What to do after the golf season ends?

What indeed.

Clubs are stashed in a dusty corner of the garage, and the soft spikes occupy a cozy dark place under your dress shoes and next to your other dress shoes.

Now what?

All that’s left is to drive by your home course from time to time, staring out at the snowy fairways and hibernating greens.

Drive, stare and dream.

For the golf teams at Blackfoot High School, Interstate 15 is that drive. Blackfoot Municipal is that stare. And the fall season is that dream.

First-year Blackfoot girls head coach Whitney Manwaring had a dream of his own this past fall, guiding the Broncos through the ups and downs baked into the game of golf.

“Every week we were out hitting the range, chipping and putting, and preparing for the next tournament,” he said.

Following a season of regular season tune-up tournaments around Eastern Idaho, five players earned the privilege of representing Blackfoot High School at the district tournament on Oct. 2 at Pinecrest in Idaho Falls.

From 1 to 5, those players were Addison Smith, Ella Aullman, Aybree Lilya, Sophie Aullman, and Maylee Stewart. Paige Christiansen played at No. 2 all season, but missed districts due to illness.

The Blackfoot boys also took on Pinecrest in the district tournament, sending their top five of Kyle Steidley, Seth McNeel, Cole Jackson, Joey McCarroll and Cash Dahle to Pinecrest.

Steidley carded a nice 73 to place second in a field of 30 at districts, two strokes back of Skyline’s champion Ryan Tocheri.

That 73 landed Steidley in the state tournament field where he placed 43rd overall with a two-day stroke count of 174.

All five Blackfoot boys scored 90 or better at districts, leading to a tidy 326 in the team competition — just 15 off Skyline’s winning number.

Addison Smith had a career highlight of her own, posting the lowest score in her young life at Pinecrest two days before the district tournament with an 88. But it was Smith’s teammate Aybree Lilya who led Blackfoot at districts with a 93, also a career best.

Now it’s over. Clubs and soft spikes and dreams. All put away. All hibernating.

So what to do after the golf season ends? Put that drive-stare-remember energy to work. Make a plan for when the snow breaks.

“We have five seniors graduating, and a good group coming back next year,” Manwaring said. “We will be working on their game all summer and look forward to a great season next fall.”