Inexperienced squad grows throughout season

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Cassville girls golf team made strides throughout the season, with an inexperienced roster gaining valuable tournament experience and setting the stage for bigger goals next fall.

The Lady Wildcats wrapped up the year at the Class 2, District 3 Tournament, with senior Taylor Yarnall posting the team’s top score with a 118, good for 26th place. Paislee Bolinger shot a 136 and took 43rd, Molly Pickett shot a 140 and took 48th, and Abbi Yarnall shot a 142, good for 49th.

Coach Clayton Bagby said the Lady Wildcats saw improvement across the lineup, as players worked to develop consistency and learn the game while navigating challenging conditions throughout the season.

“Overall, it had many positives and it showed some areas for improvement,” Bagby said. “The girls we had on the team did a good job of showing up and working on a daily basis, and all girls showed improvement over the previous season, so that was fun to watch.”

Bagby said Pickett and Bolinger, both new to varsity competition, made progress as they gained experience.

“Molly and Paislee were new to the varsity side of golf and did a good job of improving their scores from tournament to tournament,” Bagby said.

Extreme heat sometimes limited the team’s opportunities to play multiple holes on the course, making it more difficult to practice shots and situations that cannot be replicated on the driving range.

Yet, the team made progress in its ball striking and understanding of the game.

“Overall consistency in ball striking was definitely an improvement for all,” Bagby said. “With most of our girls relatively new to the game, and with it being very confusing at times to even the most experienced, they did a good job of starting to learn all the rules of golf and starting to learn their individual games and what they need to do help themselves out.”

One area Bagby said will remain a priority is the short game. He said players who excel in high school golf often distinguish themselves around the greens.

“In the girls high school game, the girls at the top really separate themselves from the rest with their short games, and especially on the green, so that is an area that will always be a focus,” Bagby said. “We will have to learn to embrace that aspect even though it’s not always the most fun to work on.”

The Lady Wildcats’ home tournament provided one of the season’s highlights. Bagby said the team enjoys hosting the event and playing a course that also attracts other schools.

“All the girls shot their career best at that point, with Taylor Yarnall leading the team that day with a top 20 individual finish with over 65 girls participating,” Bagby said.

Bagby praised Yarnall, a senior, for her impact on the team beyond her scores.

“Taylor did an awesome job with the younger girls this season making sure they had fun throughout and working hard throughout the season herself,” he said. “Taylor has such a positive attitude and outlook and did an amazing job welcoming girls to the team this year and making sure they felt welcome. With some girls new to the game, it can be very intimidating to come out and give it a try when you are just starting out and how difficult it is.”

Abbi Yarnall also turned in a standout performance at the Big 8 Conference tournament, finishing seventh overall to earn All-Conference recognition.

The team’s limited experience made improvement a primary goal entering the season, and Bagby believes the Lady Wildcats accomplished it.

“We were a very inexperienced team coming into this year, so setting goals outside of trying to improve a little bit every day is hard,” Bagby said. “I believe overall we did achieve that goal.”

Taylor Yarnall’s leadership helped make the learning process more welcoming for players who were still becoming comfortable with the sport.

“She made sure to keep things positive and always encouraging, and we will miss that,” Bagby said.

Cassville could return four golfers next season in Abbi Yarnall, Pickett, Bolinger and Gracelyn Sanders. Bagby said the experience they gained this year should help them continue developing their games.

“If all return we will have four girls coming back in, this will be the second or third season for all of them, so for them going into the season with some actual tournament experience after this year will be a benefit to all of them,” Bagby said.

The returning players have shown enthusiasm for the sport, and Bagby hopes they can use the offseason to prepare for more competitive finishes.

“They have all shown enthusiasm for the game and getting better, so hopefully they can work on their game between now and then and come back and give themselves a shot at earning some medals next year,” Bagby said.

The Lady Wildcats’ goals for next season include helping returning golfers identify where they can make the greatest improvements and potentially contend for a spot at the state tournament.

“The first goal for the ones coming back will be to really start to focus on where they can improve their game and save the most strokes to give themselves the best chance at medals,” Bagby said. “We would love to see an opportunity for the girls to qualify for state competition, and we have returners that will be capable of that if they make a few adjustments.”

Bagby also hopes to expand participation in the program.

“The second goal would be to try and grow the number of girls we have participating,” Bagby said. “Golf is an expensive and intimidating game to start playing, which can be tough to get the girls started, but we have a lot of support to get the girls what they need, and we will continue to try and get some girls the opportunity to play.”