HERMANN —One year removed from a sixth-place finish at the Class 2 State Tournament, the Hermann Bearcat golf team is gearing up for another run at their first State team title since 2017.  In his fourth year coaching the Hermann golf team, head coach Jake Witthaus feels his team’s experienced returning players and the depth brought by a number of new players puts them in a good position to pursue that goal in 2024, but the annual mission remains the same.  “We want to win conference,” Witthaus said, “I think that’s a good goal for us. Union’s always tough and St. James won last year, so it’s going to be a battle but I think our experience is going to give us a chance.”

While they do have experience, the team is still focused on limiting mistakes and playing better situational golf by understanding the course through things like the par of the hole and club selection. This in order to avoid having one hole ruin an entire round.  “We’re okay with bogey golf,” Witthaus said, “just limit mistakes and don’t turn a bogey hole into an eight or a nine.”

Witthaus will have one of Hermann’s largest teams in years, 10 players in total, with the six returning golfers providing the experience he hopes will give the team a competitive edge.  Among those six, the four returning varsity starters from last year will form the core of this year’s varsity team while also helping out with the development of the newcomers. The varsity starters back for the 2024 campaign are seniors Trigg Lindahl, Nolan Brune, and Max Miller and junior Easton Stiers.

Trigg and Nolan also took home postseason honors last year, with Trigg making 1st team All-Conference and All-District and taking fourth place individually at the Class 2 State Tournament, while Nolan earned an All-Conference nod. Due to the large size of the team, Witthaus believes Hermann will be able to field both varsity and junior varsity teams for the first time since he took over as head coach. He also believes that being able to have a junior varsity team competing in tournaments will be another benefit to the development of the younger golfers, giving them more competitive experience and improving their skills more than they otherwise would have.

Whether in fair weather out on the course, or on rainy days in their new golf simulator provided by the athletic boosters, Witthaus has seen enough of his team in practice to know the group of 10 golfers has the drive and desire to learn and improve.  He expects to see continued success from Trigg and Nolan, and breakout seasons from EJ Lindahl and Easton, noting that all have put in the work over the summer and some of them now have played for three or four years to get to this point.

“Come out and support us,” Witthaus said. “The kids are really putting in the work, and golf doesn’t get the attention like other sports.”

Hermann’s first match will be a nine-hole round on Tuesday, March 19, against St. Francis Borgia at the Franklin County Country Club near Krakow.