Cyclones hope to drive their season to success

The HCHS Cyclones girls golf team hopes to accomplish big things this season with a small roster.

“Some of them are brand new to golf,” said Cyclone Head Coach Todd Bladt. “It’ll be a steep learning curve. You got to get out there and swing to have any improvement. We’ll battle a little bit here in March where it’s Iowa weather. It could be 70 degrees at 9 a.m. and then all of a sudden there’s a blizzard at 4 p.m.”

Last season, the girls won 209-228 against Clarinda, 217-219 against Denison, along with a first place finish with 209 strokes in a triangular against Boyer Valley and IKM-Manning.

Macy Mueller missed winning conference by two strokes last year, and Bladt is expecting her to lead the team this year.

“She was right there,” Bladt said of Mueller. “She ended up getting third in conference and played really well in the district meet with some really talented girls from Gilbert. She has a great attitude and she’s focused and wants to have a great senior campaign here. She’s getting longer off the tee. She’ll have to be a senior leader and that’s a new role with some young golfers. Patience will be key there.”

Mueller knows the challenge of getting through any golf course, whether it’s 9-holes or 18-holes, and she hopes to improve on certain courses.

“There are definitely some courses I hope to play better on,” Mueller said. “Our first meet down at Lewis Central. There’s a lot of trees there, and last time I didn’t play great, so I’m definitely hoping to do better there this year, especially since it’s our first meet.”

The Cyclones open their season April 14 against Lewis Central, St. Albert, and Heartland Christian, followed by a tournament April 17 at the Shenandoah Golf Course which features 14 schools.

“The best part of that course is it’s an interesting course to say the least,” Bladt said. “We’ve had some interesting things happen at that facility, and it’s a flat course. There’s really no hills to be seen there. It’s a pretty level playing field. It’s a good opener that way. You’re not going to have a lot of off balance or side hill shots. You’ll be squared up and not have to worry about the ball pushing off the hill.”