Hoping to keep rolling

The game of golf is really no different than learning how to ride a bike.

As more bike riding is done, the training wheels come off and away the rider goes.

Hampshire freshman girls golfer Taylor Ellett has followed that exact same path on the links.

Ellett, along with her younger sister, Connie, started golfing at a young age with her parents, Sue (a math teacher and the girls basketball coach and girls golf coach at Hampshire), and Doug (a social studies teacher and the baseball coach at Larkin). Both of her parents excel in the game of golf. Sue Ellett (as Sue Sisler) finished ninth in the state golf tournament for Dundee-Crown in 1983.

When the Ellett girls first started, they didn't play from the regular tee boxes. When everybody would get to the 150-yard marker, then it was time for the Ellett sisters to start on that particular hole.

"They never had us playing from the regular tees," said Taylor. "We had never really played before, so there was no sense playing from the real tees. We were able to develop nice, fundamental swings without having to worry about hitting it very far."

These days, Ellett is quite adept from those real tees. In her first high school season, Ellett medaled in 10 of Hampshire's 11 dual matches, won the Burlington Central invitational, took second at the Elgin Country Club invitational and recently won the Big Northern Conference girls individual title (shooting a 91). Her low 9-hole round this season was 37 (at The Oak Club in Genoa).

Ellett will look to take things a step further at Wednesday's Class A St. Edward regional at The Highlands of Elgin.

Ellett said playing with her parents is something she feels has been beneficial not only in the past tense, but in the present as well.

"Playing with my parents, I've been able to learn new shots," said Ellett. "And I got used to going out to the golf course all the time. It became a daily routine. Golf is not a sport like baseball where people have a lot of natural talent. Golf is a lot about fundamentals. You have to have a coach or parents that know what they are talking about so you can learn the fundamentals correctly. Learning that way has definitely helped me a lot."

Ellett has made a number of alterations to her game in recent times.

"I've improved a lot on my short game with chipping and putting," said Ellett. "I'm driving the ball a lot more consistently than I did last year. I changed my setup a little bit. I have a nice, smooth swing. I used to try and hit the ball too hard. I've slowed down my swing and the ball goes a lot farther now."

Ellett said her experience during a variety of summer tournaments also paid big dividends. Ellett won 5 of the 6 McHenry County junior tournaments she entered and also won an IJGA event as well.

"She learned how to win," said Sue Ellett. "In order to win events, you have to learn how to do it. Taylor is comfortable in that position. She manages her game quite well out there."

Sue Ellett feels her daughter's success is the sum of a number of accumulated parts.

"Golf is such a complex sport," said Sue Ellett. "It takes kind of a mastery of lots of things in order to do something like win 10 out of 11 matches. You have to be able to do it all. It's been kind of a slow, gradual thing of bringing her along. What she's done in high school is a huge accomplishment. We're happy, but we're not quite satisfied yet."

Taylor Ellett plans on harnessing past experiences at the regional Wednesday.

"I think the experience I have will help a lot with the nerves I'll probably have," said Ellett. "Right now I'm thinking about playing my game and not worrying about anybody else's score. I want to play the golf course and improve out there. I'll go in expecting to win, but I'm not going to be overconfident. I'm going to go play the golf course like I normally would and just pretend I'm out there on the weekend with my family playing relaxed."

Hampshire and St. Edward are part of the field at The Highlands. St. Edward finished second at the regional last year, won the sectional and finished 10th in Class A.

On the Class AA girls side, Jacobs, Prairie Ridge and the Crystal Lake co-op team are part of the Lake Forest regional at Lake Bluff Golf Course, while the Elgin-Larkin co-op will play in the St. Charles East field at St. Andrews in West Chicago. Dundee-Crown is at the Glenbrook North regional at Sportsman Country Club in Northbrook, while Burlington Central is at the Rock River Country Club in Rock Falls for regional action.

The top 3 teams and the first 8 individuals not on qualifying teams advance to sectional play next week.

Boys regionals: Cary-Grove senior Brian Colbert has made tremendous strides over the course of his high school golf career.

Colbert is fresh off winning the Fox Valley Conference individual title. Colbert and his Cary-Grove teammates will now play in today's Class 3A Prairie Ridge regional at Prairie Isle.

"When you are able to beat a field like that at our conference tournament, it gives you a lot of confidence," said Colbert, who was fourth in the league as a junior.

Putting and iron play have put Colbert on the fast track this season.

"I'm making more putts now than I have been," said Colbert. "I've worked on my grip and on my setup. And I'm really hitting my irons well right now. That's keeping me in the game. I hit 16 greens during the conference tournament."

Colbert is very familiar with the Prairie Isle track both from regular-season and postseason play.

"They way they set it up usually for the regional, the greens are usually real fast," said Colbert. "You have to keep it under the hole and you can't do anything stupid if you want to succeed out there. There are plenty of stupid things out there for you to do."

Colbert said the team has its eyes on getting out of the regional again. He was part of Cary-Grove sectional-qualifying teams his sophomore and junior years.

"That's a big goal for us," said Colbert. "They have really restricted the amount of teams that can go to state and to sectionals. I still think we have the ability to do it, but it will be a lot tougher to make it than it has been."

Colbert also made some noise on the fashion end at the conference meet, donning seersucker pants and a plaid cap.

"I guess it was all the rage," laughed Colbert. "I just wanted to go out with a bang. It was my last conference tournament."

Colbert wouldn't completely tip his hand in terms of donning any eye-catching regional garb.

"You might see a little something," said Colbert.

Besides Cary-Grove, Jacobs, Dundee-Crown and Crystal Lake South are also part of the 10-team field at Prairie Isle.

Bartlett, Larkin, Elgin and South Elgin will be part of the 10-team St. Charles East Class 3A regional at St. Andrews in West Chicago.

Bartlett is led by Upstate Eight Conference individual champion Nick Quagliano, while Larkin is led by UEC runner-up Michael Sainz. Quagliano edged Sainz in a 2-hole playoff for the conference title last week.

South Elgin senior Sean Reagan tied for third in the UEC last week.

"I have to make sure I keep the ball in the fairway," said Reagan. "If I can keep the ball in the fairway and keep my confidence strong, I can have a good round. And if I start out strong in the beginning that usually helps me later on."

Reagan has already left his mark on the young Storm boys golf program.

"I was one of the first golfers on the team," said Reagan. "I've been playing number one since I was a sophomore. This year has meant a lot to me. I'm a senior now and I've been playing well."

Other area teams have been scattered about Northern Illinois. Huntley will head up to the Class 3A Harlem regional at Atwood Homestead Golf Course in Rockford. Streamwood is part of the Class 3A Buffalo Grove regional at the Buffalo Grove Golf Club.

Burlington Central, led by all-conference performers Sam Schmalz and Peter Cappas, will play in the Class 2A Marengo regional at Marengo Ridge, while St. Edward is in the Class 2A Driscoll regional at Glendale Lakes.

Hampshire, paced by all-conference golfers Grant Yoder and Dale Swetman, is part of the Class 1A Genoa regional at Timber Pointe in Belvidere, while Elgin Academy and Westminster Christian will golf in the Class 1A Somonauk regional at Edgebrook Golf Course in Sandwich.

Like the girls, the top 3 teams and the top 8 individuals not on qualifying teams advance out of boys regional play.