News

By Ryan Schlehuber, MCC Sportswriter

For the Montcalm Community College Centurions golf team, playing boring golf means playing great golf. 

If that’s the case, then the Centurions’ home invitational at Glenkerry Golf Course, Friday, April 26, was the most boring meet they have had all season.  

The Centurions finished out their regular season with a decisive win at the Montcalm CC Invitational, taking first place with a total score of 284, an impressive 13 strokes ahead of second-place Grand Rapids Community College, which finished with a 297 total. Oakland Community College took third with a score of 301. 

“They played really strong today,” Centurions Head Coach Doug Harkema said. “It’s our home course, so they know where not to play into. They got around pretty good. We’re playing well at the right time.” 

Coach Harkema has taught his players to play steady, don’t overreach and to stay comfortable through each hole, a strategy he coins as “boring golf.” 

“I thought they were very comfortable,” he said. “One of our sayings is ‘boring golf is good golf.’ We made a lot of pars today, we got a few birdies, we played solid all the way around.” 

With Friday’s win, the Centurions finished the regular season in the top two in each of the six meets they competed in this spring, with four of them being a first-place finish.  

On Friday, all four of the qualifying players for MCC scored under 80, something Harkema said the team aimed for. The foursome all finished in the top 8 individually at Friday’s invitational.  

Sophomore Ethan Johnson (Holt, Mich.) finished with an individual score of 70, meeting the par for the course, which tied for fourth place overall. Freshman Mason Blair (Holt, Mich.) and sophomore Jerald Brownell (Cedar Springs, Mich.) each tied at 71, good for fifth, and Zach Johnson (Holt, Mich.) rounded out MCC’s top four with a 72, tied for eighth place.  

Sophomore Ryan Clingenpeel (East Lansing, Mich), and freshman Kenny Mitchell (Cedar Springs, Mich.), finished with a score of 79 (tied for 39th) and 84 (tied for 59th), respectively, to complete MCC’s outing on the day.  

Ethan Johnson said he just stuck to the team’s script, which helped him score high. 

“Just playing boring golf,” he chuckled. “It was nice to win here. All the hard work paid off.” 

Blair said it felt great to win the team’s home meet, especially with how he played. 

“Today, my tee shots were a lot better than my last couple of matches,” he said. “Just getting the ball in play, giving me a chance to score.” 

With the regular season complete, MCC now prepares for the MCCAA Region XII golf championship, a two-day event that will be held at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek, Mich., May 5-6. The top three teams at regionals will then qualify to play at nationals.  

Ethan Johnson said having finished on top at the MCC Invitational put them in a good spot going into postseason play. 

“This is good momentum going into regionals,” he said. “Then we go win that and then go to nationals. I’m really excited. But we’re just trying to stay in the moment, stay calm, cool and collected. One shot at a time — that’s the best way to do it.” 

Last year, MCC tied for first place at regionals but because it was a new program and under a required one-year probation, it was not allowed to participate in nationals.  

With no restrictions now, Zach Johnson said he and his teammates are chomping at the bit to prove themselves at the highest levels. 

“We definitely want to win regionals and try to shoot as low as we can at nationals and really make a name for our team,” Zach said. “It’s not really a surprise where we are at now, looking back when we first started this spring. I think we had this expectation already going into this year, that we had a chance to win everything.” 

As a coach, it’s Harkema’s job to tap into every drop of potential his team has as the season progresses, but, he said, it’s also his job to keep them steady and focused, especially now. 

“This is where we want to be,” he said. “I feel really good about how our guys settled into who we are and how we do it. I’m just asking them to continue what they’re doing.  

“Since we weren’t allowed to go (to nationals) last year, that’s the No. 1 goal,” he continued. “Sometimes expectations can get in the way and my job is to just keep them playing golf and not worry about positions. Stay in the moment, make sure they focus on the next shot because that’s the only thing you can control.” 

If the Centurions finish in the top three at regionals, they will qualify for the NJCAA Division II National Championship, a four-day event, May 20-23. 

“We’re getting a chance to go back to regionals and getting a chance to do what we couldn’t last year,” Blair said. “That’s on our minds.”