In Work or Play, Dolch Thinks About His Game

LOS ALAMITOS —  For the last three summers, Brett Dolch has spent his weekend mornings on the golf course at Old Ranch Country Club. He’s usually there by 6:30, ready to lug a member’s bag for minimum wage and a gratuity.

Caddying is a nice way to pick up extra cash, says Dolch, a sophomore at Los Alamitos High, but it’s also a tantalizing experience for a young golfer.

“When you have the clubs right there you want to have the feeling of hitting the ball,” he said. “It’s pretty fun, but I’d much rather be playing than just carrying the bag.”

Dolch gets lots of opportunities to use his own clubs. Like many high school golfers, he spends many of his waking hours practicing or playing the game. The work is starting to pay off for Dolch.

Last season as a freshman he finished 10th in the Sunset League individual tournament, fourth among his teammates. This season he’s the No. 1 player for the Griffins, who are alone in first place in the highly competitive league.

Coach Al Gragnano expected the Griffins to reach this position, but not necessarily so soon. Dolch is one of eight sophomores among the Griffins’ top 10 players. Five sophomores are among the top seven and as a whole the group has improved rapidly.

Dolch is leading the way. He’s averaging 37 strokes for nine-hole matches. He finished last week by shooting one-under-par 34 at Cypress Golf Club to lead the Griffins to a 181-192 league victory over Edison. Junior Jon Shilling shot 35 and sophomores Ed Chu (37), Ken Kato (37), Drew Nordee (38) rounded out the scoring.

Six of the Griffins’ top seven players, including senior Ryan MacArthur, are averaging less than 40 for nine holes, and the seventh sophomore Mike Akahoshi is averaging slightly more than 40.

Dolch has been the most consistent and says he owes it to a summer of hard work. On days he didn’t caddy, he usually practiced or played at Long Beach Recreation Golf Course, which is a couple blocks from his house.

Active in other youth sports such as soccer, baseball, swimming and water polo when he was younger, Dolch gradually shifted more of his attention to golf.

“It got to be a more interesting sport for me,” he said, “because I was getting better at it than anything else.”

He is also a decent water polo player and started for Los Alamitos’ freshman-sophomore team, which won the Sunset League title last fall. But Dolch says that was probably his last season of competitive water polo. He enjoys the sport and believes it helps keep him in shape for golf but found it takes too much time away from his primary focus.

During water polo season, golf became mostly a weekend pastime and he hopes committing himself fully to one sport will reap further dividends for his game.

One of his greatest strengths, Gragnano said, is his mental game.

“He hits the ball real straight and he has the proper attitude,” Gragnano said. “The biggest thing is his disposition. He doesn’t show any temper on the course. He doesn’t let things bother him or let mistakes ruin his round. Particularly when you play nine holes if you let one bother you, pretty soon four holes have gone by and your round is messed up.”

Dolch will need all of his patience this week during two challenging road matches. The ninth-ranked Griffins (11-1, 4-0) play seventh-ranked Huntington Beach (11-2, 3-1), the defending league champion, Wednesday at SeaCliff Country Club. Thursday, they play third-place Esperanza (7-6, 2-2).

“It’s going to be tough,” Gragnano said. “I like our chances but it’s a dogfight. It always is in this league.”