Boys Golf: Grant Raubenolt sets tone for improving Reynoldsburg Raiders
As his teammates on the Reynoldsburg boys golf team finished up during the third round of the OCC-Buckeye Division tournament Aug. 31 at Apple Valley, Grant Raubenolt made sure to greet each with a word of encouragement.
The performance by the junior, who is in his second season playing in the No. 1 spot for the Raiders, didn’t match what he had turned in during the first two rounds of the tournament, but his philosophy is that there’s always room for optimism.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing, especially when it comes to sports,” Raubenolt said. “That should take precedence over any competition.”
The medalist in the OCC-Buckeye last season and a two-time Division I district individual qualifier, Raubenolt shot 79 to tie Newark’s Rich Bolte for second during the third round behind Pickerington Central’s Jace Belcher (77). The Raiders totaled 349 to place fourth of six teams.
Still, Raubenolt was on track to finish as league medalist for the second consecutive year heading into the final round Sept. 14 at Turnberry.
Raubenolt opened league competition by firing a 69 on Aug. 10 at Darby Creek and followed with a 72 on Aug. 17 at Denison Golf Club to win both tournaments. His 73.3 average through three rounds gave him more than a six-stroke lead in average over Central’s Cody Widener.
His performance at Denison Golf Club, combined with the 78s that sophomores Connor Leach and Tanner Wood shot, helped the Raiders win the round with a 321. Scott Brewer considers the round one of the program’s highlights since he took over as coach in 2019.
The Raiders finished second in the OCC-Buckeye each of the past two seasons and were third (7-5) behind Central (11-1) and Lancaster (8-4) through three rounds.
“It’s my second year on the team and last year was great, but this year we’ve all been working hard and doing well at our practices,” Wood said.
The postseason seeding meeting will be held Sept. 18, when the Raiders will choose one of four sectionals after there had been three sectionals in previous seasons.
With the East and Southeast districts now being combined with the Central, three teams and three individuals will advance to the state tournament from district after two teams and two individuals had moved on in past years.
Sectionals will be held Oct. 4 at Darby Creek, Denison and Turnberry and Oct. 5 at EagleSticks. District is Oct. 11 at Apple Valley.
Although Brewer said it might be a challenge for his team to score low enough at sectional to qualify for district, he believes Leach and Wood have the potential to join Raubenolt as individual qualifiers.
The Raiders’ No. 4 player is junior Gabe Aiken, with junior Braylon Polley and freshman Riley Albright also seeing action in league play.
“When other coaches say that their kids enjoy playing with our kids, that’s what it’s about,” Brewer said. “I’m not big about winning and losing. I’m about doing your best, because sometimes the other guy is just going to play better than you. They’re working hard and they’re trying hard, and they’re willing to make adjustments. I’m happy with that.”
Raubenolt shot 77 at the 2020 district tournament to miss advancing to state by five strokes and carded 79 last season as the two individual state qualifiers shot 69 and 70.
Since then, he has worked extensively on his putting while keeping a schedule that included seven offseason tournaments.
According to Brewer, Raubenolt has combined his work ethic with playing “smart” to help improve his scores.
Raubenolt grew up going to the course with his father, Kevin, and his brother, Carter, an eighth-grader who likely will join the program next season.
“I feel like I’ve really sustained good course management throughout and have just been managing courses,” Grant Raubenolt said. “I’ve not been striking it great, but I’ve been able to get around. Everyone’s greatly improved as the season has gone on and as we’ve worked over the summer, and I’ve been very impressed with all of our guys and their ability to shoot better scores.
"I’ve become a lot more consistent as far as my irons go, and my putting’s been a lot better. The good thing is I’m a very aggressive golfer and I’m learning to tone it back and hit a lot more greens and be able to shoot good scores even if it’s not my best day.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Golf: Raubenolt sets tone for improving Reynoldsburg Raiders
