This week I interviewed Caleb Binfet, a senior golfer at Helena High. As his season came to an end, he talked about what it was like playing on the golf team and the many memories, friends, and lessons he gained from being a part of it. He was a great interviewee. I personally learned many things about the pressure it takes to golf competitively. And the training it takes to even make the team. Binfet reminisces, “The best part of the past four years was getting to spend time with my teammates and coaches because I made memories that will last a lifetime.” 

Although Binfet was consistently among the top ranked players on the team this year, he was cut from the squad his freshmen year. “I shot around 130 both days [as a freshman], I think, and coach told me that they didn’t have enough room for me.” Binfet recalled. This was very frustrating for him, even though he hadn’t played golf competitively before that summer. “The afternoon after tryouts I was disappointed, but I had already decided that my sophomore year I was going to try out again and make it.”  

The summer of sophomore year, Binfet invested numerous hours studying the game and improved his performance by almost thirty shots. “As a sophomore I barely made the team shooting 102 the first day and 103 the second,” said Binfet. 

Binfet would go on to win the teams’ Most Improved Player award his junior year and the Most Valuable Player award this year. Throughout the interview, he credited his coaches and teammates for helping him work on his consistencies and inconsistencies. “I’m happy for my teammates because they all put in a lot of effort. The team, especially the seniors this year, will always be my friends.”  

Binfet is just as excited for the future of HHS Golf. For one, he projects the ladies golf team to seriously contend for a state title next year. “They have three returning members with a lot of experience and a sophomore that gained a little varsity time this year, so I am very excited to see what they can do.” Just as Binfet invested effort into his offseason training, he knows that the boys’ team “has the potential to do well [also] but it all depends on how much effort they are willing to put in during the off-season because they can do it, but they are [definitely] going to have to work for it.” 

“I am going to continue to play golf for probably the rest of my life,” Binfet individualizes, “I wish I could have the opportunity to play in college, but I don’t think I will get one. I plan on playing in next years’ state amateur tournament in Great Falls and possibly other competitive tournaments.”