A light breeze blows through the trees as city high golfer James Kriz ‘21 lines up the final putt in his nine hole series. He takes one more look at the green, envisioning the path he wants the ball to follow, and softly taps the ball with his putter. It rolls into the hole with a satisfying rattle. Kriz isn’t at a normal City High golf practice, since those were shut down on September 8. Instead, Kriz is practicing on his own.

“I definitely have improved during the shutdown. It has been a good opportunity for me to take some pressure off of myself and fine tune my swing while out on the course,” Kriz said. “I feel more confident than I ever have.” 

However, not all City High golf players are able to practice as well without a coach or get out to the course as often as Kriz did.

“Having to take a break halts that progress they have worked so hard for,” coach Philip Lala said. “More than anything I feel bad about the missed opportunities to get better and the chance to compete at new courses.”

School sports including golf will return next week coming with the start of the new hybrid model.

“I think it will be good to get back to golf,” Kriz said. “ I am excited to have the opportunity to play [high school golf] again.”

Lala is also looking forward to the return of the season. He has high hopes for the coming weeks.

“I’m glad we have a change to get back together as a team and finish the season. I felt like those first few weeks we were really getting better and this gives us a chance to hopefully end the season on a high note,” Lala said.