It's not the home course, but Bell Creek Park did fine for the Arlington boys golf team.
It's where the Eagles prepared for their spring season last week as River Wilds Golf Club staff get their 18-hole course ready for official practices north of Blair soon.
Second-year head coach Landon Walkenhorst said AHS is “just hitting golf balls and working on our contact with the ball and club head.”
On March 27, though, the Eagles will start their season with a dual against Omaha Concordia at Stone Creek Golf Course. Their first tournament is April 3 at The Pines Country Club in Valley.
Walkenhorst's top-two returners this spring are Josh Hamre and Jacob Meehan. Hamre was just two strokes shy of qualifying for the Class C Championships last spring, shooting an 86 at Oakland Golf Club.
“I think what I like most about Josh is he swings his swing,” the Arlington coach said. “He knows and understands the game. He has been around the game a long time.”
Hamre is comfortable on a course.
“He rarely gets rushed when he is standing over the golf ball, and he knows more about his game than anyone else does and I believe that's huge when trying to be successful in this game,” Walkenhorst explained.
Meehan, meanwhile, keeps a level head, too.
“He wants to succeed,” the Eagle's coach said. “He wants to get better, but he has the attitude that the next shot is going to be better. He never really gets down on himself or thinks too much if he hits a bad shot. He just goes to the next shot believing that this one will be better.”
In addition to Meehan and Hamre, Walkenhorst noted on a preseason questionnaire Nathan Erwin, Tyler Anthofer and Hunter Wallace as Arlington golfers to watch this season after the graduation of state-qualifier Eddie Rosenthal last school year. Right now, though, the Eagles are just doing what they can to prepare — wherever necessary.
“I love just being able to get out there with the guys, and just seeing them improve each and every day,” Walkenhorst said, noting how AHS still has plenty of time to knock the rust off and get ready for the end of the month at Stone Creek.
