Morgan County’s golf teams are off to a great start this season, with both already exceeding expectations in 2024.
The girls’ and boys’ teams have made significant strides and coach Max Gaubert has taken notice. He is proud of the way his golfers have competed so far as they get ready for the area tournament next month.
The Morgan County girls’ team hasn’t lost a match and sits at 6-0 on the season. The Lady Dogs have played a difficult schedule, with matches against some tough competition, helping to better prepare them down the stretch.
So far, the Lady Dogs are playing their best golf of the season and recently had a strong showing at the Gwinnett Open, where junior Hailey Westmoreland shot a 79 to finish tied for second place out of 64 girls playing at The Chimneys Golf Course in Winder.
“That’s a personal best for Hailey and it’s an extremely good score for a high school golfer,” Gaubert said. “The girls’ team is doing very well right now. At this point in the season, the girls are playing great team golf.”
Other golfers such as Tallie Ray and Addison Callaway have helped Morgan County’s girls stay perfect this year. The Lady Dogs only have one senior in Ray, so the future is bright as they continue to improve as a team.
The Morgan County boys’ team is off to a good start, too, winning four of six matches this season. The Dogs lost a few key seniors from last year, but a talented group of sophomores are helping to carry the team.
Sophomores Cole Anderson, Drew Eidson, and Tripp Jenkins have shined this season on the boys’ squad. Noah Howell is the Dogs’ only senior, so like the Lady Dogs, they’re still learning to play and succeed as a team.
“Our boys are very young this year,” Gaubert acknowledged. “(But) they’re trending in the right direction.”
As far as team goals go, both the Morgan girls and boys want to advance to the state golf tournament and make some noise in the Class 3A postseason. Gaubert aspires for both teams to improve from year to year when he’s at the helm.
The Lady Dogs finished fourth at the area tournament last season, but since only the top three advance, they’re hungry. They want that top-three finish this year. “They don’t want to be left out,” Gaubert said. “They could’ve rolled over, but they didn’t. They weren’t okay with it, which is a good thing. I like their determination.”
Last season, the Dogs didn’t make the postseason due to a sixth-place finish at the area tournament. Like the girls’ team, they want to improve in 2024 and make a run in the state tournament, which takes place in May.
“The boys are hungry, too. But they’re just learning to play scoreable golf, which is an important step,” Gaubert said. “So, they’ve got some work to do, but are trying to get to the state tournament. Just to be able to go to the state tournament in golf is a pretty big deal. Our goal is to get there.”
Gaubert is happy to see golf become more popular as the program expands. He saw his participation numbers grow in year two.
“In my first year, we only had eight girls come out. This year, we had 15 come out and we kept 11 of them,” Gaubert said. “For the boys, we had over 20 try out and we kept 11. I think the interest is building and over COVID, the game of golf became more popular. Everything is trending in the right direction for the program.”
Both teams have a few matches left before the area tournament, which takes place in Savannah on April 29.