The 2023 was another dream season for California Pintos golf, something they aim to capitalize on for this year.
After winning the Class 2 State Championship in 2022, California won two tournaments and had four top three finishes in the regular season.
The Pintos also played in a special tournament over spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina against schools from across the country. They finished fourth place in their respective bracket and junior Will Boyd won the individual competition. The Pintos went on to finish second place at the State Championships last May.
The Pintos' 2024 roster features 13 total golfers. Head coach Lance Boyd said the team is similar to the championship caliber teams of the last two years in terms of talent and strength. Boyd also believes the junior varsity team will be competitive alongside varsity and be a standout team as well.
"Every player in our varsity lineup has the potential to earn All-Conference and All-District honors this year. We will be that deep and the quality of our lineup is good enough to have all five varsity starters get some postseason awards. Will Boyd, Ayden Howard and Jackson Hackett will all be aiming at achieving All-State honors again at the end of the season," Boyd said.
California's schedule will be filled with tough competitions and tough oppositions. They will be playing at two country clubs that are in the State Championship rotation: the Columbia Country Club and the Meadow Lake Acres Country Club in New Bloomfield.
Boyd said those will be important tournaments for his team. Not only because they are difficult courses to play at, but it will allow the Pintos to test the status of their game on challenging courses. To him, one of the most important thing for the Pintos is to compete a state championship level in every tournament while displaying good character and sportsmanship.
California's ultimate goal is to qualify for the state championships in May and have another high finish. Something that Boyd believes is highly possible given how many returning players he has and the strength his team possess.
"These young men are proud to represent our community at venues all over the state. They are great golfers who are also excellent young men. We have two evening home matches this year on April 11 and 25," Boyd said. "I encourage people to support these players by coming out to watch them play. It's free and I promise you will get to see some good golf."
The Pintos tee-off their 2024 season on Monday afternoon at the Tolton Catholic Tournament in Columbia.