Why 2024 could mark the first trip to state for Roland-Story boys golfer Braylen Loots
This might be the year for Roland-Story junior boys golfer Braylen Loots.
Loots has been golfing his entire life. His father Jason brought him up in the sport and helped coach him to become Roland-Story's top golfer on the boys side over the past two years.
“He’s always been our best golfer,” said Roland-Story No. 2 golfer Jack Birkland. “He’s always really reliable to us. It’s nice having him.”
Having grown up around golf, it was only natural for him to get heavily invested in the game.
"It’s something I love to do," Loots said. "It’s my favorite sport.”
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It was in junior high when Loots really started to take the game seriously.
As a freshman, Loots averaged 46 over nine holes and 99 over 18. He improved to averages of 43 and 86 respectively as a sophomore, and so far this year he has lowered his averages to 40 over nine holes and 85 over 18.
“He’s got all the tools,” said Roland-Story coach Roger Twito. “He’s good off the tee, he’s good around the greens and he knows course management. One of the things that has improved over the past couple of years is his mental approach to the game. He keeps his composure better, which helps his scoring.”
On Tuesday, Loots and the Norsemen competed in the Heart of Iowa Conference golf meet at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center. Loots placed 11th individually with an 18-hole score of 81, and Roland-Story took fourth as a team.
Loots finished six strokes behind medalist Parker Rodgers of Nevada, medalist runner-up Charlie Ford of Prairie City-Monroe, and PCM's Nick Farver and Easton Van Veen, all of whom shot 75.
“It was not too bad,” Loots said. “I had two blow-up holes that kind of took me out of it. But other than that, it was all right.”
The tournament let him know he still has work to do if he wants to achieve his goal of qualifying for state, as well as helping the team qualify in Class 2A.
Loots and the Norsemen have fallen short of qualifying in each of his first two seasons with the program.
During his freshman season, he was part of a Roland-Story team that placed eighth at the 2A sectional meet at the Jewell Golf and Country Club. Last year he helped the Norsemen place fourth at the 2A sectional meet at the Rice Lake Golf and Country Club and he tied for 10th individually.
Now Loots wants to lead Roland-Story past sectionals. The Norsemen will host the 2A sectional meet at the River Bend Golf Course in Story City on May 8.
“It’s a big advantage because it’s the home course,” Loots said. “But there are a lot of good teams and players there. It will be a tough match-up.”
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PCM will be the favorite at the sectional meet. But Roland-Story as a team is hoping to place in the top three and advance to districts at the Pleasant Valley Golf Course in Iowa City on May 13.
“To get past sectionals as an individual I’ll have to be right around even (par),” Loots said. "If I improve chipping and striking the ball well...we’ll be alright.”
With tough competition ahead in both sectionals and, potentially, districts, it will take everything coming together for Loots to earn his way to the Coldwater Golf Links in Ames for the state meet. His coach said Loots is up to the challenge.
“We’ve got some goals regarding getting to state,” Twito said. “I think we’ve taken a step forward each year. He just needs to continue to improve in every area of his game so he can bring down his score and be competitive at the sectional level and the district level. This might be his year to get to state.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Roland-Story boys golfer Braylen Loots wants a shot at state in 2024
