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The GHSA 3A boys and girls state golf tournaments are coming to Highland Country Club in LaGrange next Monday and Tuesday. The two-day championships will see 12 of the best boys teams and 12 of the best girls teams in the state descend on Troup County for an action-packed event.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to host it,” LaGrange head golf coach Ben Thrasher said. “Highland is a shot-maker’s course. You have to have every shot in your bag, which is not easy for high school golfers, but these are elite-level high school golfers.”

This is the second straight year LaGrange and Highland will be hosting state championships in golf. Last year, Highland hosted the 4A boys state tournament and The Fields hosted the 4A girls tournament.

With The Fields having so much foot traffic at this time of the year, the decision was made to move the girls to Highland as well.

LaGrange High golf, Highland Country Club and GHSA (the governing body of high school athletics in Georgia) have a strong relationship that allows events like this to happen.

“It’s such a great relationship that we have that we are hoping to host it for the next couple of years as well,” Thrasher said.

The Granger boys and girls will be in action on both days. LaGrange is coming off a sweep of the Area 1-3A championships as both the boys and girls proved to be the best in their respective areas.

Now, they will get to test their mettle against the best of the best.

“It’s great to have some of the best teams in the state here in LaGrange,” Thrasher said. “We won’t have carts to lend out to spectators, but anybody from the community that wants to come out can and if you see any of the teams around, welcome them to LaGrange.”

The LaGrange girls will get action started on Monday at 9:20 A.M. A trio of seniors — Syndee Jennings, Zoe Thompson and Hudson Wood — will be playing their final tournament in blue and white.

“I think for the girls this year, the goal is to go out there, compete and have fun and enjoy one last time golfing together,” Thrasher said. “If they compete like they did to end the season, I could see us finishing top 8.”

Those three seniors will be key, but the unimpeachable leader of the girls’ team is Caroline Brown. The junior finished as the low medalist at the Area 1-3A golf tournament by 13 strokes and is one of the most talented and skilled female golfers to come through LaGrange High in some time.

For the girls, four will take the course, with the two lowest scores counting towards the team score each day. On the boys’ side, up to six players will take the course for each school, with the lowest four scores counting each day.

The heartbeat of the boys’ team lies in a trio of juniors — Saxon Chastain, Hugh Kersey and Charlie Pitts —- who have been playing together practically their whole lives.

“Last year, we aimed for a top-5 finish, but this year I don’t know if I want to put expectations on us,” Thrasher said. “I want our guys to go out there and play carefree golf and not worry about expectations or pressure.”

Pitts won a play-off at the Area 1-3A tournament to earn low medalist honors. 

Joining those three juniors on the course will be Grady Westmorland, Andrew Terrell and Drew Burch.

Westmorland is the Grangers wild card, having spent the majority of the last four years on the baseball diamond, playing just an occasional tournament with the golf team when he could squeeze it in. The ultra-talented multi-sport athlete is the type of player who can lead the Grangers in scoring at any tournament.

Terrell and Burch are a pair of freshmen who have grown leaps and bounds this season. The two will get their first chance to play in a state championship tournament on Monday.

The boys are scheduled to tee off at 1:10 P.M. on Monday.

With so much foot traffic set to hit the course on Monday and Tuesday, the most important man on the course might just be Mike Lawrence, who is in charge of the course maintenance.

“He and his crew have been doing a phenomenal job,” Thrasher said. “It’s always in great shape, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it in better shape than it is right now.”