What a difference a year makes!

Last season only two players turned out for the St. Regis High school golf team. The good news is both are back this year along with a bunch of other players.

Head coach Dan Park welcomed almost 20 players to the team’s initial practices this spring as a host of athletes who excelled in other sports decided to try golf this year.

“We have two returning golfers, sophomore Jack Connolly and senior Carter Jasper,” Park said. “We lost no one from last year’s team, it was just those two”.

But this year and season is more bountiful in terms of available players, although Park said many are new to the game. Among the players attending golf practice are junior basketball standouts Caleb Ball and Macy Hill, along with basket ballers John Pruitt and Kaleb Park.

So far so good, says coach Park.

“They are all very athletic and are showing a lot of improvement for only a few practices so far,” Park said. “They are mostly freshmen and sophomores so our future looks good not only for this year but many years to come.”

Park is the manager of Trestle Creek golf course where St. Regis plays its “home” matches. He has been the assistant or head golf coach for the past twenty years.

And while he’s happy to see the large numbers and solid potential, he is aware there is plenty of coaching to do with the younger student athletes.

“Our strengths this year are yet to be determined,” Park said. “Six players who came out are first year players”.

Still, Park is eager to get the season underway and pleased with the attitude and work the current group is putting in so far.

“My thoughts are I am excited to have enough golfers to field a team in the tournaments we attend,” he said. “The kids are putting in extra work to get better and they are a pretty tight knit group that will push each other to achieve our goals”.

After the first matches of the year last week, it appears the Tigers are on their way up the ladder. They finished third among Class C teams in the recent Hamilton Invitational, led by returnee Connelly, who shot a 101 for the day and helped the Tigers finish several shots ahead of fourth-place Darby.

Other golfers who took part included Dillon Thomas (119); Pruitt (137; and Park who carded a 139.

Next up for St. Regis is a match at Bigfork April 14.