Western Dubuque boys’ golf opens season with high expectations

Ben Wilson is beginning his 10th season as Western Dubuque golf coach.

He has had good individuals and a team that reached the Class 4A state tournament last fall. The current Bobcats have the potential to be his best team, yet.

“We have really high expectations,” Wilson said. “There is no reason with the amount of depth we have this year and the guys we are bringing back that we shouldn’t be able to compete with the best teams in the state. No doubt about it.”

Western Dubuque returns five players from last year’s state team and six with starting experience. The Bobcats own lofty goals for the boys’ fall golf season, opening with the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on Thursday at their home Thunder Hills Golf Course in Peosta.

“This is the deepest, most talented team that I’ve coached since I got here,” said Wilson, noting some of the past Western Dubuque teams in the 2000s and 1990s. “We can be in that conversation where we’re regarded as one of the best teams to play Bobcat golf.”

Much of the potential is the time players have devoted in the offseason. The Bobcats were pleased with reaching state but weren’t satisfied with 11th place. They were motivated to improve that finish, aspiring to get back and earn team hardware for the school trophy case.

“It was a whole new experience for us,” Western Dubuque senior Jackson Webber said. “We were excited to be down there. Now, we know what we have to do this year.”

Bobcats junior Brock Wilson added, “We practiced a lot in the offseason. Some of us were not too happy with how we performed at state. I was very upset over it. It still bites me right now but hopefully this year will be great for the Bobcats.”

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Western Dubuque is a favorite in the MVC Valley Division, placing third last season. Webber and Brock Wilson, who was an individual state qualifier in 2021, lead the way. Tyler and Jackson Skrtich give the Bobcats four golfers with a combined adjusted average under 42.3. Brayden Webber is also a returning starter and sophomore Henry Gilbertson was sixth in scoring in six total rounds.

“We should have as good a shot as anyone else,” Ben Wilson said. “Nothing is guaranteed. We may not make the state tournament, but with the time and preparation these guys have put in there is no reason we shouldn’t be competing with those teams.”

Golf is a tie that binds the Bobcats together. They share a passion for the sport with most of the players working summer jobs at Thunder Hills. They will work around their shift to get in rounds to work on their game. A routine that started as youths, traveling to tournaments as far as Minnesota.

“We’ve played since junior golf,” Brock Wilson said. “We always enjoyed it. We’d play with the Dubuque-area kids.

“We played nine (holes) Wednesday morning. We have practice and we’ve been practicing all day. It’s just ramping up.”

Webber’s family and the Skrtiches coordinate family vacations together. They load up their clubs and try to squeeze in three to four round at locales, including Gulf Shores, Ala., and South Carolina. Play is more competitive than recreational.

“We’ve been all over the place,” Webber said. “We always try to push each other to do better.

“It definitely carries over from summer in the golf season. Just push each other to do better than everybody else and keep going.”

The Bobcats relish the opportunity of starting at home, hosting the MVC’s biggest conference competition. The tournament is the first of three rounds that determine divisional team and individual champions and all-conference honors. Western Dubuque aims to win its first divisional crown with the goal of all six starters claiming top divisional honors.

“It’s big for us,” Webber said. “We’re hoping to go low and show everybody that we’re here to compete.”

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com