Conventional wisdom tells us that an athlete will be better at a sport the younger they get started. When it comes to his sport, ADM golf head coach Chris Goodale doesn’t necessarily agree.

Goodale has had success taking students, in particular on the girls side, and turning them into solid golfers despite them never having swung a club before.

“It’s one of the things about golf, they’ll say, ‘Well, I’ve never played golf,'” Goodale said. “And we don’t want to have played golf because they don’t have any bad habits.”

Exhibit ‘A’ for Goodale is Hayley Willems, 2014 alumnus of ADM who didn’t start playing golf until her junior year and qualified for state this past season.

Goodale credits his two longtime assistants, Owen Stumps, who has worked with Goodale for 22 years, and John Kotz, also the head boys golf coach at Waukee High School. Those two help provide a solid foundation upon which first-time golfers can build.

“The instruction that the kids are getting on the course and the driving range is just invaluable,” Goodale said. “I mean, it’s great to have those guys. We communicate pretty much daily, and I’ll ask, ‘Who do I need to look at; is there anybody that’s coming on?’ and they’ll tell me, and it’s kind of nice to be able to shift in and if something happens, replace somebody.

“And like I said, we don’t want the kids to have bad habits, so if they come out and never played golf in their life, that’s even better because now we can start from ground zero – from the grip all the way to swing – and get what we want, and we don’t have to fix flaws that they’ve established by hitting dandelions.”

Only time will tell what first-time golfers may emerge this season, which is in just its first week of practice.