Saticoy Figures to Play Rough

SOMIS — There is a scary rumor floating around the high school golf community, one that has several local coaches and teams shaking in their spikeless shoes.

It has to do with Saticoy Country Club in Somis, site of Monday’s Southern Section team championships.

“No high school team has broken 400 out there,” said Hart High Coach Dennis Ford, one of four local coaches with a team in the 24-team tournament. Westlake, Calabasas and Flintridge Prep are the other are teams.

“I heard the same thing,” Calabasas Coach Bill Belatty said. “The rumor is out there.”

Westlake, defending CIF-SCGA champion and one of the strongest team in the area, has played the course regularly over the past few years, but Coach Dave Costley could not remember if the Warriors had indeed broken 400 or not.

“That rumor may be true,” Costley said. “I know we’ve gotten close to that, but that course has a pretty high rating and the wind can get bad out there.”

Five individual scores are added to make a team score. Top high school teams generally shoot in the 370s.

“They will be tested,” said Lee Martin, head pro at Saticoy, which requires players to wear spikeless shoes. “Anybody who shoots par out here should be very proud.”

Saticoy has a slope of 130 and a rating of 72.5 from the tournament tees. Its narrow fairways are lined by trees. The greens are not particularly fast (9.5 on the stimpmeter), but have severe undulations.

Favorites include San Marcos, led by American Junior Golf Assn. All-American Michael Chavez; Fullerton Sunny Hills, led by junior Jin Park, and Westlake, with sophomore sensation J.T Kohut.

“We’ve seen about five or six of the teams and any of them could win,” Costley said. “It’s whoever has a good day.”

While Westlake and Hart are regulars at the Southern Section match, Flintridge Prep and Calabasas are making their first appearances. The Rebels are led by junior Russell Surber, while Calabasas has brothers Jon and Justin Ohye.

The City Section tournament gets underway on Monday at Harding Golf Course in Griffith Park. Chatsworth and Birmingham are favored in the team race but four-time defending champion Granada Hills should not be counted out. City 4-A League champion Sylmar will also contend. The 36-hole tournament concludes on Tuesday at Wilson Golf Course.

Todd Golditch of Chatsworth and Greg Goodfried of Birmingham should battle for the individual title, while defending girls’ champion Julie Park, a Granada Hills sophomore, is a heavy favorite.