Randolph golf team has plenty of experience
Alan Dale
Randolph Times
RANDOLPH — Rob Engel enters his seventh official season as head coach of Randolph Cardinals golf and the expectations are still to expect a solid campaign.
Engel saw his 2021 team finish tied for the District title to qualify for the state tournament, finishing 13th overall.
Senior Collyn Beal returns after a year where he was the top golfer for the Cardinals, finishing fifth at District and 43rd at State.
Bryson Eledge is back after a strong finish last year and he and Beal will be joined by Andy Hausmann, Ajay and Aiden Gubbels, Isaiah Salmon and Brayden Shearer.
“All have varsity experience and have made big strides over the summer,” Engel said. “Hopefully this team can pick up where we left off from last year. We bring back a lot of players with experience and they were out playing a lot of golf last summer.
“We would love to be competitive in our meets and challenge for the District championship and another trip to State for the team.”
The team’s strength is the depth as they have a lot of guys pushing for the five spots in the lineup.
“Competition will make everyone better,” Engel said. “One thing I hope to improve on from last year is the consistency from each player and as a team, limiting the big mistakes and staying mentally tough.”
Freshmen Kage Peterson and Shaw Backer will also add depth and interior competition in daily practices.
Beal said this year should be “an experience” as the team will be young, but the depth is there. He hopes they amp up their competitive edge.
“It’s going to be alright though,” Beal said. “It’s going to be about getting used to going up against people. We just need to get them going in practice and before meets we need to get them in the right mood.”
A year ago, Beal had a strong start to his final match of the year before falling short in the next after losing touch with Engel during play.
“I didn’t have the experience that I could have used,” Beal said. “It’s a learning curve for me and I learn better by myself, and he knew that. So, I should be better this year. I need to go out there and compete and that’s all I can do.
“I know what it’s like to go to state and not be so nervous so it should be easier.”
Beal says his game has improved because he’s learned to “have fun with his buddies,” and not worry about beating everyone.
“It’s about staying calm and worrying about your next shot and not what other people have done,” Beal said. “I need to focus on myself and what I can do. Now, you know, it’s just about teaching the younger ones that every shot counts for your team.
“It’s going to be a fun year, we just got to stay competitive in the meets.”
