NEWTON FALLS - Newton Falls High School senior Logan Beechy didn't let a little, or even a lot, of raindrops ruin a round of golf.
It wreaked havoc on the rest of last week's Division II district field at a rain-soaked Windmill Lakes course in Ravenna, but had little to no effect on Beechy, who was runner-up by shooting a 73. That score sent him to today's and Saturday's state tournament at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus.
Beechy tees off today at 9:48 a.m., off No. 1. Saturday's tee times are based off of Friday's finishes.
He's been practicing his drives at his father's course, Duck Creek Golf Club, Newton Falls' home course (Riverview) and he went back to Windmill as well.
For Beechy, he wants to harness the consistency in his drives. He was a bit erratic on his tee shots earlier this season.
"Last week, I hit them very straight and that helped me a lot - definitely gave me a better outlook on my score," Beechy said.
Newton Falls golf coach Scott Kernan said Beechy is working on shots both on and around the green and with the long irons as well. He added that Beechy is going back from the normal white tees at Riverview to get used to the distance he'll face in Columbus.
They headed back to Windmill for some specialty shots as well.
"Riverview, what a nice course it is, nice home course and they take care of us, but they don't have the sand traps we're going to run into down at the Scarlet Course," Kernan said. "We don't have the opportunity to hit those during the regular season, to hit those out of the bunker, especially from 150 yards out. It's going to be tough fora him if other kids are playing those type of courses where they have to hit those long iron shots out of the bunker."
Because of the bad weather, Beechy didn't practice on Wednesday and headed down Thursday to practice in the Columbus area.
Weather shouldn't be a factor because, according to weather.com, it will be 59 degrees and sunny Friday and 69 and sunny Saturday.
Mentally, Beechy is prepared for this weekend's rounds.
"I think I'm mentally ready and hope everything goes well. Just excited, anxious," Beechy said.
However, Kernan might be more anxious than Beechy.
"He has the greatest demeanor for this type of situation because he's so laid back that I'm probably going to be more nervous than him," Kernan said. "That's a good thing. As long as he gets a little bit of adrenaline juices going, but not too much that he'll be in good shape."
