MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - The Reeths-Puffer girls golf team has some momentum going.
Last year the Rockets started the season with standout junior Paige Anderson and a bunch of teammates with limited skills and experience.
The team predictably struggled at the start of the season, but as the weeks went by, the less experienced players started finding their games and turning in some surprisingly good scores.
The end result was very positive, with the Rockets finishing third in the O-K Green conference behind powerful Mona Shores and Zeeland West.
R-P senior All-Stater Paige Anderson
“From where we started it was a pretty good accomplishment,” said second-year R-P coach Matt Pallett, whose team will open the season on Monday in the two-day Traverse City Central Invitational. “Toward the end we started playing some pretty decent golf. We finished second in the conference tournament.”
The exciting news is that four main players from that team are back this season, which means the Rockets may be a fun team to watch this fall.
“We only had six players last year, and we only lost two,” Pallett said. “I have most of those girls coming back."
The most exciting player for the Rockets will again be Anderson, who started last season very hot by winning the Mona Shores Invitational, then just kept on rolling.
Rowan Bluhm
By the time the season was over, Anderson won four first-place medals at various tournaments, finished second at the GMAA City Tournament, placed fourth in regionals and 13th at the state finals.
She earned All-State honors for her efforts, and the sky seems to be the limit for her as she enters her final varsity season.
“She does a little bit of everything very well,” Pallett said about Anderson. “She hits well off the tee, has solid iron play and putts pretty well. What she does best is her mental game. She doesn’t let too many things shake her up. That’s a tough part to master, but Paige does a nice job of it.”
Unlike last year at this time, the Rockets will kick off the season with several other experienced players who will keep getting better.
Abby Haak
Tops on that list is junior Rowan Bluhm, who missed most of last season due to an injury but returned late and played well.
“She tried to come back a little too early and struggled at first,” Pallett said. “But once she got healthy she was playing some decent golf.”
Also returning are two players who made very big strides last year after starting the season as novices – senior Abby Haak and junior Avery Luna.
“Abbie was shooting at times in the 130s – I even see a 155 – but by the end of the year she shot a 115 and 112,” Pallett said. “Avery is another one who finished on a good trajectory. She had some improving scores as the season went along.”
Avery Luna
Several other girls are also expected to play significant roles, including freshmen Sophia McCollum and Olivia Ambler, who both worked out with the Rockets last year as eighth graders.
Andrea Marshall and Grace Klimsza will add crucial depth to the roster.
Pallett said the Rockets are not shy about shooting for the top of the O-K Green conference this season, despite the presence of several very good opponents, like Mona Shores.
He thinks his team has developed to the point where being competitive with good teams is a very reasonable goal.
“Now we need to keep building our skills,” the coach said.
