Mustangs' Zach St. Aubin taking golf success to Valley City State

Jun. 15—ASHLEY, N.D. — Despite finishing in a tie for third at the 2023 NDHSAA Class B Boys Golf Meet, South Border's Zach St. Aubin is more concerned about being a good person versus any result he can get on the golf course.

"My dad, who is the high school coach, always tells me he doesn't care how good of a player I am, he just wants me to be a good person," Zach St. Aubin said.

St. Aubin said he believes one of the major responsibilities for a coach is to show their athletes how to be good people and work hard in their sports.

At the state meet, St. Aubin was tied for the lead heading into the final hole where he double-bogeyed the hole and finished in third with a total score of 150. St. Aubin said his shots on the ninth hole were impacted by the wind but he was content with taking a drop after his third shot landed in the water.

"It didn't end exactly how I wanted to but I feel like that only made me stronger, that experience that I was in, coming into that last hole all tied up and I always think that in situations like that you either win or you learn from an experience like that," St. Aubin said. "I feel like I really learned a lot about myself, how I think and how I'm able to perform at my best."

St. Aubin is coached by his dad, Jeremy, which gives the Mustangs head coach a unique experience.

"The other thing that works well for him, I was keeping track of what we were hitting into different greens and how far he was hitting those shots," Jeremy said. "I'd tell him, 'Last time we were into the wind, you hit a 9-iron 128 yards. So, we've got a 124, looks like a 9-iron is the right club.' That would reintensify what he should be doing, so most of the day I was in coach mode. I think once we finished the 18th hole, I was more into dad mode, wishing that the ball turned out better on the ninth hole. But I still don't begrudge that shot, I think it was a great shot to hit and I'm so glad he took that chance to do that."

In the fall of 2023, Zach will be playing golf at Valley City State University. Zach said the lessons he learned over the back stretch of the state tournament will help him as a Viking. He said he was really grateful that Vikings head coach Clay Mannie came to watch him at the state tournament.

"Going to Valley City, I noticed there are a lot of kids from my region and so I think it's really nice to already know some of the people that I'm going to be playing alongside, that they're gonna be part of my team," Zach said. "I'm really excited for the traveling aspect and getting to do both school and golf simultaneously, kind of similar to my sister (Emily) at the University of Mary."

Jeremy said he is excited to see his son's potential flourish as he continues to get more experience playing golf. He also said he was extremely proud of the way his son carried himself after running into adversity at the state tournament.

"The quality of golf that he'll be able to play in a couple years is gonna be unreal," Jeremy said. "He's so athletic, he's so strong, and he's so flexible that he generates so much clubhead speed that he can hit the ball so far. He's got a great mind for golf, both in the capacity of he understands how to play the game, and where to get on the golf course as well as how he accepts diversity."

Zach said his two best skills on the course are his ability to chip and putt. During his senior season, Zach set his career low with a 5-under-par 67 at an event at Kulm Country Club.

When he gets to Valley City State, Zach will officially be the second college golfer in his family after his older sister, Emily, who plays at the University of Mary. Jeremy said the two push each other to be better and play all the time during the summer when Emily is home from school.

In addition to playing golf, Zach also helped his dad in the fall as an assistant with the Mustangs girls' golf team. Zach said he enjoyed the experience of learning from his dad on how to be a coach and deal with the athletes. He also said it enabled to see the game from a different perspective, which helped him in his own game.

"This year he took a larger role and made it to the practices and before school was in session, he would travel with the team, help us, making sure we had the carts set up for the girls, making sure that they knew how we wanted to play a particular hole," Jeremy said. "When we went to Bully Pulpit (Golf Course) for the East-West Classic, he was with me running around making sure the girls had enough to drink or some sort of snack so they weren't getting so fatigued from making that long walk at Bully Pulpit."