The co-ed golf team has consistently dominated Maryland high school golf competitions for the past three years, and is showing no sign of slowing down.

The bulldogs won the 3A/4A state championship Oct. 26 for the third year in a row. With a team score of 315, CHS beat the next best team, Whitman, by the slim margin of three shots.

“The team had a lot of returning talent from last year’s state championship squad,” head coach Robert Tarzy said. “Those players made it a point to inform their teammates of their goal to win another state title this year. Once those expectations were set, the kids did a great job to achieve their goals.”

The team’s continued success puts pressure on both the players and coaches to continue winning.

“It’s tough [for players] to try to manage their expectations and keep their goals reasonable with the history of the program,” Tarzy said. “I try to help them get in the best mental state to play well. Some players need encouragement, some need to be challenged, and others simply need to be reminded that it’s just another round of golf.”

Even with the constant pressure to do well, each player has still been able to perform to the best of their ability with consistent confidence.

“The team’s biggest strength is our confidence in our games and each other’s games,” senior captain Oliver Whatley said. “We are very confident that we will win and that is what has led us to three state championships. Some players believe the pressure they face does not affect their ability to perform well during matches; in fact, they attribute the pressure to their dominance.

“In golf, you are trained to deal with pressure,” junior Dylan Rotter said. “I feel the pressure to win every year keeps us motivated and sets the bar high.”

The team attributes their success to each player’s individuality and uniqueness. Every member on the team has their own style of practice and play, as well as their own strengths and weaknesses.

“We all had each other’s back and we’re never worried about losing,” junior Joddie Zeng said. “CHS has
so many good players and every single one of us is a little bit different.”

While golf is an individual sport, the players enjoyed practicing and spending time together. Tarzy has made an effort to make it more of a team based sport, which players appreciated.

“Coach Tarzy saw that the team needed to be closer together,” Whatley said. “He got us more tee times at
practices so the whole team could be together, playing and learning from one another.”

Aside from their coach’s determination to make golf more of a team sport, players were motivated by Whatley. As a senior, he provided leadership and experience to the team. He helped the younger players be confident in their ability and challenge themselves during each practice and match.

“The biggest role model for me on the team is Whatley,” Rotter said. “I learned a lot from watching him and his work ethic is something I aspire to.”

While it may seem as though the team is invincible, they do have minor flaws. One of these is distractions, such as players focusing on other players and not being fully focused on their own play.

“Our only weakness would be lack of focus,” Rotter said. “The reason we consistently won is because of the talent we have and the work we put in.”

This weakness has proven to be a minor one, as it didn’t halt the team from winning yet another state championship. Although focus and determination was vital in winning the title, the players were still able to enjoy themselves throughout the season.

“My legacy is that I always had fun no matter what,” Whatley said. “I had a lot of faith in my teammates which allowed us to have more fun at practices.”

The success of CHS golf has not come from one player, but from the efforts of every member of the team.

“The team will definitely be successful in the next four years because there are really good freshman that came in,” Whatley said. “Our team is going to be young the next couple years which is great because those players can learn a lot.”