MAHOMET — Reis Claybrooke is happy with his short game these days when he plays a round at an area golf course.
The chipping and putting that dooms so many players who perform well with their longer clubs is one aspect the Mahomet-Seymour freshman is content with.
“I just feel like it’s kind of becoming natural to me,” Claybrooke said. “If I take a break, I could still be pretty good at it, and I practice it a lot.”
When one learns about some of Claybrooke’s first golf moments, it’s not surprising to hear he feels comfortable hitting the ball at shorter distances.
Claybrooke became interested in the sport roughly three years ago. That’s when he found a set of plastic golf clubs inside a closet within the home of his grandparents, Cheryl Funkhauser and the late Jerry Funkhauser.
“I would come to my grandparents’ house after school and set up pillows on the couch and try to hit each pillow,” Claybrooke said. “I think back to when I first started just hitting random targets. ... At the course (I know) I’ve done it somewhere else and I can do it here.”
Claybrooke now is proving he can achieve superb rounds on numerous golf courses.
The freshman is one of coach David Sebestik’s top performers leading into Monday’s Apollo Conference Meet at Lake of the Woods Golf Course, the Bulldogs’ home venue in Mahomet.
And Claybrooke should be integral to any of M-S’s future postseason success. The Bulldogs, who won the Champaign County tournament this past Monday for the first time since 2009, are seeking their first team state berth since winning the 2010 Class 2A state championship.
“That would mean a lot,” said Claybrooke, who turned 15 on the day of the county tournament. “I never thought I would be a freshman helping everyone on this team to (contend for) a state title.”
Adding to the talent
Sebestik, also Lake of the Woods’ golf professional, recalls teaching indoor golf classes at Mahomet’s Lincoln Trail Elementary School and seeing Claybrooke among the kids.
But, besides Claybrooke’s inherent athleticism, nothing in those informal group sessions suggested to Sebestik he’d have a future high school golf star.
“Nothing jumped out to me like this kid’s going to be a perennial all-star,” Sebestik said. “But when he did start coming out to the golf course (I saw) there was a lot of potential there. He’s one of the few kids I’ve run across who’s willing to make changes and make them quickly.”
M-S boys’ golf already was trending in a positive direction before Claybrooke arrived on the scene. The 2020 Bulldogs claimed fourth place in the challenging Class 2A Normal U-High Regional, led by then-juniors Zach Courson and Erik Christianson.
The result would have left them one spot short of a team sectional berth during a typical season.
With seniors like Courson, Christianson and Brian Coyne and juniors like Carter Selk and Blake Harvey among those returning in 2021, Sebestik was going to have a roster capable of taking at least a sectional-qualifying step this fall. Then, Claybrooke participated in M-S’s 18-hole tryout at Lake of the Woods and ranked second of all the Bulldogs. By his own recollection, he shot a 79 or 80.
“That made me feel pretty happy, because I know I’ve been working hard for it and the work paid off,” Claybrooke said. “I wasn’t expecting too much, because I was pretty nervous going into it, and anything could’ve happened.”
Refining his craftClaybrooke spent ample time during the preceding summer at Lake of the Woods, which isn’t far from his family home. He hit up both the par-3 course and main course on a regular basis in addition to competing elsewhere in Prep Tour events that feature some of the state’s best youth talent.
“The par-3 was a big thing for me. I shot 3-under (in a round) this summer,” Claybrooke said. “Last year, it was two or three tournaments in a row I scored in the 30s. At Lake of the Woods, I shot a 36 in one of their tournaments (on the main course). That’s when I noticed I could really shoot some low scores.”
Sebestik said he wasn’t surprised to see Claybrooke excel during the tryout.
“I’ve always known his potential, and I always thought he would be in the top six in some way,” Sebestik said. “But I didn’t put the expectation on him that he needed to go out and be one of our best golfers day in and day out. That’s maybe something he’s put on himself.”
Claybrooke’s M-S tenure started with a bang. He carded a team-best 79 at Urbana Country Club on Aug. 16 as the Bulldogs won Urbana’s Tiger Kickoff Classic by five strokes over Champaign Central.
Another important moment transpired in the Danville Invitational at Turtle Run Golf Club on Sept. 3. Claybrooke recorded an even-par 72 to tie for second place individually, and M-S’s team total of 304 put it just one stroke behind the historically strong Edwardsville program.
“From my understanding, (it’s) the best round of his life, especially in tournament play,” Sebestik said, “To post that in a varsity meet as a freshman is pretty remarkable.”
It’s a group effortThe Bulldogs took part in last weekend’s two-day Craig Dixon Invitational, playing 18 holes at Mattoon’s Meadowview Golf Course and 18 more holes at Mattoon Country Club.
Claybrooke recorded a 36-hole total of 159, falling just outside the top 20 in an event involving 39 teams. M-S placed 13th with a top round of 322.
“Shooting a 79 at Mattoon Country Club, one of the harder courses we’re ever going to play with some really bad holes there, just goes to show his potential,” Sebestik said, “and how high his ceiling is.”
Claybrooke’s instant effect on the Bulldogs hasn’t created any sour relationships with upperclassmen, either.
“We’re all pretty good friends,” Claybrooke said. “Zach Courson’s helped me with a bunch of different shots. A lot of the upperclassmen have given me tips.”
What makes M-S a Class 2A postseason contender is it’s not just Claybrooke playing well.
Courson has provided the Bulldogs’ top score at times. Christianson and Selk can do that, too. A runner-up effort from Harvey and a No. 3 score from sophomore John Schlenker helped M-S win the Champaign County tournament.
“We’ve had four kids shoot in the mid-70s to low-70s,” Sebestik said. “(Claybrooke) definitely has the skill and the potential to make it to state as an individual, and as a team, I think we have that same capability.”
The Bulldogs will need to work through the Class 2A Rantoul Regional on Sept. 29 at Willow Pond Golf Course and the 2A Metamora Sectional on Oct. 4 at Metamora Fields Golf Club in order to earn a spot in the two-day state showcase that begins Oct. 8 at Weibring Golf Club.
Claybrooke said shooting 320 or lower as a team in the postseason is the goal. Even if that doesn’t pan out, he’s confident in M-S’s future outlook.
“That’s what we’re going to try to do for regionals and sectionals and hopefully state,” Claybrooke said. “I know there’s a couple junior-high golfers that are starting to come out here more and starting to take (golf) more seriously. Down the road we’ll still be pretty good and might be even better.”