Whitt Carter
Sulphur Times-Democrat
Same story; different day.
For the tenth year in a row, the best young golfers that
Sulphur has to offer took a familiar trip: a voyage to the state tournament.
A journey, which began in 2003, has continued on through a
decade’s time, marking one of the more impressive stretches in recent memory of
Sulphur High School athletics.
Since the streak began ten years ago, 18 golfers have
represented the Bulldogs in the state tournament. Remarkably, 11 of those golfers participated in the state
tournament three times and six individuals were four-time state qualifiers.
Under the leadership of Tony Duck for the first two years
and current coach Toby Todd since 2005, Sulphur has produced seven top-ten
finishes, three top-four individual medalists (Chase Todd 2nd,
Bryeson Lance 3rd & 4th) and four All-State athletes
(Todd, Chase John, Lance and Grant Bates).
“Those kids’ work ethic were tremendous throughout their
careers,” said Toby Todd. “We were very fortunate to have those players in our
program. They were the leaders’ of their squads and they set the tone for how
the season was going to be.”
Chase Todd, who now serves as the Head Basketball/Girls’
Golf Coach, was the backbone of the first two squads to advance to state, who
finished 10th in 2003 and 6th in 2004.
Chase, younger brother of Toby, was strolling the fairways
of Sulphur Hills since he was a young boy, taking advice from older golfers’
that he would use throughout his career.
“The
great thing about the golfers out at Sulphur is that so many of them are
willing to help out,” said Chase Todd. “As I was growing up, I learned quite a
bit from people like Carson Hollis, Michael Jennings, Heath Hancock, and David
Thompson.
Throughout
the historic stretch, many times, a freshman was called upon to play a vital
role in team scoring.
Toby
Todd acknowledges this as one of the keys to making return trips to the State
Tournament possible.
“That
has been a huge part of our success during this run,” said Todd. “We get these
young guys involved in our system and getting them experience in as many
tournaments as possible. All of these guys have been excited about golf, which
gave us a chance every year.”
In
2005, the budding young star, Lance, joined fellow standout John at the state
tournament as the Dogs capped off their highest finish in school history,
taking third.
Lance,
who was a top ten finisher in all four of his trips to state, said it was Toby
Todd who helped him settle into his role, one that would help the Bulldogs garner
their bronze medals.
“I think my freshmen year was
his first year to coach high school golf. He did a really good job in leading
us to a 3rd place finish at State. As each year went by, he became a better
coach and was always emphasizing practice, practice, practice. He was dedicated
to getting us to the tournament no matter what it took,” said Lance.
Bates,
who was chosen as All-State last year, wanted to continue the tradition of returning
to the State Tournament by taking advice from Todd and being the vocal leader
of his team.
“He
really helped all of our mental games. We would get discouraged with a hole or
a shot and he would be right there to pick us back up and get us on the right
track,” said Bates.
“We were becoming a part of
something great. My goal, year in and year out was to get my game to the point
to help us make the state tournament. All of the regular season was just
practice for the big show.”
This year’s club has exceeded
expectations, by pushing the state-qualifying streak to a double-digit count.
However, for the first time, there isn’t a star carrying the bunch. This
season, it’s been a team effort.
“This year’s group has
been special,” Toby Todd said. “There hasn’t been that one guy that’s carried
us. There have been five guys who’ve carried us. It’s been a different guy
almost every round; a total team effort.”
The 2012 squad, consisting
of Hayden Hancock, Parker Tinsley, Jordan Barefoot, Collin Hoyle and McLane
Jolly, has some remnants from past Sulphur golf heroes’, a plus, if you ask
someone who has been around a while.
“It’s cool to see the
family ties on the team this year,” said Chase Todd. “Both (Jordan) Barefoot’s
and (Hayden) Hancock’s fathers played golf when they were in high school.”
Chase Todd, Lance and
Bates all have fond memories of their careers that, as a whole, spanned from
2003-2011.
From bus rides with flat
tires, to lessons from former PGA Professional Hollis, to joking around during
tournaments; it’s no secret that this impressive ten-year journey can be summed
up fairly easily: fun.
“I’ll remember the
friendships I made, more than anything,” said Lance.
“I’ll remember how much
fun we had, going to tournaments and playing golf together,” said Chase Todd,
who was an individual runner-up in ’03 and a tenth-place finisher in ’04.
“Sulphur golf will, no
doubt, be remembered as one of the most fun times I’ve ever had, “ Bates said.
That sounds pretty fun to
me.
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