NVC men's golf off to Bayonet Golf Course for North Regional Championships
Photo: The Napa Valley College men's golf team, from left, Will Hutton, Lawrence Collins, Peyton Alexander, Joshua Hull, Ian Hall, Charles Larson, Dominic Taverrite.
Photo by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
It's a big week, especially when it comes to road trips, for the Napa Valley College men's golf team.
On Monday, April 27, the Storm was at Copper River Country Club, in Fresno, playing in the final Big 8 Conference tournament of the spring season.
On Wednesday, April 29, they were at Bayonet Golf Course, in Seaside (Monterey County), playing a practice round, doing all they can to get as familiar and gaining as much insight as possible with the par-72, 6,940-yard layout that will be hosting the California Community College Athletic Association-North Regional Championships.
On Saturday, May 2, they will hit the road again, returning to Bayonet Golf Course for the two-day, 36-hole event that will have an eight-team field and is a qualifier for the 3C2A State Championships.
"It's a beautiful spot. It's just a great place to have a NorCal Regional Championship," Napa Valley coach Bob Freschi said. "I call it big boy golf. There are some courses that are for a really good golfer, and that's one of them. We're looking forward to it.
"It's an extremely difficult course. It gets windy, but it swirls, and it changes on you. Your lag putting has to be spot on. And then if you miss a green, your chipping better be spot on. Those holes that are playing into the wind are very difficult. You're going to have a lot of longer clubs going into the greens. There's some tricky holes and (out of bounds) will sneak up on you. There are extremely difficult traps.
"We're embracing the opportunity to play for a NorCal championship and bring home some hardware. Again, we've got to earn it. There's not going to be too many birdies out there. So, it's understanding par is a great score, and moving on to the next hole and doing our best."
It's been a winning season for the Storm.
They won the Big 8 Conference's North Division title for the third year in a row.
They have won six tournaments during the season.
"Extremely proud of the young men we have in our program," Freschi said Thursday at Napa Golf Course, at Kennedy Park. "They work hard at it and they have a passion for golf. That's what we want in our program. Have fun, understand it's a game, and reward great shots.
"They're all very talented, and they've all taken turns playing really well. Now, when you get to this stage of the season, they all have to play well at the same time. So, we'll see if we have that ability in us."
The 3C2A North Regional Championships, a field that is led by Reedley College and Napa Valley, is Sunday, May 3 and Monday, May 4.
Tee times start at 9 a.m. from the No. 1 tee both days.
"To win a North Division Big 8 is the first step," said the Storm's Dominic Taverrite, a redshirt freshman. "We're focused on NorCals. That's where the job needs to get done.
"There's really nowhere to miss at Bayonet. You've got to keep the ball in play. It's a tough test. The wind is brutal. The greens are fast. It's going to be 36 holes of grinding. It's going to be more mental than anything."
The top-4 placing teams and six individuals who are not on those teams from the North Regional Championships qualify for the 3C2A State Championships, May 10-11, at SilverRock Resort, at La Quinta.
"Knowing what's on the line, a berth to the state championships, the pressure is going to be amped up," said Taverrite. "I've seen all my guys on my team. I know what they're capable of. I've seen it round and round and round again since January. I just believe if we all put our minds together and play the golf we know how to, we're going to go down to (La Quinta)."
Lawrence Collins, Ian Hall and Will Hutton earned All-Big 8 Conference honors for Napa Valley.
Marco Woehler of Reedley was named as the Big 8 Conference's Most Valuable Player.
"We know it's going to be difficult, and we're just going to embrace that," said Freschi. "A true testament of golf was winning our conference. This is a little different. This is a 36-hole event – the ability to understand that you can't win it on one hole, but you can sure lose it on one hole. It's the focus and the concentration it takes for that hole you're on now, but understanding it's a two-day event, 36 holes and just commit to it and do everything we've been doing all year."
Napa Valley ended its home season by winning a Big 8 North Division tournament at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, in American Canyon. By posting a 293-team score, the Storm secured the North Division title.
"I think the teams that will make it to states are going to be the guys who can play consistent, a couple of consistent scores," said Taverrite. "We just have to hope for the best weather. But we have to deal with elements. We've got to deal with the conditions. It's going to be a tough test. But this is what we've worked for since August, back in the fall. Our team is ready for it."
Also, on the all-freshman NVC team is Peyton Alexander, Joshua Hull and Charles Larson.
The Storm played in their final Big 8 Conference tournament of the spring season, finishing in second place in a field of eight teams at Copper River Country Club. Napa Valley posted a 299-team score. Five players posted scores in the 70's for the Storm. They were led by Lawrence Collins (73), Will Hutton (74), Dominic Taverrite (75), Peyton Alexander (77) and Josh Hull (78).
Reedley College, posting a 273-team score, won the final Big 8 Conference tournament of the season. Reedley won the Big 8 South Division title.
The field for the 3C2A North Regional is comprised of the eight teams from the Big 8 Conference. In addition to Napa Valley and Reedley, there is also Sierra College-Rocklin, San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, Modesto Junior College, Fresno City College, San Jose City College and Taft College.
"With its narrow playing corridors and steep, penal bunkering," Bayonet Golf Course, according to www.bayonetblackhorse.com, "has long been considered the most difficult test of golf on the Monterey Peninsula. The par-72, 7,104-yard course is famous for playability and strategic options."
Playing with focus and concentration over the two days is going to be key, said Alexander, a redshirt freshman.
"The course is long. The course is windy. It's beautiful. It's really something," said Alexander. "You have to hit perfect tee shots to be able to hit a perfect iron shot. And if you don't do that, it's going be tough out there. I've just got to remember that every stroke matters in the end.
"This is where you have to go out and prove it for two days. It's going to be tough. But I think we're ready for it.
"I like to say we're the most consistent team in the league. We go out there and do the same thing every week, and that's why we're conference champions."
As redshirt freshmen, Taverrite and Alexander have been in the NVC program for two years and understand the commitment and volume of work that goes into playing for the Storm.
"They really worked on their games to want to be in our lineup," said Freschi. "They're both having great, successful seasons for us. That extra year of going through our program and our system just really benefited them. You've got to earn it. And they both earned it this year. I'm really proud of both of them."
The work begins during NVC's fall program, which is led by David Knox, the Storm's assistant coach and a PGA Class A golf professional who is the Director of Instruction at Napa Golf Course.
"It goes back to starting in August, with Coach Knox, with what he does in the fall. It's qualifying, practicing," said Taverrite. "It starts with the preparation in the fall. Once winter break is done, we come back in January and we're ready to hit the ground running. We were prepared."
Said Alexander: "This group of guys has been together since August, qualifying and just getting all our work in and playing. I think that's why our team works so well together, just because we've been doing it for so long already."
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.