The afternoon sunshine showers the golf course in bright light as the Tompkins High School golf team practices their putting for the upcoming season. Hoping to improve their technique and ultimately lower their overall game score, the students focus intently on making sure that they have just the right body angle and apply just enough force to the ball to hit it towards a desired location-but golf is not just based on proper alignment. Golf coach Jeff Mudd has been coaching golfers for four years and feels that golf, especially at Tompkins, is a very athletic sport.

“A lot of people think that it’s a country club sport where you don’t have to be in shape and athletic, but at Tompkins, our motto is that we are athletes not just golfers,” said Mudd.

The athletic aspect of golf is evident in the way that the team has been preparing for the 2016-2017 season. The team practices three to four times a week after school in order to further develop key skills that are imperative to success on the golf range as well as to improve their athletic abilities. Senior Lauren Profilet has been a member of the golf team for over two years, and has worked hard during practices to improve her skills.

“On Tuesdays we go to Meadowbrook Farms and we do putting and go hit balls on the range. Then on Wednesdays we go play nine holes and sometimes on Thursdays we go play nine holes or putt,” said Profilet.

In addition to the physical and mental aspects of the sport that team members have been working to master since the start of the year, bonds have been forming as students meet new members and spend time with them both during and outside of practices.

“My favorite part of golf is being able to make new friends and have fun with my teammates,” said Profilet.

The new season of golf brings not only a sense of anticipation for what is to come, but also an air of self-motivation from students who set goals throughout the season. Many hope to decrease their golf score, and will often work diligently to accomplish it before the end of the season in April. By striving towards a goal, students are able to stay driven to accomplish new feats that they had never previously been able to attain.

“I think my greatest accomplishment is being able to get better every year, and see my scores really drop since when I started playing golf,” said Profilet.

The upcoming season is an exciting time for returning members to showcase skills they have been perfecting and for new members to improve the skills that are needed to lower their scores. The team’s tournament is the Falcon Match Play Championship from Dec. 2 to 3, and many are looking forward to a successful season ahead.

“The season has been going great so far, we are really optimistic. We have until April which is when the post season starts, so we are excited to get better and see what we can do in April,” said Mudd.