Fountain Hills High School’s Alex Schafer finished 16th out of 166 golfers at the Division III state tournament last week. The senior placed 11th at the state tournament last year, yet Schafer said he played better this year.

Last year, Schafer played the Tucson National Sonoran Course, and this year he played the Tucson National Catalina Course. The Catalina Course was unlike most courses Schafer has played on, because it was filled with trees, instead of the bushes and dirt he’s used to seeing on desert terrain courses.

“I feel like if you hit your ball in the rough, if you just missed your drive around the fairway, you were always behind the trees,” Schafer said. “So, I was always stuck trying to hit punt shots and hit underneath.”

Schafer had just played 36 holes the previous Friday and Saturday in the Metro Invitational tournament, and he did his best to not let fatigue get to him. He put his head down and went to work on 18 holes on Monday, May 9, and another 18 holes on Tuesday, May 10.

“I definitely played better this year,” Schafer said. “But I triple bogeyed my last hole, which killed me.”

Schafer was in 13th place after Monday and had worked his way to 12th ahead of the 36th hole. Schafer said there were some other holes he could have saved a shot on here or there, but overall, he was pleased with his performance.

In reflection, Schafer mentioned that he knows he could have gone to another school for golf, but he really enjoyed his time at Fountain Hills. He had lots of fun with friends, and he also enjoyed training on nice courses courtesy of local clubs. Schafer will not continue his golf career collegiately, but he’ll be in the area and has plans to watch his younger brother continue to improve his golf swing.