Frankfort's Newbold Cool, Calm, Contender

June 6, 2019

By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half

FRANKFORT — On the golf course, Frankfort senior Will Newbold appears to be calm, cool and collected.

It’s an outward impression that mirrors the way Newbold is feeling on the inside too.

Newbold’s easy-going demeanor has served him quite well on the links as he’s helped lead the Panthers to their fifth straight Lower Peninsula Division 4 Golf Finals appearance and sixth in the past eight years.

In a sport that can seem to break even the most stoic of players at times, Newbold doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him, taking the good with the bad in the same even-keeled fashion.

“I just feel like being able to keep your head and stay composed is a really good attribute to have,” said Newbold. “If I do mess up, I feel like I can shrug it off and get back on track. Maybe make a couple birdies and get back on track to shooting a good score.”

Good scores have been the norm for Newbold, who enters the Finals at Grand Valley State’s Meadows course as the medalist in the Northwest Conference — at 3-under in league play he was the only player under par for the year — and at the Regional he shot a 74 to win by one stroke. In fact, only two times this season has someone topped Newbold on the leaderboard.

The four-year letterwinner generally has been the Panthers’ top performer the past two years and was Frankfort’s low man in its last two trips to the Finals. He fired a 162 as a sophomore as Frankfort finished 12th. His score of 150 last year put him in a tie for eighth overall and the Panthers rose to ninth in the team standings.

The aspirations this season are for a top-five team finish, which would mark the best the Panthers’ boys golf program has ever placed.

“I always look at the state tournament as that’s the real season,” said Frankfort coach Tom Thorr. “That’s when you want to be playing your best. Our goal has always been to be in the top 10 in the state. This year you can’t help but look at the other scores in Division 4. I’m certainly hoping we have a good showing. I think it would be great if my team could finish in the top five.”

The Panthers have some good experience with seniors Jack Reznich and Riley Thorr, along with junior Luke Hammon. Sophomore Daniel Newbold, Will’s younger brother, rounds out Frankfort’s top five, but what the younger Newbold lacks in experience he makes up for with ability. He and Hammon both turned in top-10 performances at the Regional with a pair of rounds at 82.

With Will Newbold at the top of that lineup, the Panthers have a squad capable of meeting their high expectations.

“I’ve always told my kids they don’t have to shoot 70,” said Thorr. “If we can have four guys shoot 80 or 82, we’re going to make a lot of noise. But having somebody who can go out and shoot a 70-72 (like Will), it kind of gives you that latitude where you can afford a 90 or a 94 and still be really solid.”

Thorr believes his top player could be in the hunt for medalist honors as well when all is said and done.

“He’s got a chance,” Thorr said. “He’s going to have to play well. There are some good players out there, no doubt. When we get down there, we’ll see them all. He’ll have to rely on that mental game.”

It’s that mental game that has been Will Newbold’s strength and allows him to perform at such a high and consistent level, says his coach.

“Everybody’s going to have a bad shot or a bad hole, or a stretch of holes,” said Tom Thorr. “You have to have the right mentality to get through that. Like Will, if he has a bad shot or a bad hole he’s just got this uncanny ability to just kind of brush it off. ‘Oh well, I’ll get it back.’ It may not be the next hole, but he’s pretty focused. He doesn’t let a whole lot of things rattle him. His mental game is pretty solid. He hits the ball straight. He’s not super long, but he’s real consistent.”

As a collection, the Panthers are a product of their environment. Each of Frankfort’s top five players caddies at nearby Crystal Downs Country Club — a course that is consistently ranked among the best nationally and worldwide by pundits — and they frequently take advantage of the chance to play, taking on the challenging course as they’ve built up their games.

“I try to go out there every night in the summer,” said Will Newbold. “It’s fast, unforgiving. You’ve got to hit spots, or you’re going to be in trouble. The greens are really tough and really hilly. I would say it’s one of the harder (courses) in the state.”

Those daily tests, along with instruction from the likes of local PGA pros Scott Wilson and Ed Laprade, have helped a player like Newbold make huge strides in a relatively short time. Newbold started playing the game only four years ago, but now finds himself in the discussion of the best players in Division 4, with a chance to prove it on the course in his final match of his high school career.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the summers just grinding at the range and playing golf every day,” he said. “I progressed pretty quickly. I worked so hard in the summer and in the offseason to get better. It’s good to see my hard work being rewarded.”

Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTO: Frankfort's Will Newbold, second from right, will lead a talented and experienced lineup to the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final this weekend. (Photo courtesy of the Frankfort golf program.)

Norway Sweeps Team, Individual Championships as Anderson Wraps Up 1st Title

By Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com

June 1, 2022

IRON RIVER – Norway’s Drew Anderson finished second individually at his Upper Peninsula Boys Golf Final as a freshman.

Now, as a senior, he’s a U.P. champion. And so is his team.

Anderson won the individual title with an 83 on Wednesday at the Division 2 Final at Young’s Golf Course. As a team, Norway clinched its second-straight Division 2 championship with a 353.   

“I’ve been working for this moment for four years, so I’m pretty happy,” Anderson said. “But I’m also happy for the squad. We’ve been working hard and always wanted this.”

Norway hadn’t won a U.P. Finals boys golf title before last season since 1988, despite seven runner-up finishes. Norway coach Ben Leiker believes his father, Dan, was on that 1988 team.

“(Drew) comes from a family of golfers; his dad was a great golfer, his grandpa was a great golfer,” Leiker said. “To be an Anderson in Norway, you have to be a good golfer.”

Drew certainly seems to be. 

“For him to be a senior and go out on top was nice,” Leiker said.

St. Ignace golfAnderson had one of his highest scores of the season Wednesday, but Leiker said the wind was the main culprit.

“His number doesn’t look as good as his performance actually was,” Leiker said.

Anderson said he struggled to hit greens because of the wind.

“I tend to hit a high ball, so it really took a factor on me,” he said. “I only hit three greens today actually. The wedges were on point, but tough greens, too; it was pretty quick. It’s definitely different than the home course, so (I was) happy I could walk away with a win.”

He was two strokes better than teammate Carson Chartier, who shot an 85, which was good for third place in the individual standings.

“They’ve been carrying us the whole year,” Leiker said. 

St. Ignace finished one stroke back of Norway in the team standings, shooting a 354.

Carson Bigger of St. Ignace was second individually with an 84, and teammate Trevor Visnaw was fourth with an 87. Hancock’s Chad Nordstrom placed fifth with an 88.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Norway’s Carson Chartier putts on a windy 18th green during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final at Young’s Golf Course. (Middle) St. Ignace’s Ely North advances his ball out of a bunker on the 17th hole. (Photos by Jason Juno.)