Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran golf coaches say their teams have made a lot of improvement since their opening tournaments of the season on April 2, but they have a ways to go before teeing off in the sectional on June 6.

Braves coach Brent Hattabaugh said, “They are improving. We’re hitting the ball better off the tee,” after the Braves defeated Trinity 174-215 Monday at Shadowood Golf Course.

“We still need to work on our short game. We left a lot of strokes out there on the short game, chipping and putting,” Hattabaugh said.

Brave junior Elix Preston, who shot a 48, said, “My driver has been pretty good. My irons are pretty inconsistent. Overall I have one or two bad holes around that and it makes my score pretty big.

“So if I get more consistent I could be one of our top golfers. I’ve usually been a two-putter. On hole nine I was on in three and missed a short one. I’ve got to improve my five-footers. That’s where I can improve a bunch of strokes.”

The Braves will play in the Mid-Southern conference tournament Saturday at Wooded View Golf Course in Clarksville.

Preston said, “I don’t know how well some of the other teams have been doing but I think on any given night we have the fire-power to be one of the best teams in the conference. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves going down there. We should place pretty well.”

He said his low round at Hickory Hills this season has been 42 and his low at an away course was a 39 on the front nine at Otis Park (Bedford).

“I think I’ve made solid improvement this year, but there is still a lot of improvement to be made,” Preston said. “The job’s not done.”

Hattabaugh said, “We’re playing a lot better. I’m hoping that we finish in the top three down there. We had kids go down and practice last week. They’ve got experience. Last year was the first time they had ever seen the course. With that experience we’ve got a shot at being in the top three this year.”

The coach said he will have all underclassmen playing in the MSC tournament.

Trinity Coach Doug Sabotin said, “We are showing improvement over the past two weeks from the beginning of the season. I’m very proud of our young men for doing their best. I’m excited about the next couple of weeks as we prepare for sectionals.

“With four seniors our goal is to make sure they

have fun, play great and honor God as this is the last high school sport each of them will play.”

The Trinity seniors are Jacob Sabotin, Kade Hill, Caleb Williams and Preston Kovener.

Hill, who shot a 51 Monday, said, “I’ve had some things improve. I’m kind of stuck in a little bit of a rut right now with (drives, chips and putts). I usually start off the year pretty strong. I started off the year in the mid to low 40s.

“I was playing really well and every year it seems like I hit this path in the middle of the season I can’t get back. It’s a mental thing. I’m stuck right now, high 40s low 50s. I need to move past that and hopefully get back into my groove.”

Hill said his best score at Shadowood this season has been a 44.

“I’m definitely going to have to practice the course more. I need to have ‘game action’ shots,” he said. “Hitting on the range can help you with your swing, and your consistency, but what it really comes down to is actually hitting your shots on the course where it counts, where it matters.

“I need to get through that mentally. I need to get my mental game down and hopefully improve my game by the time sectionals get here.”