Clarke Central High School junior Walker Bradberry practices his swing at the Athens Country Club for CCHS golf practice on Feb. 28. Bradberry joined the team this year, and has been working individually to reach his goals for the season. “As soon as football ended, I made the decision to not play baseball and I started playing golf. I would go and hit and work on a lot of (my skills),” Bradberry said. “(I recognized where) I really need to work and now I’ve gotten that to (fix that), where I’m consistent. Going into the match, I think I just need to worry about playing smart and not getting over-aggressive, which can lead to you having a higher score, which isn’t good.” Photo courtesy of Walker Bradberry
The Clarke Central High School golf team will participate in their first competition of the season at the Athens Country Club on March 4.
As the Clarke Central High School golf team begins preparation for their first competition of the season at Athens Country Club on March 4, they look forward to a season of learning and growth.
CCHS junior Walker Bradberry has been playing golf since a young age but just joined the team this year. In order for the team to continue to learn and improve, Bradberry hopes to be a resource to new players.
“I’ve been trying to help out other people on the team, that way we have the best team possible, because I feel like not only for me, but for everybody else on the team, golf is something that they want to experience, and it’s also something that you can play for the rest of your life,” Bradberry said. “So, helping people out with that just helps them. I just want to make sure that everybody on the team has a good time.”
CCHS head golf coach Andy Dean believes there is potential for improvement with every competition the team attends.
“(Growth) really depends on how much the players are willing to work and how much the players are willing to make adjustments. I can tell people what to do, (but) whether they do it or not is up to them,” Dean said. “I have some players that will try to make adjustments, and you can see them improve. What I do see is the kids learn the game a little bit more, because there’s lots of little weird nuances to it.”
Although there are new members on the team, Dean believes the group has strong skill, and his goals for improvement remain consistent.
“(In previous years), I had a lot of people that really struggled to understand how to swing a golf club. I had some good kids last year, but they just had never picked up a golf club, and they were seniors,” Dean said. “(My goals are the same), I just want the kids to get better. That’s it. I mean, if we were to qualify for state as a team, that would be amazing. I have to be realistic, it might not happen, but who knows?”
