Courtesy Photo The Alpena High School girls’ golf team is seen posing together at a recent competition. This year, the team is hoping to make history in the state finals.

ALPENA — The Alpena Girls’ Golf team is heading into the upcoming season with a clear ambition: making it to the state finals. After narrowly missing out on qualification last year by just two strokes, the team is determined to break through this season and become Alpena’s first girls’ golf team to reach that milestone.

“Golf is a game of selective memory,” Coach Tate Skiba said. “I encourage the girls to remember their best moments, even in the worst parts of their rounds, because they can play this game well. At the same time, they need to put bad shots behind them and focus on recreating their best ones.”

This mentality is critical in golf, where rounds can stretch over five or six hours, and maintaining focus is vital.

Last year, the team came heartbreakingly close to qualifying for the state finals, shooting a 394 when they needed a 392. Skiba emphasized that every shot in a round matters, no matter how small.

“We’ve had incredibly close results in the past, and last year, we missed out on states as a team by two shots,” he said. “Every single shot counts, so the girls need to approach each one with respect.”

The team has been building momentum for several years, and this season, the focus is on incremental growth. Skiba’s mantra of “saving strokes where you can” will be critical, focusing on making intelligent decisions on the course, particularly when managing difficult positions.

“Golf is not a game of perfection,” Skiba said. “It’s a game of good enough. We need to accept foul shots and respond with intelligent choices.”

This year’s prominent bright spot for the team is sophomore standout Grace Bouchard. Last week, Bouchard set a new school record by shooting a 75 at Petoskey-Bay View Country Club, surpassing the previous record of 78 set by Courtney Nunneley, now the team’s assistant coach, in 2018.

“Grace is already building a legacy,” Skiba said. “She works as hard as any young golfer I’ve seen and has the attitude on the course that all great golfers need.”

Bouchard’s accomplishments as a freshman last season, including several top-ten finishes, all-conference honors, and a 19th-place finish at the state finals, signal a bright future for her and the team.

“We know the potential is there,” Skiba added. “Now it’s about turning that potential into results.”