The golf team has been hitting the links for the past two weeks, and the Duhawks  have a team that they think can compete for a conference title.

The Duhawk Spring Invite, the first match of the season, took place the weekend of April 5-6 at Thunder Hills and The Meadows. Loras finished fifth at the home meet. The conditions were not ideal; most of the weekend was exceptionally cloudy.

The group of Duhawks that participated in that match was comprised of two seniors, two juniors and one first-year player, Sam Herrmann. 

 Herrmann has made a big splash in his first year with Loras. In spite of having the least experience, he was the only Duhawk to score in the 70s in both rounds at the Spring Invite, and he finished in a tie for fifth place with a total score of 150. Juniors Noel Frideres and Andrew Schroeder followed Herrmann, finishing 16 and 19, respectively.

Seniors Mark Dolphin and Steve Stark serve as captains for the men’s golf team and provide the leadership and experience for the younger players. Dolphin finished fourth individually at the Iowa Conference Championships last spring, so he knows how to compete in the big meets.

“They are always pushing our team to do better, and they have so much experience, having played for four years,” Herrmann said of the team captains. “So we can go to them for insight on what courses we will be playing weekly.” 

More experience comes from new coach Jeremy Hawkins, who took over after former coach Jim Davison took a position at another school. Hawkins is the Head Golf Professional at The Meadows in Asbury, IA, and continues to manage that job as he coaches the Loras squad.

Hawkins is a certified Class “A” card member for the PGA, which gives him the ability to provide an advanced knowledge of the game.

“He always knows how to fix problems in our games, and if we ever have questions, he has answers and knows how to teach about all the technicalities of a golf swing,” Herrmann said.

In this past weekend’s event, which was held at Wartburg, the team did not live up to what it set out to do. The Duhawks ultimately finished 12th out of 21 teams. Conditions were not that great on the first day, according to the Duhawk golfers, which limited what they could do on the course. 

Junior Kyle Domeyer and Dolphin shot the best for Loras. Dolphin shot a total of 151, good for a 21st-place finish; Domeyer had a total score of 155 and finished 37th. Herrmann finished third-best on the team, shooting a 157 and placing 47th out of the 170 golfers competing.