Golfer Isaac Melvin reads the green on Hole 6 at Crspin Golf Course, while fellow junior, Jackson Kibbey, walks up to the green to putt.

Monday, August 19, found the local golfers hosting a large match at Sistersville Country Club. Six Varsity and two JV team scattered around the course for a shotgun start on the very hot summer afternoon. Team scores for the Varsity were: Linsly – 167; John Marshall – 183; Magnolia – 184; Tyler – 212; River – 223; and Paden City had only two players. JV scores were: Ritchie – 224, and John Marshall – 233.

For the Knights, individual scores in the Varsity match included junior Isaac Melvin’s round of 51 to lead the way. Other scores were: Landen Miller – 53; Mason Nichols – 54; Jackson Kibbey – 54; Jesse Griffith – 56; Gavin Morris – 58; Anna Griffith – 59; and Ezra Reed – 63. Medalist for the match was Linsly’s Dylan Dunleavy, with a nice round of 3 over par, 37. Paden City scores were: Will McGinnis – 61; and Liam Clements – 62.

Coach Joe Griffith was hoping for better play from his golfers. “Scores were high for our home course,” the veteran coach remarked. “When our lowest round is in the 50s, you know it’s going to give us a high team total.”

Isaac Melvin, who had the low score on the team for the first time this year, reflected that “Every match we play, we only get more experienced. Some matches may not go as well as others, but that doesn’t mean we try any less than other matches.”

Landen Miller pinpointed a cause of his high total: “I played pretty bad. I couldn’t hit the ball straight with my driver, so I shot a pretty high score.”

Mason Nichols commented that “I am not happy with my results this week, especially for the home match. I want to hit in the 40s and stay out of the 50s!”

Senior Gavin Morris, has rejoined the team for selected matches after concentrating exclusively on soccer for the past two years. The soccer team captain and goalie noted that “Sistersville has always been a tough course for me when my drive slices, but as the match went along, I started to find my groove again. I enjoy being back on the course, and I hope to play in more matches when they don’t conflict with my soccer schedule.”

On Thursday, August 22, the team traveled north to the hills of the Crispin Golf Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. Tyler and Linsly were the only two teams for that match, which was constantly threatened by rain from a front coming through.

Coach Griffith had been checking the weather radar all morning, “and if we had believed the radar, we would have stayed home. But we took a chance on going up to the match, and the only rain we had came from a few sprinkles on the second hole.

Sometimes the gap between the radar and reality is rather significant.”

Team scores were: Linsly – 154; Tyler – 211.

Individual scores for TCHS included: Landen Miller – 47; Mason Nichols – 51; Isaac Melvin – 56; Jackson Kibbey – 57; Anna Griffith – 64; Ezra Reed – 64; and Jesse Griffith – 66.

Anna Griffith summed up the match: “The course was very hilly and the afternoon was very hot and humid, and I didn’t shoot my best. But I still had fun at the match.”

Jackson Kibbey was happy that the teams were able to complete the match. “We avoided the rain and stayed dry until on the way home. But Linsly is a really tough team to beat. I was glad to play the course and look forward to the matches the rest of this season.”

Jesse Griffith commented on his first time to play Crispin: “It was really hilly and hot and tiring, but I only lost one golf ball.”

The team’s record on the season stands at 16-21.

The schedule for this week included another large home match on Monday, including Linsly, Williamstown, St. Marys, Paden City, Frontier, and Tyler. Tuesday, the Girls Team (Anna Griffith) competed in the annual Girls Get Together to Golf event at the Wheeling Park Course, and today, the Varsity travels to Riverside in Sardis, Ohio, to take on Magnolia, Monroe Central, and several other teams.