By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

For the vast majority of high school athletes, the last time a young person buckles their chin strap, dons their wrestling singlet, or laces up their track shoes, will be the last time they will compete in those sports. That is not the case with golf; one aspect that makes golf unique among most of the other high school sports is that its competitors can enjoy playing it for the rest of their lives.

This season the Berthoud High School (BHS) boys golf team will have a new look, with a new head coach and a young crop of hungry players. David Hunn, who formerly coached golf for Mountain View High School in Loveland and is currently a sixth-grade science teacher at Turner Middle School, has taken the reigns of both the BHS boys and girls teams. Hunn got his feet wet for the Lady Spartans last spring, coaching that team simultaneously with the Mountain View girls. But this fall, Hunn and assistant coach, John Perry, will devote their full attention to the Spartans.

Hunn brings 21 years of experience as a coach to the Berthoud program, played collegiately at the University of Hawaii, and has competed in numerous USGA events throughout his career. Hunn had close to a dozen young men show up to Loveland’s Mariana Butte on Monday afternoon for try-outs rounds as he and Perry work to establish their varsity and junior-varsity rosters and explained the focus is on the long-term, with the goal to be establishing Berthoud as a golf school.

Hunn described the time he is taking over the Berthoud golf programs as being a “perfect storm” thanks to factors, including the town’s growth and the opening of TPC Colorado as creating ripe conditions to put the Spartans on the map.

“We have an understanding of the mental game, of the physical game, of what it takes to get them to where they want to go,” Hunn said. “The good thing about golf is that, no matter at what level you are, you can still stress the fundamentals. The way we will do it is 70% short game, 30% on the range, and if we can get out on the golf course once a week, that’s great because there we can work on course management, which is huge for high schoolers.”

Hunn explained during his tenure at Mountain View he can count “at least 15” players who went on to play collegiately and had multiple top-10 showings at state among players who had not picked up a club prior to their freshman year.

“When the kids start seeing their scores drop dramatically they’re going to say, ‘Oh, coach was right,’ and I don’t want them to take my word for it because I’m the coach, take my word for it because I know where you want to be and how you’re going to get better,” Hunn explained, and described the team atmosphere he and Perry will strive to create will be that of a family. He cited numerous examples of former players with whom he is still in touch to this day.

“I want them to exceed their expectations and I want them to give it their all. If they do that I will be a happy coach,” Hunn said. “I am not a score-driven guy. I want them to put the practice in and they will see their scores lower; practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect, and they will see the rewards out there.”

The 2019 golf season will begin on Aug. 8 when the Spartans tee it up at challenging Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

2019 Berthoud High boys golf schedule

Aug. 8 – Pelican Lakes, Windsor, 9 a.m. shotgun

Aug. 13 – The Broadlands Golf Course, Broomfield, 8 a.m. shotgun

Aug. 19 – Highland Hills, Greeley, 8 a.m. shotgun

Aug. 20 – Saddleback, Firestone, 9 a.m. shotgun

Aug. 22 – Boomerang, Greeley, 8:30 a.m. shotgun

Week of Aug. 26 – Erie, course/time TBA

Aug. 28 – Olde Course, Loveland, 8:30 a.m. shotgun

Aug. 29 – Estes Park Golf Course, Estes Park, 8 a.m. shotgun

Sept. 4 – Sterling County Club, Sterling, TBA shotgun

Sept. 16* – Olde Course, Loveland, 8:30 a.m. shotgun

Sept. 23 – Regionals, course/time TBA

Oct. 7-8 – State, The Bridges County Club, Montrose, time TBA (tee times)

*BHS serves as host team