There’s a new boys golf team this fall in Park City. New faces, new swings, new shots — but the results appear to be the exact same.
On Aug. 13 the Miners picked back up where they left off, winning their season-opening match by 16 strokes at Oquirrh Hills Golf Course in Tooele. Stansbury finished in second place.
The 2023 Park City squad finished third at the state tournament. They also dominated the regular season and region. It is the Miners second-straight year back in the 4A classification.
“It was good, really solid start,” said Miners head coach George Murphy. “We started pretty fast last year too, and that’s going to be the challenge, just to keep it going all the way through state.”
Park City found their toughest competition last fall to be the southern schools that have better access to golf year round and warm conditions during the fall season. The 2023 state tournament was filled with brisk weather and plenty of rain.
The regular season matches are scored by compiling each team’s top six scores out of eight players. At state, four scores are compiled, but out of just six players.
The Miners will be looking to replace their 2023 two player Ty Brady, who moved out of town before this year. They have a team loaded with contributing seniors, as well as a star golfer in junior Rawson Hardy.
Park City has seven more matches before state Oct. 16 and 17 at Meadow Brook Golf Club in Taylorsville. The goal is to improve every match and every day at practice, with the idea of competing hard for the state title.
The Miners will host one match Sept. 12.
Forrest Summers, Hardy, Samuel Hunt and Jeremiah Marsh were Park City’s four scorers Aug. 13, shooting 66, 70, 71 and 72. Summers, Hardy and Hunt were state players last fall, with Marsh stepping up his game this season.
Murphy said he had over 50 kids show up for tryouts, gunning for 11 varsity spots. He’s confident more kids like Marsh will join the varsity ranks and contribute after this year’s senior class moves on.
“Continue to work on the the small things,” added Murphy on his program. “Put that amount of effort into your weaknesses. … It elevates your game. That’s how their handicaps drop, and they’re able to be really competitive at these tournaments. They look forward to carrying that into October.”
Murphy knows a lot of the team’s success will hinge on maintaining positivity. He’s seeking natural leaders to step up and those who aren’t to keep strong attitudes. He said the team should push each other to their best.
Next up for the Miners is Wednesday’s second match at Murray. The hosts are some of the team’s strongest competitors, finishing third in the Oquirrh match. Murphy said the team has played the course before and things should be pretty straightforward but with a bit more distance.
Park City also has a Friday match at Copper Golf Course in Magna.