The IHSA golf state finals will occur later than usual this year because the IHSA board moved the tournament back a week to Oct. 18 and 19, giving the golfers extra time to prepare.
The original dates for the tournament overlapped with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religion.
“Changing the 2024 IHSA Boys and Girls State Final dates to Oct. 18 and 19 will allow us to provide the most inclusive State Series tournament possible,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in an announcement after the virtual board meeting Aug. 9.
The shifted tournament dates mean it will no longer overlap with homecoming, and golfers will have an additional week of practice.
“It isn’t the same week as homecoming this year, so we can focus solely on golf and not have such a busy week,” senior Alayna Garman said. “It gives us an opportunity to work on what we need to do to get our scores down.”
Garman emphasized the importance of working on her short game.
“It’s easy to get around the green, but it takes skill to have your short game perfected,” Garman said. “It’s something you can always improve at.”
Junior Owen Berning, one of four returning state participants on the boys team from last year, says putting is the most crucial part of winning tournaments.
“Missing that short 2-footer could cause you or your team to miss the cut by one shot,” he said. “To make it to that stage, you have to have the mentality that every shot counts while still having a calm attitude.”
The team has focused on doing more putting drills this year, which Berning said has boosted the team’s trust in their putts.
“I have a ton of confidence right now…leading into playoffs and state,” senior Mason Lewis said.
Junior Rachel Johnson was the only member of the girls team to qualify for state last year. This year, she has been working to improve upon her 57th-place finish and hopes to bring the rest of her team to state.
“I’ve improved my swing a lot over the summer,” she said. “That gives me confidence that I will do good this year at state. Hopefully, we will go to state as a team”
This year, both the girls and boys state tournaments will take place on courses that the teams already have experience with.
The girls state tournament will be at Hickory Point in Forsyth, near Decatur–the same course where they opened the season shooting 344 and finishing third.
“We know the course and have a good feel for it and got tournament experience there,” junior Parker Burns said.
With multiple team members with at least two years of experience from state tournaments, the boys team is prepared for the course, according to junior Quinn Berning.
“We’ve seen the course in state conditions,” he said. “We have felt the pressure, so we know what to expect this year heading into state.”