Girls work on little things

By: Rich Fisher
   For the South Brunswick High girls’ golf team, it’s a little too early in a lot of players’ careers to worry about scores.
   At this point, it’s all about the basics.
   "Once it starts warming up, we’ll worry more about scores," coach Joe Dougherty said. "Right now we’re worried about chipping and putting. We’ll continue to work on that. We’re doing a lot of putting drills now.
   We’ve kept track of putts, we make them write down how many putts they have per hole and per round. We’re trying to limit four-putting. The goal is to two-putt. We’re not working on the line, we’re working on the speed right now."
   Dougherty figures that by having the girls record their putts during practice rounds, it will put them in a competition with themselves and make them want to putt better.
   "My thought is, any way we can have them compete in a non-threatening environment will hopefully motivate them," the first-year coach said. "If they see through nine holes that they have 28 putts, then their goal will be to get below 28 on the next nine holes. We’re always looking to get the total down.
   "We also do some drills, where we have four stations around the greens with varying lies. And we put strips down on the grass that are three-feet wide. We weren’t aiming for a point, we just wanted to have them put three balls inside the stripes. They score points for that. There’s an individual competition and a team competition, and we give them little chocolate prizes for the winners."
   Which is something he never has the luxury of doing as Vikings’ wrestling coach, considering most of his guys are trying to cut weight.
   But anyone who has seen Craig Stadler knows that’s not the case in golf. It’s all about the touch. Which is why Dougherty is also working on other elements of the all-important short game.
   "With our chipping, when we get back to school (from Easter break) I’m going to start videotaping some stuff and let them see what they’re doing," the coach said. "Some of them are coming across the ball and stuff like that."
   As the Vikes work on their basics, the hope is to have a team of better individuals by the end of the season, thus having a better team overall.
   Currently, Courtney Snyder and Meghan Jackson are the top two golfers in the rotation, and a group of six other girls are rotating into the final four spots. Snyder shot a 115 in the Red Devil Classic at Copper Hill Golf Course last week, while Stewart had a 120. Freshman Samantha Chromey was a pleasant surprise with a team-best 113.
   "She never played competitive golf before this, so I’m pleased with a 113 from her," Dougherty said.
   The other girls who are fighting for spots are Alissa "Lupay" Perez, Caitlyn Brady, Emily Clark, Yeni Choi and Tatiana Kim.
   "They’re mostly all young and inexperienced," Dougherty said. "I’m trying to expose them to competition so I’ll rotate them in and out and hopefully it pays dividends down the road.
   "Choi and Kim are both freshmen with no experience, but their swings are good. They’re not making solid impact, but the fundamental foundation, the grip is good. Yemi and Chromey have to cut their swings down a little bit.
   "Tatiana is a good student. Everything I tell her about chipping and putting, she tries to do. She’s been away and hasn’t really played yet. We’re playing Bishop Ahr on Monday, we’ll let Yeni get in there and see what we can do."
   The Vikings are 1-2 in dual matches, losing to talented Peddie and Hunterdon Central squads while defeating Toms River South.