Few high schoolers have played in more competitive golf tournaments over the last 24 months than Panorama sophomore Kolby Shackelford. When he’s not competing for the Panther boys golf team, Shackelford spends his summer playing practice rounds at Lake Panorama National Golf Course and competes in the Junior Iowa PGA tour. Panorama head boys golf coach David Van Ahn was a guest on Monday’s Karl Chevrolet of Stuart Guthrie County PM Sports Page. He told Raccoon Valley Radio that he decided recently to parlay Shackelford’s knowledge into a student coaching opportunity with the Panthers first-year high school golfers. “(Shackelford) and the freshman boys are all good friends, and they play a lot of golf in the summertime,” Van Ahn said, “I realized a few weeks ago, there’s a lot more communication going between Kolby and those young kids. (Kolby and I) had a conversation and I said, ‘You feel free (to teach them). If you can get them a little more excited, a little more intense, feel free to say so.”

The coaching adjustment paid dividends for the Panorama boys golf team Friday at the sectional golf tournament in Menlo. All four of Panorama’s scoring golfers were underclassmen, carrying the program to a second place finish with 323 points. Shackelford won meet medalist honors shooting a 71. The final three scoring golfers were freshmen who all shot under 90 strokes including Ryan Klinge (81), Lucas Lieferman (85), and Wyatt Appleseth (86). The Panorama boys golf team will resume postseason play Friday morning at the Lake Panorama National Golf Course for the Class 2A District tournament. The top two placing teams and the three lowest individual scores on nonqualifying teams will advance to the Class 2A State Golf Tournament May 24-25 at the American Legion Memorial Golf Course in Marshalltown.