CORBIN —  

By Chris Parsons / Staff Writer

Corbin looking to make some noise

The Corbin Redhound golf team is taking a familiar trip this week as it heads to the KHSAA State Golf Championships for the fifth straight season.

Brad Harris’ team breezed to the 10th Region Championship with a round of 314, seven strokes better than second place Jackson County’s 321.

While Corbin may have been the favorite going into the region tournament, some people may have been surprised to see the order of finish.

With his top ranked golfer for most of the season, Cody Ellis, coming in with a 78 for third best, Alex Davis and Connor Maguet each shot a 77.

On the other hand, Harris said the scores didn’t surprise him at all.

“It’s been tough, and we’ve been young the past couple of years at the tournament,” Harris said . “As a team, we’ve done this on depth because we’ve had good players, but we’ve had five really good players all year.

“A couple seasons we’ve had a clear cut number one, but any of our five guys could come in as the top score for any given tournament, which is always huge.”

While some may think the role of a golf coach is overrated, the thought and preparation that goes in to a tournament has to be considered. Just like a football or basketball coach would study film on the opponent, a golf coach does the same. The only difference is the fact that the opponent is the golf course itself.

“We do a lot to get the kids prepared for the course in particular that they are playing and the tournament,” Harris said. “You get them ready for the type of shots they are going to need to make for that course, so that’s one thing that I do to get them ready.

“The other thing is golf is a really mental game and I’d say it’s more mental than physical,” he added. “I’ve had good players that have had great instruction, whether its from their parents or otherwise, but you have to get them to stay positive because there is going to be bad holes, but you have to persevere.”

Persevere is exactly what Corbin has done this season, hovering around the top of the state’s rankings much of the season. Harris said that after a few teams that are maybe one and two, he feels like the Redhounds have a shot at a high finish.

“All season we’ve been one of the top teams in the state, “ Harris said. “We’ve won some tournaments and played in some of the top tournaments throughout the season.

“We’ve played every weekend but two now, since we were off after the region,” he added. “I feel like St. X is the top team in the state with West Jessamine number two and after that, I really feel like we’re right there with anybody else. We’ve beat every other team at some point and I feel like if we play really good, we can win the state.”

North Laurel's first tourney trip hopefully first of many

By Chris Parsons / Staff Writer

When the 2012 Girls State Golf Championships begin today, there will be a new face in the crowd as the North Laurel Lady Jaguars take aim at a high finish.

This year’s 9th Region Tournament runner-up finish marks the first time in the school’s history that the team has made the trip to the state tournament. With less than a week gone by, North Laurel coach Karen Moore said the reaction to her team’s success has been nothing but positive.

“We’re very excited to be able to represent the community and the school and the girls have been practicing every day,” Moore said. “We’re trying to get ready to hit out of this tough Bermuda grass so, we have and to see what we can do.

“As for the support we’ve gotten, anywhere we have went, people have offered us a congratulations,” she added. “Caroline has received cards and emails with congratulations and good luck wishes, so it really gives you a good feeling to get recognized for what they’ve done.”

As the tournament gets closer, Moore said she knows her team will have to settle in and get ready to compete against a tough field. But, she said in golf that things can change on a dime as scores can go up and down daily.

“Looking at the scores from the region tournaments, out of the 22 teams that made it, I think we fall somewhere in the middle of the pack,” Moore said. “Of course, every day you play, golf is different and you never know what’s going to happen.

“The weather will be a factor of course, but everyone will have to deal with it,” she added.

With a second place finish in the region tournament, Moore said her team is feeling good confidence wise. She said that if things go well on the first day of play, you never know what can happen from that point.

“If the kids come in here and play the way they are capable of playing, I think we can make the cut,” Moore said. “It’s going to take some really good scores though.

“Once we make the cut, you have to figure that the top three spots will most likely be locked up, so if we can somehow finish in the top 10, it would really be amazing,” she added. “You have a lot of teams with some strong tradition, for instance Russell County is making its 16th straight state tournament appearance, so that’s what we are up against.”

Win or lose and in reality, no matter where North Laurel finishes, Moore said there is a few positives that will come out of her team’s trip.

“Hopefully, this will spark an interest in some of the younger kids that would like to play golf,” she said. “If that’s the case, then that would be great for our program in the future.”