HOULTON, Maine — Could this be the year that the Houlton golf team takes the next step toward a serious championship run?
Veteran coach Dave Grant certainly hopes so. And with several returning golfers on this year’s squad, he has good reason for those high expectations.
Houlton golfer Devin Ivey blasts his ball out of a sand trap at the Houlton Community Golf Course during a recent practice. (Joseph Cyr)
“The potential is there,” Grant said. “Our first match showed that. I know I am putting a lot of pressure on them, but I feel we will be in the top three or four in the state in Class C.”
Members of the Houlton golf squad include senior Drew Marino and Devin Ivey; juniors Wyatt Harvey, Nick Brewer and Rhetta Vega; sophomores Isaac Vega, Carson Grant and Sydney Lorom.
Grant credits the success of the junior golf program for keeping the Shire squad competitive year after year.
“Bruce (Nason) and I do that program every summer, and every one on the team this year played in that program at one time,” Grant said.
Marino, the team’s top golfer, has been with the Shires all four years of high school and has improved each season, according to the coach. He is capable of shooting in the low 40s or even the high 30s on any given day and will be called upon to provide veteran leadership with the club.
Since the top four scorers out of the seven count toward the team score in any given match, the Shires will be looking to a number of different players to help fill out the scoring card.
If the first two matches of the season are any indication, the Shires’ playoff hopes appear to be attainable. On Aug. 28, Houlton defeated Mount Desert Island, Ellsworth and Foxcroft Academy by shooting a low round of 178. The Shires slashed that total by 10 strokes just three days later as they shot a 168 against Mattanawcook Academy and Carlisle (a combined squad of Caribou and Presque Isle).
Grant said the win over Mattanawcook Academy was important as they are one of the top squads in the Penobscot Valley Conference.
Houlton’s Isaac Vega chips onto the green at Houlton Community Golf Course during a recent practice. The Shires are off to a hot start to their season, winning their first two matches. (Joseph Cyr)
