Fairfield golfers reloading for another successful run

Fairfield has developed a tradition of playing at the state golf tournament in recent years with the exception of missing out on a trip last spring.

The Trojans didn?t qualify past sectionals as a team and Derek Byrnes bowed out at districts. Now with the 2011 season beginning next week, a seasoned group of veterans is fired up to make the 2010 result just an unlucky blip on the radar.

?I think they?re hungry to get back. They shot really well at the conference tournament, but for whatever reason, just didn?t have it at sectionals,? said head coach Mick Flattery, whose team finished ranked No. 12 in Class 3A. ?Some guys were really disappointed they didn?t advance because they had a taste of it in years past. As a team, they wanted to move on, and now it?s one of the major goals each of them has.?

Byrnes has been lost to graduation, but, once again, a stable of talent returns with plenty of varsity experience to boot. Ringleader Jordan Leazer is back for his senior season, and has been right in the middle of Fairfield?s run of success helping the Trojans to a 122-40 record in his three years as a varsity golfer.

Leazer finished 2010 with a 43.6 nine-hole average while the junior duo of Davis Lowenberg and Cody Kool shot 40.7 and 40.8 averages, respectively, and bring plenty of power to the top of the lineup. Lowenberg and Kool were both all-Southeast Conference selections after shooting low at the conference tournament last May.

CJ Shipman, also a junior, stepped into the varsity lineup for the first time as a sophomore and performed admirably. Shipman shaved more than three strokes off his average over the course of the season, and was named the Trojans? most improved golfer.

That improvement has carried into 2011 as both Shipman and Lowenberg were in the 30s in the team?s first qualification round since practice began Monday with Kool and Leazer not far behind.

That group figures to round out the top four and be heavily counted on for team scoring, but Flattery will still be looking for a lot from the rest of his lineup.

?We need to have six guys, not three or four, with quality scores because we?re going to need them,? he said. ?When we?ve been good, it?s after practice the kids go out and play some more. What makes us better is kids going out for nine, 18, however many holes they can get in before the sun goes down.?

It seems a big group of nine freshmen have taken that advice to heart. Years of experience are behind several of those underclassmen who may just jump in to make an impact this year.

?It?s a good group of freshmen, and they?ve been with me since I started having a summer golf camp,? Flattery said. ?Hopefully we?ll continue to be the recipients of good golfers because of it.?

Matt Carr leads that group along with Landon Gamrath and Joe Hietpas as they hope be a cog in the varsity lineup.

?With this type of sport, there are a lot of freshmen playing with seniors and mixing it up. If you?re good, you?re good,? Flattery said. ?The senior can appreciate the freshman if they?re good enough to make the team and play varsity. That?s how you get a little more credibility with the seniors.?

Jon Anderson showed improvement as a JV golfer last spring and could also make a push as one of five sophomores on the roster.

The conference slate appears to be as competitive as ever thanks to last year?s champion Washington returning five of six varsity golfers along with traditionally strong Mount Pleasant bringing back its entire crew with a new coach. Fort Madison also figures to have all six back and should show marked improvement along with Keokuk.

But either way, the Trojans expect to be in the mix by the time they head down the stretch run of the season.

If that wasn?t enough, Fairfield will also see a tougher road to state thanks to a sectional draw that adds Chariton, Centerville and an Oskaloosa team dropping down from 4A, as well as a district tournament at Williamsburg.

The road isn?t the easiest it?s ever been, but Fairfield still appears to have the talent to put together yet another strong season in southeast Iowa.

?It?s something we?ve been proud of and able to hang our hat on the past five or six years ? winning meets and sending golfers to state,? said Flattery, who waits to see what the first round of rankings look like when they are released April 20. ?Fairfield is very well thought of, we have some credibility in the sport, and now the guys want to keep that going and be competitive every night.?