MUSKEGON TWP. -Just a few years ago, Matt Pallett was just getting started as the Reeths-Puffer girls golf coach, and he didn’t have a lot of players coming up through the pipeline.
There were only five girls in the entire program at the time, and those numbers were obviously not sustainable for long-term success. Pallett knew he had to do some recruiting at the lower levels to attract more athletes.
He just happened to be a teacher at Reeths-Puffer Middle School, and he started looking around for girls who might be interested in getting serious about golf and working their way toward the varsity team.
Three eighth-graders – Sophia McCollum, Olivia Ambler and Ella Voorhies – showed interest, and Pallett invited them to start coming to practice with the varsity.
“Those three showed a little bit of interest, so whenever they could, they piled into my car and started coming to practice with us," Pallett said.
Sophia McCollum tees off.
“You could definitely see some promise there, just in the fact that they enjoyed the game, so you knew they would continued to get better.”
As it turned out, all three girls got a whole lot better over the next five years, albeit at different rates.
McCollum was the first to develop. She became a varsity starter right away as a freshman and immediately became an All-Conference player for the first time.
She started playing at a really elite level as a sophomore, winning the first of her three consecutive Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament championships, and qualifying as an individual for the state finals for the first of three times,
McCollum reached the pinnacle of individual success last year, winning an individual conference title, another individual GMAA title, a Division 2 regional championship - and finally a Division 2 individual state championship, the type of accomplishment most high school athletes only dream about.
McCollum after winning last year's state title.
Since her freshman year, McCollum has finished among the top 10 golfers at various events an amazing 52 times, and has finished in first place 22 times.
She has 14 top-10 finishes so far this season, including nine first-place finishes.
Ambler started her career a bit slower, but was playing with the varsity by late in her freshman year.
She had a breakout season last fall as a junior, earning honorable mention All-Conference honors, finishing sixth at the Division 2 regional tournament to qualify for the state finals as an individual, then finishing a very respectable 36th place at the finals.
This year Ambler finished 10th at the conference championship tournament and earned honorable mention All-Conference honors for the second year in a row.
The three seniors after winning tournament medals.
Ambler has 20 top-10 finishes in her career, including eight last year and 10 this year.
Voorhies played junior varsity as a freshman, moved up the varsity as a sophomore, and started playing well last fall in her junior season.
This year she started out rather slowly, but has really picked up her game recently, finishing eighth at the conference championship tournament, and earning honorable mention All-Conference honors for the first time.
Voorhies started breaking through with two top 10 finishes last year as a junior, and has five this year.
“Once they got a love for the game, they worked hard and were out playing, and once they had some success, they wanted more success,” Pallett said about his seniors' progress over the years. “They work hard in practice, on their own and in the offseason.
“These three seniors are a big part of what we’ve become, and what we will be in the future.”
One final shot at the state finals
All three seniors have experienced a few ups-and-downs this season, and the Rockets had a few so-so finishes as a team, particularly in O-K Green conference play.
But all three have been peaking at the perfect time over the past few weeks, along with the two freshmen and one junior who fill out the R-P lineup.
That led to a very promising late-season hot streak.
It started at the Sept. 22 GMAA tournament, when they won the team championship over every other team in the county. It continued just a few days later at their own Rocket Invitational, when they beat 14 other teams to take the title.
R-P went on to finish in second place in both the final O-K Green conference jamboree of the season, and the conference championship tournament, which allowed them to finish second in the final O-K Green standings.
Olivia Ambler tees off.
Finishing in the top two in the very tough conference was one of the Rockets’ two big goals, so one box is already checked.
“They are playing well, for sure,” Pallett said about his three seniors, and the entire team. “We always try to peak at the end of the season.
“We throw them into a lot of tough tournaments early on every season. It humbles them a little bit, and helps them learn what they need to work on, then they use the rest of the season to do just that.”
Now the postseason is here again, which is a very big deal for the Rockets, particularly for three senior standouts who want to go out on a very high note.
Last year they finished in fifth place in the team regional standings, and only missed third place by three strokes. The top three teams at regionals qualify for the state finals, so they barely missed that opportunity.
Ella Voorhies putts.
Getting over that hump and qualifying for state as a full team this year has been the other big goal for R-P all season.
Whether they make it or not will be determined on Tuesday, when they will complete in a Division 2 regional tournament at their home base, Lincoln Golf Club.
Pallett knows all too well that the regional tournament is just a one-day event, and it all depends on how the team is shooting on that particular day.
But he also knows how well his team can shoot, and how well they’ve been doing lately.
“They are all team players, and they are all better than last year,” Pallett said about his three seniors. “As a team we are better too, with more depth. We have a special team this year, and we’re going to give it our best shot on Tuesday.”
The three seniors all believe they can make the state finals as a team this year, and earn one more chance to play together as a team.
McCollum chips a shot last season.
“I am just just really hoping we can get our team to state,” McCollum said. “I am more focused on that this year. I have gone as an individual two years in a row, and it would be really fun having the whole team go this year.
”We can definitely make it. We just all need to stay focused and play even keel and relaxed.”
Ambler said the seniors have been playing loose and free in recent weeks, because they are nearing the end of their careers.
“We only have one more match guaranteed, and we’ve got to go for it,” she said. "There is nothing to hold back anymore. You either do it or you don’t.”
After watching McCollum and Ambler go to state last year, Voorhies wants to get in on the fun, and says their younger teammates can help them get there.
“It’s very important.” she said. “Sophia and Olivia went last year, and I would love to be part of that. I really believe we can make it. Our freshmen have been coming along really well, too. It’s been amazing.”
