone freshman, has played in the No. 4 position for us. Like Dylan, Clay had never played. He has tremendous potential and seems to get a little better each time out.

Yes, we have struggled in our first four events, dual match losses to Hauser and Martinsville, losses to Edgewood and Owen Valley in a three-way match, and a last place finish in the eight-team Mustang Invitational. Our team scores have been staggeringly high.

I am confident that once Cooper settles in and finds his rhythm, and Bradley, Jordan, Dylan and Clay get some more experience and figure out some of the nuances of the game, the numbers and the scores will take care of themselves.

As long as they are enjoying the game, working in practice to get better, and being good teammates, we will have a successful season.