Stating their case

Confidence can be, in general, the most elusive quality on a golf course.

There are many reasons, but come state tournament time, pressure and a strange course may combine to send scores skyrocketing.

For local golfers, having the state tournaments in their backyard takes a little of the edge off.

“It’s definitely an advantage,” said Tyler Nelson of Shadle Park, the Greater Spokane League’s top seed, who will tee off this morning in the 4A boys tournament at The Creek at Qualchan. “It’s probably the toughest public course in Spokane, so knowing the layout, and what you can and can’t do, gives you probably a shot advantage over the field.”

Statistically, Districts 7, 8 and the Whitman County half of District 9, are allotted roughly 14 percent of all the berths into the state tournament.

Last year, when all nine state tournaments were held in Spokane County, local golfers won five of the tournaments (56 percent) and earned 16 top-5 finishes.

There might not be a better instance of home-course advantage than the 3A boys tournament at Indian Canyon, where Clarkston’s Joel Dahmen has the course record.

“It’s huge,” said Dahmen, who will join the University of Washington golf team next year. “It kind of goes back to confidence. If you know where you can’t miss shots, and where you can’t hit it in certain spots, where you’re going to bogey or maybe lose your ball, then I know I’m not going to hit it there.”

Knowledge of the course also affects your preparation, as Dahmen said he’d practice his wedge game and putting to play at the shorter course at Indian Canyon.

Another influential aspect of confidence is the familiarity with the pressure of playing in the final group on the second day.

Dahmen’s already won a state tournament, as a freshman in 2003, and finished second last year at Qualchan.

“You just try and not think about what would happen at the end – state championships, parades, interviews, whatever,” he said. “You focus on one shot. It’s so cliché, but it’s so true. You can let your mind wander in between shots, but when you’re over the shot, nothing else can be going on.”

Nelson agrees that experience is important, but in his case, his 23rd-place finish last year prepared him to make a deeper run this year.

“Going into it (last year), I was just happy to be there,” Nelson said. “I just wanted to enjoy it and when I made the cut, I was ecstatic and it made me realize that I do belong among the rankings in the state and I can do well against the whole state.”

Also, as Dahmen and Nelson can both attest to in being district champions, it helps to feel good about your game coming in.

With Dahmen coming off the course-record 61 last Monday at Indian Canyon, he’s confident about his game, saying if he takes care of his own business he “should be the state champion.

“Confidence is everything,” he said. “If you’re standing over a shot doubting yourself, you have no chance. You don’t have to press. There are 36 holes and if you start slow, you have the whole second day to make up ground. Even if I’m down, I’m going to excel. I’m going to be going forward and they’ll be coming back.”