With regular season play complete, Livingston Academy golf head coach Buddy Sells said his team is peaking at the right time ahead of the district tournament.
The Wildcats season has had its ups and downs according to Sells, but he said in a match last week all five of his boys shot the best round of the season. And with his girl golfers finding their footing, Sells said the Wildcats are playing with confidence heading into districts.
“We did have some better scores than what we had been having,” Sells said. “I really feel like with that last match that we have a little bit of momentum heading into Monday and hopefully we can build on that.”
The tournament will be held at Deer Creek Golf Club in Crossville, a course the Wildcats have only played once this season. Sells said that while the team is not all too familiar with Deer Creek, his golfers have practiced all year on similar courses.
“Southern Hills and Sparta are not exactly the same as Deer Creek, but are similar in the fact that there’s a lot of Bermuda,” Sells said. “Those courses have a tendency to bake out a little bit and get a little bit harder and faster.”
Sells said that the team performed well at Deer Creek previously this year and that some of his golfers have independently gone to Crossville to scout out the course. He said that Deer Creek Golf Club presents some new challenges to his team and that the greens will be
“It’s a course that was closed down for quite some time,” Sells said. “The comeback that it has made is quite impressive. Everybody I talked to said the greens are impeccable. Maybe some of the tee boxes and fairways are a little bit short on grass, but it’s been a brutal last two months. We just look forward to the challenge.”
With the Wildcats coming off their best week of play all season, Sells said he is confident in his golfers, but knows golf is not a kind or forgiving game.
“This past week, everybody has kind of taken a step in the right direction,” Sells said. “But, we’ve got to be careful with that. You know, sometimes it’s one step in the right direction and two back. So, we’ve got to make sure we keep the pedal to the metal and don’t let up.”