This year’s golf season is looking kind of unpredictable or up in the air. Coach Brian Bobinski confirmed that the Notre Dame golf team will be more uncertain than ever, a direct result of the COVID 19 pandemic. 

“Our lineup is as undetermined as it has ever been.  We have three returning varsity players.  Ryan Darling, Jack Bondowski and Triston Behrend were varsity players two years ago as freshmen.  However, none of the team members have played high school golf in almost two years so there is a lot of uncertainty,” explained the coach.  

Two years is a lot of time to practice, grow and work on different facets of your golf game, so it is likely that these three players have made great strides and are prepared to accept the challenge ahead.

When asked if there were any players with exciting potential, Bobinski stated, “I don’t know enough about these players to put one ahead of the other at this time.”

Since the gentlemen on the golf team haven’t played competitively over the past two years, an in-depth evaluation process is all but certain. 

“We will have an intense tryout process to determine our lineups for the year,” the coach explained. “We have goals of qualifying for the state tournament and competing for the championship.” 

Coach Bobinski expects a large turnout to tryouts, so the pressure will certainly be on. Golf requires deep concentration, focus and mental toughness, and these tryouts, with the intense competition, will be an excellent indicator of which future team members will be prepared to handle the pressure of making tough shots in key moments during competition. 

However, it is not lost on the team and coach that more than anything else, it is a privilege just to have a team and compete this year. 

“I am very happy for the team to be able to have a season,” Bobinski said. “They lost an entire season last spring and it will be great for them to be able to compete as a team again.”  

While the goal is to win the state championship, the team will first have to qualify for regionals, then sectionals, then finally the state meet. This means there is a lot of competitive golf on the schedule this year, and should make for an excellent season. 

Spectators are welcome, so don’t hesitate to get outside, enjoy the spring sunshine and watch your fellow NDA students perform on the golf course.