Staff writer
Scott O’Hare has a little bit different resume than other golf coaches.
In the fall, he coaches special teams, running backs, and defensive ends in for the Hillsboro High School Trojans football team, some of the most brutal positions on the gridiron.
In the winter, he coaches wrestling, which with the sport’s combination of strength and endurance is one of the most grueling.
“I enjoy the mental challenge,” O’Hare said of golf. “I enjoy trying to teach kids that challenge. It’s not easy to hit a golf ball straight every time.”
O’Hare is a little bit different coach for golf. He said he wants to spend as much time on the practice green and driving range as on the course playing.
“Going out and playing is the fun part of golf,” O’Hare said. “I want to make the game fun for them but I’m competitive.”
O’Hare has two golfers this season who mirror his competitive drive. Senior Devin Dick is looking to return to the 3A state tournament this year after placing in regionals last season.
Sophomore Evan Ollenburger has yet to make a state run, but he had hardly picked up a club before last season, O’Hare said.
Both golfers are competitive, hard workers who want to spend time at the range and practice green working on their games.
Each plays a similar game: Dick’s biggest strength is using a powerful drive to make up ground on the course. With some work on his short game, the senior may be able to avoid the disastrous four- and five-stroke holes that plagued him in tournaments last season, O’Hare said.
Like Dick, Ollenburger is a three-sport Hillsboro athlete. He uses his considerable length to generate distance on his drive.
“Plus, Evan wants to be good at whatever he does,” O’Hare said. “He has not shot the numbers he’s capable of.”
Kyler Borg and Casie Allen are also seniors for the Trojans. O’Hare said Borg is a fixture on the course playing in his off time, however, his experience stems more from recreation.
“Every shot there’s a little bit of pressure,” O’Hare said of competition.
Allen has made huge strides in four years on the team. O’Hare said he has transformed into a consistent striker after only being able to connect on a good shot once out of every 20 swings as a freshman.
Joining the Hillsboro letter winners from last season are freshmen Phillip Ediger, Graham Pankratz, and Jordan Simmons.
The Trojans’ first tournament is April 3 in Herington. Hillsboro hosts the Hillsboro invitational on April 5 and one half of the Marion County Invitational on May 4.