FF made a solid showing with their first team in three years
Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – For three years the Fort Fairfield High School went without a golf team due to lack of interest. However, this season under the guidance of coach Larry Gardner, six golfers represented the Tigers in the 2007 tournaments.
Contributed photo/Jeremiah Sjoberg IAN GIRVAN of the Fort Fairfield Tigers tees off at the Aroostook Regional Qualifier at Mars Hill Country Club Monday.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the driving range and the putting green. All the kids have improved. If they’d play more, they’d get better,” said Gardner. The team gets onto the course four to five times a week during the season, but off-season they can get a little out of practice.
“They should technically have been playing all summer long, but they don’t. They need to be practicing the right way too, me playing with them,” said the coach.
Junior Ian Towle holds the top spot for the Tigers with an average of 50. Gardner knows he can shoot mid-40s too. Sophomore Josh Churchill ranks second with an average of 53, and sophomore Ian Girvan drives at number three with a 56 average. Junior Whitney Clark, one of only two girls to golf in the Aroostook County regional qualifier last Monday, ranks fourth on the team with an average of 63. Sophomore Shane McGillan with a 64 average and freshman Andrew Shepherd with a mid-70s average make up fifth and sixth.
Gardner has an optimistic feeling about next year. “There are two or three in the eighth grade that are playing pretty good … I’d like to get eight or 10 for next year. They’ll be pretty good if they stick with it.”
