Carter Tetherow knew he had hit a good shot—he just didn’t know how great it was. The Sobrato High senior hit a hole in one on the par-3, 168-yard 8th hole at Almaden Country Club in a March 27 match against Leland. Using an 8 iron, Tetherow’s shot took a bounce or two on the green before going into the hole, setting off a celebration with teammate Kyle Snopkowski and Bulldogs coach David Letts.
“I was jumping up and down on the tee box,” said Tetherow, who will play golf at Northwestern Christian University in Oregon next season. “It was my first hole in one ever.”
Said Letts: “He had to shoot the ball over water, and I had the pleasure of seeing it go in. It was the first time I’ve ever seen a hole in one, and it was a great shot needless to say.”
Now that Tetherow has accomplished what many golfers dream of doing, he’s got his mind on an equally if not bigger goal: to contend for a Blossom Valley League championship and earn an outright berth into a Central Coast Section Regional. Tetherow achieved the latter as a sophomore, but not outright. This season, the 6-foot, 145-pounder wants to leave no doubt as his high school career comes to a close.
“Sophomore year I shot an 81 at BVALs, but I did not make CCS outright,” he said. “They take a look at several players and go back and look at our previous rounds and how well we did. I was one of the six they took at-large.”
This year’s BVALs are once again at Coyote Creek Golf Club, which isn’t Tetherow’s favorite course. However, Tetherow has played it enough to where he can set up a game plan that will put him in the best position to succeed. As of last week, Tetherow had the league’s fifth best nine-hole scoring average, at 38.
He shot a season-best under 1-under par 35 at Cinnabar Hills on April 17, a round that gives him confidence leading into BVALs.
“My shot making and decision-making was solid,” he said. “I was able to work the golf ball how I wanted it to and the decisions I made on what club to hit and what type of shot to hit always turned out to be the best for me.”
If Tetherow can repeat that performance at BVALs, he’ll most assuredly earn an automatic berth into a CCS Regional. Tetherow has enjoyed playing with fellow senior and friend Kyle Snopkowski, who is the No. 2 singles player in Sobrato’s lineup and averaging a 45. Letts said the top two Bulldogs have helped lead the team to third place in the ultra-competitive Mount Hamilton Division standings.
“The younger guys look up to Carter and Kyle, and they show what it takes to compete in this division,” Letts said. “It’s been a pleasure coaching them the last four years for sure.”
Letts said junior Nathan Arnott—who is the No. 3 player in the lineup—has also made a big impression in just his first year of playing competitive golf.
“It’s pretty remarkable to see what he is doing in his first year, and it shows you what kind of athlete he is,” Letts said.
Tetherow can power it off the tee, as his driver and long irons tend to be the strength of his game. Mentally, Tetherow has learned to move on from bad shots or rounds and not dwell on them.
“The last three years has been a really good teacher for me from the aspect of being able to keep cool in pressure situations,” he said. “I’ve learned to fight through when things are not going my way, and not get upset and let it decide the round for me.”
Tetherow said it’s been great playing with Snopkowski, as the two often get put in the same pairing. Whenever Tetherow is on a bad string of holes, Snopkowski is there to encourage him and vice versa.
“He can calm me down if I’m running a little hot,” Tetherow said. “He helps me get past certain situations. We’ve developed a friendship since the seventh grade, and it’s been great.”
Tetherow grew up playing ice hockey, eventually playing 10 years overall and the last four with a travel club program. Playing hockey helped Tetherow make the transition to golf a rather seamless one.
“The fundamentals of ice hockey and golf are kind of similar in needing balance and core strength,” he said.
In the off-season, Tetherow was either at the practice range or course six times a week, putting in long hours in anticipation of his best season yet. That’s exactly how things have turned out in his senior season, and nothing would satisfy him more than firing off a career round at Coyote Creek in the league championships.
