Joe Drennan
Sports EditorWith the weather warming up, Forest Lake High School boys golf coach Roger Cheyne is going to be able to see exactly what kind of team heíll have this season.
With only two returning seniors in Nick Hafele and Eric Larsen, the team will have a young core of golfers. A core of junior golfers that include Noah Lawson, Mark Moberg, Brad Lange, and Jacob Svenkeson will most likely be the nucleus of the team.
Svenkeson's twin Adam should be able to help the team with his experience, not to mention freshman Kyle Lewis who is going into his third season with the team. Lewis played mostly on the JV team last year, but could move up and fill a varsity spot.
Other returning golfers that were on the JV team last year include eighth graders Andrew Kelly and Peter Follese and junior Clay Harrison.
ìThe thing about high school golf is that the time to really improve your game is between June and August,î Cheyne said. ìWe play a lot of golf in a six week season so what you kind of hope is that these kids are going to be a certain amount better from what they did over the summer.î
A total of 27 golfers have signed up for the team this year, but once the courses open and they go through tryouts, the team will be narrowed down to 16 golfers.
This season
This seasonís team may be young, but they have plenty of experience as many of the returning golfers have varsity experience.
ìWe really only lost one senior from last years team in Mike Paisley,î Cheyne said. ìHe was our senior captain and we pretty much played only one senior and the rest underclassmen last year.î
Of the returning golfers, Lawson could become the top golfer as he was part of the team that competed at the section tournament and narrowly missed making it to the state tournament. Lange was also on the team that went to the section tournament last year and played a lot of golf last season.
With Hafele and Larson the lone seniors on the team, Cheyne is looking for them to act as team leaders. Svenkeson has been on the team since his freshman season and has been a steady golfer as well.
Competition
ìWhite Bear Lake has been the top team in the conference for several years,î Cheyne said. ìItís been about six or seven years since they have been knocked off as the champion and I donít see why that would change.î
Woodbury has been another strong team in the Suburban East Conference the past few years as well. Cheyne says that with the number of returning golfers Forest Lake has, they should be right up there with White Bear Lake and Woodbury.
In section play, Chisago Lakes, Grand Rapids, Cambridge and Duluth East have been strong and will most likely be strong again this season.
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