Varsity Redounds get hands-on while guiding next generation of CHS golfers

“The golf course can be a very intimidating place.” This is what Corbin High School boys golf coach Joe Roberts had to say recently when asked what it feels like to be a young golfer just starting out in the sport.

Luckily for the youngest members of the Redhounds golf team, they have a group of seasoned veterans who are ready and willing to go the extra mile to show their less-experienced counterparts how it’s done.

Roberts’ “beginners” team, made up mostly of middle school-aged students who are taking their first steps into competitive golf, have been involved in an intrasquad competition in order to gain some experience on the course. During these competitions, varsity team members have served as caddies, lugging equipment from hole-to-hole and offering valuable insight along the way.

“This is so they can get some experience in what a match is like, and get to be competitive with each other,” Roberts said of the beginners’ level contests, which have been taking place at the London Country Club in south London. “We don’t have a golf course here in Corbin, so these kids aren’t really growing up on one. It’s good to do something like this to keep them looking forward, and keep them practicing.”

“There are very few opportunities for them to be able to show what they’ve got,” Roberts added, still speaking about his younger players. “It’s mostly just drill work, so this has been an opportunity for them to take their game to the course, and for their parents to see firsthand if all those lessons have been paying off.”

Roberts, who is in his first year leading the CHS boys golf program, said that interest in golf at the school is healthy right now, but he hopes that presenting events like this will just help to build for the future.

“I think this is going to help,” Roberts said. “I wish that somebody would’ve done something like this for me when I was at that age. A lot of it is just thinking to myself, ‘What would I have liked?’”

Roberts said that, while the main goal of these competitions is to develop younger players, his varsity-level team members are also getting a lot out of the experience.

“It has been a good experience for the older kids,” Roberts explained. “They get to see things from a different perspective, and I would say that they’ve had as much fun as they’ve had all year.”

“The golf course is designed to be very punishing to your game,” Roberts added. “So, for the older guys to be out there showing the younger ones what to do, it takes some of the intimidation factor out of it.”

With regional competition scheduled for next week, Roberts said that he is pleased with the progress that his team has made this season. “Everyone’s averages have gone down,” he said. “Now we’re just hoping that we can put it all together for the region meet, and hopefully send somebody to state.”

CHS boys golf: (Varsity/JV) Hayden Webb, William Freeman, Ethan Mott, Cruz Cima, Brody Faulkner, Bradyn Parmon, Clay Botner, Ethan Gambrel, Reed Phillips, Peyton Lowe, Logan Davidson, Ryder Mills and Brant Begley; (Beginner) Will Farmer, Brady Webb, Draven Dean, Talon Williams, Tag Walker and Nicolas Prewitt.

Photos courtesy of CRYSTAL ROBERTS and TERESA PARMON