2025 state golf results

[Bluebird]

https://www.wsls.com/sports/2025/10/15/2025-vhsl-golf-championships/

[Sixcat Adjacent]

I'll come out of retirement for golf talk!

This news piece is incorrect. Blacksburg won its 5th consecutive team state championship (2021-2025)!!!

Junior golf in this part of the state has always been played at a pretty high level. Several factors at play; golf is far more affordable and accessible here than in other, more expensive parts of the state. The quantity and quality of golf courses for kids to learn the game are plentiful all over SWVA. SWVA also has a large number of old dudes like me willing to pass any golf knowledge they may have accumulated down to the next generation. Given the Scotts/Irish lineage of these mountains, golf is woven into the fabric of many of our communities as it has been across the UK for centuries. 

Congratulations to Mr. Hinkle on quite an accomplishment. I'm still not sure about the "reclassification" to repeat the junior year of high school but that's not for me to decide. Taking a gap year between high school and college, spend that year focusing solely on junior golf, would make much more sense to me. But again, that's not my decision to make. At the end of the day, high school golf is largely irrelevant in the college recruitment process. College golf recruitment is based almost entirely around the elite junior golf associations. Cart is currently ranked #235 in the world AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) rankings. His ranking has skyrocketed this summer based on some pretty impressive results. The high school state championships are a cool accomplishment but they aren't getting him recruited by colleges.

I was at Wytheville Golf Club yesterday. More than a dozen kids walked from the school to the golf course at the end of the day. The guy in the pro shop said it was an everyday occurrence. I know that's how it is at Blue Ridge Country Club with kids from both Carroll and Galax being dopped off (bus or family car) every afternoon at 3:30.

Blacksburg High School won the PGA of America National Championship back in July. McCartney Hinkle placed 5th as an individual. This event more closely resembles an elite junior golf event than a high school competition. It's invitation only and is for the best junior golfers that play high school golf.

https://www.pga.com/story/virginia-blk-captures-2025-pga-boys-high-school-golf-national-invitational?srsltid=AfmBOop0E3ro4cxYuX7kaVaDvwPi8geRkp1cD_facFaId3W-rWRRFk2M

https://hpe.golfgenius.com/pages/11730301283779784327

 

VHSL only plays 18 hole championships. The junior golf ranking system doesn't recognize anything less than 36 hole tournaments for their rankings. Therefore, VHSL tournaments do not count toward ranking system points. Just another shining example of how VHSL fails the kids of our state!!!

 

Here is an update on some locals playing at the next level.

• Freshman Jake Albert from Blacksburg has started every tournament for the 2024 NCAA National Champion Auburn Tigers this fall and has a 73.17 scoring average and is ranked #158 in the country individually. Auburn is currently ranked #4 in the country as a team.
• Freshman Grayden Laird (Galax/Blacksburg) has started every tournament for D2 Pitt-Johnstown. Grayden has finished in the top 10 in 3 of the first 4 tournaments of his college career and has a 73.0 scoring average. He is ranked #308 in the Clippd ranking system, which doesn't separate by NCAA division.
• Sophomore Walker Gillespie (Giles) has started every tournament of his college career at D3 Bridgewater. Walker has a win, a couple of 2nd's and several top 10's in his young career. 
• Junior Ryne Bond (Floyd) has started every tournament of his college career at E&H and Roanoke College. 
• Kathryn Ha (Salam) has started every tournament of her freshman season at Vanderbilt. She has placed in the top 20 in all 3 events and has a 72.11 scoring average. Vandy is ranked #9 and Kathryn is ranked #101 individually.
• Brayden Surface (Graham) is a senior at Bluefield. He has 3 top 25 finishes this season.
• Benson Blevins (George Wythe) is a starter at Radford. 
• Josh Cummins (Christiansburg) has started every event of his freshman season at Longwood. 
• David Goode (George Wythe) has signed to play golf at Radford next fall.
• Carson Iroler (Galax) is being recruited by several D2 schools. Carson recently placed 3rd in the VHSL Class 1 state tournament and competed is several VSGA events over the summer.
• Trace Reavis (Carroll) is being recruited by several D2 schools. Trace recently placed 3rd in the VHSL Class 3 state tournament and competed is several VSGA events over the summer where he shot a 65 in the 2nd round of the 112th VSGA Junior Amateur. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; E&H could have taken the top talent from SWVA and fielded a nationally competitive D2 college golf program. Instead, they shuttered the golf program entirely. Makes no sense to me!!!

[1inStripes]

Any truth to Windsor filing an appeal on the scoring of the team championship?

I was very happy to see Carter Wolfe win.  Graduated with his mother and think a lot of her dad Coach Donnie Qualls. I know he was beaming with pride.  I wish his other grandfather were still alive to have seen it knowing how much impact he had on Carter's golf game.

[Sixcat Adjacent]

1 hour ago, 1inStripes said:

Any truth to Windsor filing an appeal on the scoring of the team championship?

The VSGA (Virginia State Golf Association) runs the state tournament and they are a competent organization as opposed to VHSL. Any appeal would have to go through VSGA. I doubt anyone at VHSL would know enough about golf to matter anyway.

There's some bitter feelings from Windsor from what I hear but that can be said for every team, every season, and every classification where golf is concerned. Windsor may appeal but it won't amount to anything. It never does.

[Bluebird]

The VHSL has the golf results posted on their website.  
 

https://www.vhsl.org/golf/