This is an athlete feature on Senior HSE boys golf player Cole Starnes. Cole is a Senior golfer who in his years of playing at HSE has had a lot of success and has made great strides in his game. I asked him some questions about how he’s preparing to start his senior season, how and when did his recruiting start, how’s the team doing now and how they have done in the past. I also asked some of his teammate’s questions about how they see him and how he helps their game improve. This is what Cole had to say, “I have been preparing for my senior season since we got 3^rd at state last year in my junior season. It’s just been a lot of working on my technique and I have been preparing for my senior season since we got 3rd at state last year in my junior season. It’s just been a lot of working on my technique and making sure that me and the rest of the people on my team are the most prepared we can be going into state this coming year. My recruiting started soon after I won the Boys State Championship in 2021. That and a couple other good finishes were able to get me some interest from schools, and I ended up signing with IU. The season just started, but we’re on a great start. We beat the #1 ranked team in the state at their home course in our first match, which makes us feel really good going into the season. Our team hasn’t been as successful as we would have liked in the last couple of years because we have not won State yet but getting 3rd last year and adding 2 great players onto our varsity roster this year is exciting for the future.”

I asked his teammate Charlie Putnam, a junior on the HSE boys golf team who has played with Cole for years, how he has seen Cole prepare and how has Cole helped him improve his game. This is what Charlie had to say, “So Cole talks a lot about putting in the effort in and out of practice. So, after practices, he’s there practicing for another hour or two. Basically, until sundown he’s still working on his game. To go along with that he talks about being all in and whatever you put in you will get out. So, to see him have a bad round or two, and then see him keep his chill and stick with his routine. It inspires and motivates me to want to get the same results he gets. So now this season I like to practice more outside the team to make sure I’m prepared like him.”

Cole has set a standard for HSE boys golf, for his teammates and for the future of the boy’s golf program. Hope all of you reading are excited to see how Cole and the HSE boys golf team performs the rest of this season.