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Girls golf brings good attitude to the course

Nate Waggenspack
Brittany Corey works on chipping at the practice green at Yampa Valley Golf Course. Like many of this year's Lady Bulldogs, Corey is in her first year with the girls golf team.
Nate Waggenspack

Remaining golf schedule

April 1 vs. Grand Junction at Bookcliff Golf Course

April 8 vs. Grand Valley at Battlement Mesa Golf Club

April 9 vs. Eagle Valley at Gypsum Creek Golf Course

April 24 vs. Coal Ridge at Eagle Vail Golf Course

April 25 vs. Aspen at River Valley Ranch

April 29 at Yampa Valley Golf Course

April 30 vs. Rifle at Rifle Creek Golf Course

May 7-8 Regionals in Aspen

— A family atmosphere has the Moffat County girls golf team in high spirits, no matter what’s happening on the course.

Of course, the girls can swing the clubs pretty well, too.

The team of just six members has only one golfer who played a significant amount of golf before starting high school. But that hasn’t held the Lady Bulldogs back so far.



Moffat County has placed in the top three in several tournaments so far this season and took first in a scramble tournament Tuesday in Montrose. All that despite sporting mostly first- and second-year players.

“You can see (the improvement) happening,” head coach Ann Marie Roberts said. “I can really see the changes, even just being outside here instead of in the gym. It’s great.”



Caitlin Harjes is the team’s most experienced golfer and has been its best this season. Harjes shot 85 in Montrose on Monday and took third in the tournament.

Meanwhile, varsity golfers Katelyn Peroulis, Alex Bulla and Shianna Dockins have seen their scores drop this season. Peroulis and Bulla shot 104 and 109, respectively, in Montrose, and Roberts remembers when they were shooting 30 strokes higher.

“Alex, this is her second year, and she’s gone from shooting in that 140 range all the way down to 109,” she said. “And we’ve barely gotten to play outside” in Craig.

Brittany Corey and Lexi Gonzales both are in their first year playing for the team, with no previous golf experience. Dockins, a junior, said she was the same way last year.

“I think most of us were like, ‘I don’t want to play golf,’” she said. “But Ann Marie bugged me about it so I came out to try and had a lot of fun.”

“I’ve gotten a lot better I know since I started” with the team, Dockins said. “I know there’s still a lot of improvements I need to make, but I had never picked up a golf club before starting with this team.”

Roberts and Dockins describe the team as having great camaraderie, saying they always are having a good time, even if their golf shots are not their best on a given day.

As the snow melts off Yampa Valley Golf Course and the Bulldogs are able to enjoy more time on greens, fairways and the driving range, Roberts knows it will be a huge boon for their confidence.

“I think they saw some different things (in Montrose) this week, and learned a lot,” she said. “I can see, if we get to spend even a week straight on the range, hitting a lot of shots, it will start to groove for them.”

Nate Waggenspack can be reached at 875-1795 or nwaggenspack@craigdailypress.com


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