GL, SB, Leland golf previews
The 2026 boys golf season has been off to a slow start, but action finally teed off this week as Glen Lake, Leland, and Suttons Bay saw their first action on the course at Mistwood Golf Course Monday.
The Lakers won with a combined score of 160, slightly ahead of runners-up Onekama and Leland, who were tied with 168.
Frankfort finished fourth, followed by Benzie Central, Suttons Bay, Buckley and Brethren.
Individual Top-10: 1. Hayden Vansteenhouse (Leland); 2. Joel Martin (Glen Lake); 2. Karter Smith (Glen Lake); Carson Bradford (Onekama); 4. Frankfort Cash Rosum; Tyler Hart (Onekama); Jayden Carver (Frankfort); Howie Kropp (Leland); Brody Switzer (Glen Lake); Luke Bradford (Onekama).
Lakers enter new era
Glen Lake is entering the season with youth and high hopes after an era ends and a new one begins.
The Lakers will be led by first-year coach Peyton McDonough, a Glen Lake graduate, who will take over for longtime coach Lee Houtteman.
“It’s a blessing,” McDonough said.
McDonough was a freshman when Houtteman took over and coached him all four years, then helped Houtteman as an assistant for three years before getting the Laker head coaching job.
“I learned everything from (Houtteman) … He taught me everything I know about the game; a lot of our drills and practices come from him and all his knowledge,” McDonough said.
Glen Lake will be looking for a big year with plenty of new faces expected to make an impact.
The Lakers will have to replace the 2025 Mr. Golf recipient, Michael Houtteman, after he captured an MHSAA D4 state championship last season and led the Lakers to a team regional championship.
Glen Lake won a team championship behind an impressive 326-332 win over Traverse City Christian last spring.
The Lakers finished fifth at the MHSAA D4 state championships last season. Glen Lake has a full team of 15.
The Lakers’ lone senior is Brody Switzer, who has been a starter throughout his career. The biggest emphasis early in the season is on the short game and getting up-and-down.
“Attitude is big,” McDonough said. “Golf is a frustrating sport mentally and physically. I’m trying to get them to have fun and enjoy being out here.”
Glen Lake sophomore Karter Smith and junior Joel Martin will be leading the Lakers this season.
Smith is really feeling his wedge game, especially from 100-yards in to get quality positioning on the greens.
“I’m working on playing smarter and deciding when to go for it or not,” Smith said.
Martin is another returning golfer ready for a big junior season with the Lakers.
“It’d be nice just to go out there and hit some good shots … I know I can score, especially around the greens. I gotta get out of my head and focus,” Martin said. “We've got some high expectations.”
Martin finished 30th at the state championships last season.
Glen Lake’s home course is the Dunes Golf Club in Empire.
Norse golf team makes a comeback
After not having a team for the past two seasons, Suttons Bay has returned from the golf cemetery, back onto the course with quality members and hopes of future growth.
Suttons Bay will be led by a familiar face, Tim Smith, who spent many years as an assistant for Todd Hursey.
“I’m excited to get the kids back on the course and teach them the game of golf. My number one goal is to get kids out on the golf course and have them love the game. Once they graduate from high school, this is one of those sports that you can always continue to play,” Smith said.
The Norse have a healthy 10-12 golfers.
Suttons Bay will have one lone senior, Gavin Schichtel, who is ready to put on a show in his first year of golf while dualsporting with baseball.
“I want to get better and be able to compete … I was so happy to hear that we were having a golf team this year, especially with all these guys that are interested,” Schichtel said.
Leelanau County prep golf has historically been strong in Michigan.
“We’ve been through so many different great golfers through the years here, so it’s trying to build that legacy here at Suttons Bay,” Smith said.
The Norse will have two Northport golfers ready to compete.
“(The biggest thing for me this season) is getting out of my head, working on consistency on club face control, and being able to just consistently hit the ball to drop that score” Schichtel said.
Suttons Bay sophomore Jorge Gomez is excited for his sophomore season, especially since it was announced that the team was coming back.
“Coming from just playing a couple rounds with my friends this summer, it means a lot more to actually have guidance and know how to play these courses and what our coach expects from us. It’s a whole different game,” Gomez said. “We got a lot of new golfers and enough to be competitive ... “It’s just a gentleman’s game, playing with the random people you just met. Keeping each other honest.”
Suttons Bay’s home course is Northport Creek Golf Course.
Comets ready to compete with five seniors
The Leland boys golf team will be led by five seniors this season, with high hopes of a quality golf season before graduating in a little over a month.
“Having all five of us on the team only makes it more exciting to play. I think this is gonna be our best season throughout my whole career,” Leland senior Weston Burda said. “We can still win, even if everyone else didn’t do great.”
Eli Ulbrich, Ravello Smith, Burda, Howie Kropp, and Will Sawyer are this year’s seniors.
Friday, April 17, was expected to be the first meet of the season at the TC Tee-off at the Grand Traverse Resort, but it was canceled due to course conditions from recent flooding.
The Comets’ home course is the Leland Country Club.
“I love this course, you can’t beat it,” Ulbrich said. “Anytime I get to be with these boys is fun ... I’m super excited to see what we can do this year.”
This team knows how to win championships, as most of them were a part of the 2025 Leland boys state championship soccer team in the fall.
Leland junior Hayden Vansteenhouse will be relied upon heavily throughout competition this year as the Comet seeks to make some noise at regionals and advance to the state championships. Vansteenhouse finished 22nd at the state championship last season as an individual.
The Comets barely missed qualifying for the state championships last year as Leland finished in the top-10 at regionals.
Leland finished third in the Northwest Conference behind Glen Lake and Benzie Central.
Kropp knows this is the time to shoot the best and go the farthest he’s ever gone as a senior.
“Golf is a lifelong sport, and it’s really cool that we all get to have these high school experiences with it, and really take advantage of getting to play here and around the area every day. I’m hopefully going to put some good scores out there,” Kropp said.
For Smith, golf is most likely his favorite sport.
“I won’t lie. Just to get out here, play free golf, and get better at the game. Why wouldn’t you do it?” Smith said. “I’ve been working on my chipping quite a lot. That’s my weakest part of my game … We just gotta go out there and minimize errors and play the right shots.
