Golf is one Utica sport that although practices and plays away from the high school, has continued to churn out solid season after season. Though the team is small and young, they are constantly improving week after week, making the future exciting for coach Robert Morin.

“Our season has so far been promising,” Morin said. “We have a lot of young talent, and they all have been contributing.”
The team finished their season with a 1-7 record during regular season matches. In the Macomb County tournament that took place on May 3, the team finished thirteenth out of seventeen teams.

“We did okay in the Macomb County Tournament,” Morin said. “I took some young kids and they showed up and contributed with their scores.”

The next major tournament the team had was their division meet on May 14 at Twin Lakes Golf Club against other teams in the MAC white. The golfers finished in fourth place out of six teams in the white division.

“We did some good things at the division meet,” Morin said. “We played at the same course we will be playing at for regionals, so we got to see the course and get some good experience.”

Although the final record may not be what the Chieftain golfers hoped for, different team members had different aspects of the season that they enjoyed the most. For junior Charles Borus, the best part of the season was just being able to golf consistently and improve.

“I enjoy going to a golf course and playing golf,” Borus said, “it helps me relax.”

Aside from golfing, the team also created a stronger bond between each other, something that will definitely make an impact in the future.

“I also enjoy the camaraderie of being involved in a team,” Borus said. “Especially since we get to know each other better throughout the season.”

The season continues to chug along, as the next stop for the team is regionals. Not all Utica golfers can attend, but the ones that do will try to make their mark on the competition.

“Once again it’s a young team,” Morin said. “So, the goal for them is to get experience and get familiar with the setting.”
Although the majority of the team’s matches are held at the Stony Creek Metropark Golf Course as well as other courses around the area, Utica students and faculty still hear the scores via the morning announcements and are proud of the Chieftain golfers’ accomplishments, whatever those may be.

“I think the Utica golf team has come a lot closer than I expected them to be,” principal Thomas Lietz said. “From my understanding, they are a very young team, and they’ve been a few strokes from teams that have a little more experience.”

As well as focusing on regionals, members of the team are already excited for what next year’s season has to bring.

“I’m most excited to play varsity again,” Borus said, “and hopefully be the team captain next year.”