Last year, Woodstock golfer Eric Burns won the Cherokee County title. This year, however, the senior will have plenty of competition.

“He’s normally pretty consistently right around par or a little over par,” Woodstock coach Brent Budde said of Burns. “He’s pretty close to being a scratch golfer.”

Cherokee coach Gerald Sharpe, meanwhile, believes that Brandon Price has a chance to contend for the individual crown, as he has shot as low as 68 before.

“Brandon Price is coming back and has a legitimate chance to be a very good player, and can shoot around par consistently,” Sharpe said, “and I feel he has a good chance to do something in the region by himself.”

When asked if he was a contender for either medalist honors at the county or Region 5AAAAA championships, Price was cautiously optimistic.

“Possibly,” he said. “I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but he’s confident and playing very, very well.”

Sequoyah senior Riley Davenport, who has signed to play golf at Charlotte next year, also has an opportunity to take the county title.

Regardless, this season will be competitive one for boys golf in Cherokee County.

From a team perspective, there’s a great deal of change on the horizon.

At Etowah, a traditional county and region title contender, there is a new coach. Bob Westbrook, in an effort to focus more on his duties as the Lady Eagles’ basketball coach stepped down to make way for Phil Dutko.

At Woodstock, Burns will be supported by seniors Aaron Levinson and Zach Minor, along with sophomore Andrew Dodd. Budde said the team was mainly focused on becoming more consistent from round to round going through the season.

Cherokee, competing in the same region with the likes of Etowah, Lassiter, Walton and Woodstock, realizes that it’s an uphill climb for a program that hasn’t traditionally been a contender for postseason position. However, with Price as the team’s leader, the Warriors are shaping up to be a much more competitive team.

“Matt Davidson is back,” Sharpe said. “He played well for us and is a low-80s golfer. Adam Padgett is back after taking a year off. He’s a senior that is capable of shooting in the mid-70s.

“Of course, you always want to compete for a region title. But it’s going to be very difficult with Walton, Lassiter and Etowah. Woodstock usually has a good team. So, the kids are going to have to play their very best altogether on the same day for us to have an opportunity.”

With Davenport, Sequoyah has a top-flight golfer, but the Chiefs also have enough support around him to not only contend for a county championship, but also look into competing with Lambert and Johns Creek for a state playoff berth from Region 7AAAA.

“I have high expectations,” Sequoyah coach Curtis Williams said. “Being as experienced as we are, I’ve got two players that play competitively year-round in junior golf. Riley has already signed with UNC Charlotte. I’m shooting for a region championship, but I also expect to do well in the county tournament this year as well.”

Williams is encouraged because of the experience he receives from senior Bobby Flanagan and Austin Brown, along with junior Nick Vogel. The coach said last year’s problem was finding someone to compete in the fourth scoring spot, but this year, sophomore Lex Lauletta, also quarterback of Sequoyah’s football team, will compete with the top four for the top scoring rounds.

The Chiefs may be fueled this year by their ability to drive the ball off the tee.

“They all hit the ball extremely well off the tee,” Williams said. “They are both accurate and long. Nick’s real long and Austin is real long. (Their tee shots are) probably at about 270 to 280 yards, 300 sometimes.”