NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights return three letterwinners from last spring, including Zak Arnett, who has been a fixture on varsity since his freshman season. 

“Zak filled the No. 1 spot on our team last season,” said Jonathan Goodness, New Glarus coach.

Also back for the Knights are Ben Lukszys and Jack Douma. 

“For Ben and Jack, it was their first year playing on the team. Leading into this season, we are looking to lean on the experience of these three to lead as our possible Top 3 golfers,” Goodness said.

Also swinging on the links this spring are Carter Siegenthaler, Nolan Bodenstein, Jordyn Runde and freshmen Clayton Streiff, Lance Brecklin and Jackson Erstad.

“They will look to compete for our fourth and fifth spot on the team,” Goodness said. “It will be interesting to see how much improvement others have experienced from last season.”

In 2021, the Knights finished second at the regional, advancing to sectionals. 

“This year we will have a difficult regional,” Goodness said. New Glarus will have the benefit of the home-course advantage, as the regional will be played at Edelweiss Chalet and Country Club. “Edgewood, Edgerton, Lodi and other good teams,” Goodness said, “we will need a season of focus and hard work to reach the goals we set for ourselves.

“Our key is to continue to improve in all areas of our game with an intense focus on our short game and minimizing trouble off the tee,” Goodness said. “If we can get better every week and every meet, I see us being able to compete with anyone in our state.”

Lodi was the Capitol Conference champion a year ago, and Goodness has no doubts the Devils will be the team to beat again this season. Cambridge is also a tough team, though Goodness said he’s keeping an eye out to see which golfers returned this spring.

“I love our conference. As competitive as it can be, the coaches and players have always carried themselves with class and show grace in winning and losing,” he said. “I believe if our team can keep improving meet to meet, play our individual game, work on making our weaknesses into our strengths on the course, we have a great chance to do some great things our program has not seen for quite some time. It will require a great deal of hard work, dedication and focus, and I feel we have just the coach-able personalities on this team to make it happen.”