Many area golf coaches are seeing lower turnout numbers

Portage coach Richard Kretz talks with his team after practice.
(Jeffrey D. Nicholls/Post-Tribune)

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Portage coach Dick Kretz has noticed the slow contraction of his golf team over the years.

When he first started seven years ago, up to 35 kids would go out for the team.

Now, he gets around 20 kids out.

Portage, with 2,385 kids, is one of the largest high schools in Northwest Indiana.

Kretz isn't sure why the numbers are trending downward over the last couple of years.

Kretz does know one thing.

It makes it harder for him to have robust program, meaning more underclassmen are thrown into the varsity pool whether they're ready or not.

"It's more of a depth issue for us," he said. "Some kids are playing varsity when they should be on the junior varsity."

It's hardly an epidemic for all schools in Northwest Indiana but some have felt the pinch of the sagging economy and a brutal environment for golf courses.

In?Lake County, with Pheasant Valley unplayable, roughly one course per year has either closed or been lost for most of the season. Those courses included Broadmoor, Lake Hills and Wicker Park (closed all of last year). South Gleason Golf Course in Gary just has nine holes open after the flooding from late last summer.

Dave Hinkle, the golf coach at Merrillville, has had between 10 and 15 kids out for the team consistently for the last four years.

Hinkle, who actively recruits players from the hallways, isn't ready to blame the economy for the relatively low numbers.

"There are a thousand other things kids can be doing," he said.

One of them is playing baseball or track. Hinkel admits golf "isn't the most attractive sport for our kids."

The school has helped itself with an indoor driving range that helps sell the sport in the winter.

Still, it's not easy. Hinkle tries to round up clubs, which can cost around $1,000 for a new set, so new players don't have to buy them.

"I just try to accommodate kids who are not established," he said.

This year, Kretz lost a couple of players from last year who would've challenged for varsity spots because they were working. Others have dropped out because they want to focus on academics.

At Valparaiso, Wayne Lichtenberger, the Vikings coach, had just 13 players out for the team.

Lichtenberger has coached for 20 years and he usually gets between 25 and 30 kids out for the team.

He doesn't have an explanation for the low turnout except to say he doesn't expect it to happen again soon.

"I?have no idea," he said of why it happened. "The economy could have something to do with it. You hate to turn on the TV and watch the news anymore."

The Vikings, however, have just one senior and a bunch of freshman on the team this year. That means next year the numbers should rise.

"I think this is just a blip for us," he said. "Hopefully, next year, the numbers will go up."

Contact Mike Hutton at 648-3139 or mhutton@post-trib.com.