MCH Athletics adds golf team

MCHS students now have a chance to play golf competitively with the addition of a boys and girls golf team to the athletic program.

“We decided to have a golf program so that we could provide a different kind of athletic program that could cater to maybe a different type of student that we have at MCH,” said Matt Rodgers, MCH director of athletics. “It also provides lessons on honesty and integrity which are life skills that all students should learn, and so it is good to be able to work on those aspects of golf that could one day roll over into their lives as well.”  

Players spend Monday and Wednesday afternoons during practice at the school learning the rules and basic knowledge of the game to understand how to play. For many of the players, this is their first experience with golf. The players also spend some time hitting foam practice balls to learn basic pitching and putting techniques. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the players practice at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. The team received golf bags from Sun Mountain and received a reduced price on full sets of golf clubs from Dallas Golf.

The golf team will be led by Coach Preston Powell, a second-year history teacher at MCHS. Powell has been involved in golf his whole life, competing since the age of 7, teaching golf lessons since his freshman year of high school and volunteering with the Midway high school golf program.

“My expectations for the golfers is to establish a good foundation for the sport, as well as gain a love for the game,” Powell said. “I want them to be able to find confidence in their ability to work hard on something for months and months and be able to look and see how much their hard work has paid off. That can look different to each one of the golfers, but that is the beauty of this being an individual sport. I also hope that some of our students can find something they love and can do for the remainder of their lives.”

The boys and girls teams will compete against UIL teams mainly from central Texas to start out the season then against other teams in the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship for district tournaments.  The boys will take five-man teams to UIL tournaments with four best scores counting toward the team total. Then in TCAF tournaments, teams of four will compete with the top three scores counting toward the total. The girls will play as individuals at the tournaments this season.

The team kicks off the season on Monday, Feb. 29 with the Mart Invitational at Battle Lake Golf Course in Mart, Texas. Click here for a full schedule of tournaments for the MCHS golf team.