Despite some bad weather, Athens Golf brought home a win for the varsity boys at the 2023 Pilgrim’s Scottsboro High School Invitational on March 22.

“It felt pretty good after coming in second in the past two,” Gavin Swint said. “I think we all played pretty well. It was a pretty challenging day, but I think we battled through it.”

The team played through the rain, and Coach Jacob Ricketts said he feels like overall they did very well to win with a combined score of 312.

“It seems like that’s the only tournaments we play now is in cold and rain. They’re pretty used to it, I think, so it was good, especially to finally get the first place victory,” Ricketts said.

Swint hit an 80 and was still critical of his play, saying he “could’ve played better” but recognized the difficulty of the course and said he knew others struggled on it as well so he was okay with it in the end.

Another teammate, Jason Couey, hit a 79 and said he hit the ball alright but didn’t do anything special. He said he could’ve hit and putt better and would work on distance control in practice to improve there. Swint agreed he could improve the same areas and gave an example of what they could do in practice.

“Just setting out different distances and hitting those on greens and improving your ability to read the green, too,” Swint said.

“It’s always about just remembering your best shot,” Coach Ricketts said. “Just be positive, focus on the next shot, and remember the good shots not the bad ones.”

The team has next week off as far as competition goes, since it is spring break. But, it’s not really a break to the boys. Swint and Couey both say they’ll be playing over the break.

They play next in Oxford, Alabama, on April 5 at Cider Ridge.

“As long as we’re in the hunt when it comes down for state, we’re right where we want to be,” Coach Ricketts said.

It’s his first year as the coach, but he says he inherited a team who knows their stuff and it’s his job to keep them moving in the right direction and improving every day to earn blue maps in the future.

“We’re very fortunate we’ve only got two seniors this year, and we’re very heavy on freshman and eighth grade coming in from middle school. What we’ve got is a lot of guys that have different strengths,” Ricketts said. “Being freshman heavy, it’s looking very good for Athens golf going forward.”

Swint has only been playing for about two years while Couey has been playing for most of his life. 

“I’ve only ever really looked up to my dad. He’s a big golfer, too,” he said his dad has helped teach him everything about the sport. “He’s been my coach for forever.”

Swint and Couey are both freshman in the five man team that won at Scottsboro. The other three are Nolen Wolfe (78), Case Hagood (80), and Hayden Smith. Smith hit a 75 and had the lowest score for the tournament. Blake Smith and Ty Porter were also there as individuals.

There are about 24 boys in the whole program right now, and those seven make up the varsity team. There are also eight girls.

The JV team also brought home a win this week at the The Warrior tournament in Cullman at Terri Pines on Monday, March 20.