By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The golf teams of the schools of the Jefferson District met for an eight-team tournament over the Birdwood course at Boers Head on Aug. 15. Interestingly, high school golf is now a decidedly co-ed sport. Not only did every team have at least one female golfer, over half of the schools had a female golfer in their number one slot. The male competitors played from the Birdwood course black tees which make the course 6,030 yards. The female golfers played from a blended set of tees. The Virginia High School League (VHSL), which oversees all high school sports in the Commonwealth, requires that the female golfers play a course distance that is 85 percent of the male golfers’ distance, so a mix of tees is required to meet this requirement. The Birdwood course is the home course for the University of Virginia golf team. It was recently redesigned by famous tour pro Davis Love III and his team. The Cavalier tees (i.e. the pro tees) make the course a daunting 7,116 yards in length.
The Fluco team under the tutelage of Coach Wiley House is completely reconstituted this season, as the top four players from 2023 have all moved on. This Fluco squad was not experienced enough to compete with some of the other Jefferson District teams, several of which had multiple golfers scoring in the 70s. Each team enters six golfers and the top four finishers for each team count toward the team score. Scoring is on the gross score with no handicaps involved.
Christian Wood, a junior, had the best score for the Flucos. He shot 102. Next came freshman Noah Bilderback with a 106. He was closely followed by another freshman, Desmond Sadler with a 107. Sophomore Blair Marshall shot 108. Also competing for the Flucos were Ayden Spitzer and Jacob DeVane.
House said that he has 13 golfers on his squad and that it is an extremely young contingent. That’s obviously an accurate description, as three of the top four scorers were in their first or second year of high school. He describes his players as very committed and highly coachable.
The high school golf season is very short due to the early end of daylight savings time. The Flucos hosted a rescheduled tournament on Aug.19 and then hosted a three team match on Aug. 20 with Charlottesville High and Chancellor High visiting. On Aug. 22 they were scheduled to travel to Western Albemarle High which plays on the Old Trail course in Crozet. On Aug. 28 and 29 they will be hosting matches on the Lake Monticello course. Another Jefferson District tournament is scheduled for Sept. 23 and that will end the season. On that date, the Fluco volleyball, field hockey and football team seasons are approximately half over.
