Head boys golf coach Randy Herring is looking to a returning senior to lead a young roster through the upcoming season.
Herring said the program faces the challenge of replacing experienced tournament players with underclassmen who must develop competitive consistency. Herring said the transition requires younger athletes to gain enough experience through summer tours and practice to feel comfortable in the top five positions of the team.
“It can be a huge time-consuming thing to get a kid without much competitive experience to feel more comfortable,” Herring said, “And be able to produce some quality scores.”
Herring said he encourages his players to participate in competitive environments like the Sneds Tour or his own local junior tour rather than just playing casual rounds with friends. Herring said there is a significant difference between recreational play and a tournament setting that athletes must understand before high school competition begins.
“We emphasize the importance of playing in a competitive environment as compared to just going out with your buddies or your parents or something like that,” Herring said. “It’s night and day difference and so it’s so important that they understand that there is a difference and then expose themselves to those environments where they can feel more comfortable once the high school competition starts.”
Herring said the mental side of the game is the most important aspect of coaching, specifically regarding golf course management. Herring said young athletes often struggle to take the path of least resistance when they hit a ball into trouble.
“The mental perspective is something that you have to talk about every day when you’re around the kids and just try to emphasize the simplest of things and try to make them realize that it’s not life or death, it’s just a golf shot,” Herring said. “Taking the path of least resistance a lot of times where you can get away with a bogey is a lot better than trying a low-percentage shot and end up getting a triple bogey.”
Herring said senior Liam Fuentes is the standout individual on the boys’ roster after competing in the state tournament last year. Herring said while the rest of the team is still finding its stride, he expects Puentes to be one of the top golfers in the Upper Cumberland area.
“He has the ability to be extremely competitive again this year,” Herring said. “He’s by far my best individual player.”
Herring said rising sophomore Ryder Flatts represents the program’s values through his performance as an A student and his involvement in church and community service. Herring said the ultimate goal of the coaching staff is to develop productive citizens who understand the integrity required by the sport.
“The game of golf teaches more life lessons than all the rest of them put together,” Herring said. “So you get kids that have to play by a certain etiquette, you know, call penalties on themselves. That’s what the integrity of the game itself teaches. That and you just hope that the kids will buy into that and because eventually it’s going to make them a better person.”
