Prep golf preview: Shot of Excitement

BRUSH PRAIRIE — With a new driver in his hand, Hayden Christensen said he just wanted to make sure he hit the ball straight.

So the Hockinson golfer took his normal swing — he did not want to crush it — on the sixth hole at Hartwood Golf Course while playing a fun round with friends last month.

The ball launched perfectly over a tree near the tee box and headed straight — on target with the green, some 285 yards away.

Christensen, being the accomplished golfer that he is, saw where the ball was headed, then bent over to pick up his tee.

“I didn’t really watch it. I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ ”

He and his playing partners never saw the ball go in the hole.

In fact, Christensen figured his ball went over the green and into the hazard. He was really close to giving up on looking for it when he and a friend, Nick Beckley, noticed a ball in the hole.

Sure enough, it was Christensen’s golf ball.

“At first, we were both speechless,” Christensen said. “I’ve had holes-in-one before, but never ever in my life did I expect to get one on a par-4.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mario Alongi, sr., Skyview; Alistair Docherty, jr., Union; Brett Johnson, jr., Ridgefield; Garrett Kooistra, jr., Skyview; Tanner Maahs, sr., Prairie; Michael Hibbs, sr., Heritage; Nick Huff, so., Hockinson; Connor O’Neill, sr., Washougal; Sean Pendergast, sr., Prairie; Beau Scott, so., Washougal; Eric Sjorgren, sr., Columbia River; Andrew Spicer, sr., Union

LEAGUE GLANCE

Southwest Washington continues to be a hotbed of golfing talent. But with reclassification, the league battles will take different shapes this year. Mountain View, which went 5-0 in the 4A Greater St. Helens League last year, moves down to the 3A GSHL. Union, which battled Camas for the top spot in the 3A GSHL last year, moves up to the 4A GSHL. The 4A GSHL coaches say that Skyview and Union will battle for the league title. Both teams have solid Nos. 1 and 2 golfers. But the title likely will be decided by depth, particularly since the 4A GSHL is moving to the six-golfer/five-scoring lineup this season. The 3A GSHL race will be very interesting with Mountain View, Camas, Columbia River and Prairie all in the mix. Hockinson and Washougal have state-caliber players in their lineup, including defending 2A state champion Connor O’Neill.

They were playing with a couple of girls on a “double date,” but the girls were new to golf.

“They were saying, ‘What the heck was that?’ Nick kept saying ‘No way’ and ‘Get out’ over and over. He was just shocked,” Christensen explained.

Hartwood is an executive course, with seven par-3s and two par-4s. It would not be used in an official high school match or anything, but an ace on a 285-yard hole is an ace anywhere.

In fact, Christensen’s ace was the first ever recorded on the No. 6 hole at Hartwood.

Christensen is no stranger to aces on regular courses. Now a senior for the Hawks, he has had six of them.

He got his first as a freshman, using a 9-iron on the 132-yard fourth hole at Cedars on Salmon Creek.

“I was so little, I couldn’t even hit a wedge into the green,” he recalled.

It was pandemonium when he saw the ball fall into the cup.

“I remember throwing my club up in the air and yelling, ‘No way!’ An unbelievable moment,” Christensen said. “It was crazy.”

Since then, he has aced five other par-3s.

“It’s got to the point where I wish I hadn’t made a hole-in-one because I wish I got more excited about them,” he said of the ho-hum aces on par-3s.

Oh, the poor golfer with too many aces on his résumé.

Actually, he prefers holing out from the fairway on a par-4 or a par-5 now, just because of the degree of difficulty.

While the one on the scorecard for a par-4 is noteworthy, Christensen’s game is a lot more than just a showy statistic. He made it to the Class 2A state tournament a year ago, finishing 18th.

He has high expectations for himself this season, and maybe even more for his team.

Nick Huff and Jarred Gomez, now sophomores, both made it to state last year. Hayden’s brother, Tanner, a freshman, is starting this season on varsity, as well.

“We have an unbelievably strong team this year. We have a solid four or five guys who could get through district and make it to state. That way we can win (state) as a team,” Hayden Christensen said.

His goal is to win it all as an individual, too.

“That’s going to be pretty hard. There are some really good players,” he said.

That would include the defending 2A state champion, Connor O’Neill of Washougal.

State, though, is months away, to be played in the spring of 2011.

But the regular season for boys golf is under way, and Hayden Christensen is flying high going into the season, looking like quite the ace.