June/July 2024

This month, we acknowledge the incredible achievement of the Zionsville Boys Golf Team, who secured a triumphant victory at the 87th Annual IHSAA Boys Golf State Finals at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel in June.

Their hard work, dedication and exceptional performance have brought immense pride to our community and to the program’s head coach, Adam Wood, an individual IHSAA state champion from Zionsville in 2013. This marks the program’s first state championship title in 20 years and the third team state championship in the program’s history, with the Eagles finishing with an overall score of 24-over-par 600.

Zionsville’s varsity squad was composed of Andrew Wall (T5, E), Max Steiner (T8, +4), Gavin Poole (T15, +7), Brycen Tisch (T39, +13) and Bryce Conlee (T78, +23).

The Secret to Success at the State Championship

Coach Wood spoke with us about the incredible family and community support that the team received throughout the season, especially during the postseason. He also reflected on the dedication and effort required to lead the team to the championship and secure the win after a two-decade dry spell.

“I think everybody was just really excited about [the championship], and on the second day, you realize how much the community was there,” Wood expressed. “There were a lot of family, friends and people who came out to watch and support the program, and I think everybody really enjoyed it. More than anything, I’m happy for the guys … those are memories that they’ll carry forever.”

When Zionsville Monthly featured Wood on the cover after he succeeded Coach Steve Simmons as the program’s head coach, Wood shared that a state title was one of his goals, but he had a pragmatic list of additional goals for the young men on the team.

“Winning the state championship was always sort of a goal of mine, but there were other things that I wanted to accomplish [this season] as well,” Wood stated. “How we performed on the golf course was important to me, but there were other things that I wanted to make an integral part of the program. As I’m helping them navigate through these years of their lives and helping them handle adversity, they are finding ways to accomplish things and solve problems. But yeah—it is nice to have won the big one.”

When asked what the magic formula that led them to victory was, Wood shared, “I think there were many things that went into it, a lot of different variables. Many important things contributed to the team winning the state championship, but for us, I would say our schedule has been important … playing a very competitive schedule, and frequently. We were in tournaments week after week, playing against the best teams. Our athletic department is very supportive, and they never tell us no. Within the team and certainly amongst the varsity squad, it was them not shying away from trying to be better than they were yesterday and not shying away from trying to accomplish big things.”

Wood continued, “Having high expectations is not a bad thing. I think it’s pretty important in how you handle going about achieving them or falling short and handling some adversity. I think that was number one for us in terms of having the mindset to go out there and compete to do something special. There were course strategies and competitive things we did throughout the season, and all of those things together helped.”

A Powerhouse Team; Individually, They Shine

Coach Wood took a moment to express his pride and share his observations about the program’s powerhouse five.

“I’ve told Brycen [Tisch] that the sky’s the limit for him and not to be surprised when he has quite a bit of early success,” Wood said. “He did extremely well this year, especially for a freshman. Bryce [Conlee] is a player with incredible ability. He hit some of the most extraordinary shots that I watched, in person, this year. Bryce is going to play [college] golf in Evansville, and I expect him to do great things there.”

Wood continued, “Andrew Wall was our captain—voted unanimously—and he played extremely well this year, but in particular, he had one of the finest postseasons that any Zionsville player has ever had and really anchored the team. Watching [Andrew] make the putt on the final green to cap off the state championship victory with his dad [Assistant Coach Mike Wall] standing next to me, that’s a pretty special memory. Gavin [Poole] had a terrific year and was our conference champion, which puts him on an elite list of players. He’s a naturally gifted ball striker and overall player … this season was by far the best he has played in his [student athlete] career, and what a time to do it! Max [Steiner] has a very fiery competitive side that I don’t think he shows outright, but it’s there, and he’s capable of providing a very clutch finish in some key moments. He played terrific golf all year, and we could not have won the state championship without Max.”

Wood went on to say, “What a year this team had, and it was great to watch all five of those guys play. The postseason was a great time for us to play some of our best golf, and that’s what they did … all the credit goes to those five guys! Additionally, I want to give credit to Coach Simmons. I really picked up the baton at the very end of the race. He ran this race all the way up to the end, and much of what we do in our day-to-day and week-to-week is straight out of Coach Simmons’ playbook. He put together the schedule, the routines and things we utilized, so I want to give him credit and thank him for all his years in providing for this program.”