Lady Badger golfers (from left) Lauren Davis, Carmen Gonzales, Juls Crook and Morgan Rogers pose for a photo last season after capturing the Corpus Christi Ray tournament championship. The four Lady Badgers will look to lead the team to the state tournament in Austin this season. FILE PHOTO Carmen Gonzales is already practicing for the state golf tournament.

Just prior to coach Stuart Beckwith’s media interview about the upcoming season, Gonzales walked up to her coach and told him she played last weekend at the Jimmy Clay Golf Course in Austin, the site of the state tournament slated for May 2-3.

“You can’t send a football player to go get some practice over at the other team’s facility, like we can in golf,” Beckwith said. “It’s an advantage for us to go play the courses that we’re going to play in competition, and she’s ready for it [state]. They all are.”

Naturally, the coach asked how she did, and Gonzales told him she shot in the low 80s.

Beckwith’s face filled with a big smile, as he is hoping that score is just a sign of things to come this season for the Lady Badger.

“Carmen is a kid that everybody knows now,” Beckwith said. “When most kids go home, she goes to practice, and that’s why she’s achieved everything she has.”

The senior already has accomplished a lot in her high school career: three-time alldistrict golfer, two-time all-region selection and one-time all state. But one thing she hasn’t done yet is win a state title.

Two seasons ago, Gonzales qualified as a sophomore for the state competition, also held that year at the Jimmy Clay Course in Austin.

She didn’t perform as well as she had hoped to entering the competition.

“She was a little intimidated [as an underclassman], and the course is a little hard for your first time at the state tournament,” Beckwith said. “But now she’s saying the course is pretty easy.

“I love hearing that from her because she’s already prepared and ready to go do well at state.”

This season, Beckwith is expecting Gonzales and the rest of the Lady Badgers not only to reach the Jimmy Clay Golf Course in May, but also to perform well there. The coach said he expects some of his golfers – such as senior Juls Crook, junior Lauren Davis and sophomore Morgan Rogers – to hit in the high 70s or low 80s on a consistent basis this season.

If the Lady Badgers can perform up to their coach’s expectations, those numbers should earn them a trip just 75 miles down U.S. Highway183.

“The kids are excited about the season,” Beckwith said. “The kids simply enjoy playing golf, which always makes this a lot more fun. It’s a lot more fun to play and coach kids that love playing golf.”

The Lady Badgers are attracting some attention around the state, as they are ranked No. 2 in Class 3A heading into the golf season.

To keep his team from getting caught up in the hype surrounding them, Beckwith is trying not only to emphasize technique and bringing down their individual number of strokes, but he also is putting an emphasis on just having fun.

For example, moments after Gonzales told her coach about playing on the Austin course, he joked how terrible her score was and she replied, “I beat you last week, though.”

Beckwith lowered his head, and the smile went away as he admitted reluctantly, “She did beat me. Kind of made me mad.

“But I want to be the worst golfer on this golf team.”

And with the season beginning with a meet next weekend at Jimmy Clay, Beckwith will be doing everything possible so that he remains the worst golfer on the team for the next three months.