Hamburg freshman Aly Rentschler places 10th at state girls golf tournament

When Aly Rentschler finished seventh at the PIAA Eastern Regional Golf Championships, she became the first Hamburg Area High School golfer to qualify for the PIAA State Championships. She placed third in the Berks Tournament, and third in the District 3-AA Championships – not bad for a freshman.

“The fact that she is the first golfer to make it to the states says a lot,” said Hamburg golf coach Clark Zimmerman. “It’s a goal we have never reached as a school district and we have had some really good golfers in the past (Mark Degler, Ralph Houshour, Ryan Rogers, Jared Palubinski, Dylan Ian and Quinn Shollenberger and Ryan Smith). I’m very proud of Aly making it through the season and representing Hamburg at the state championships.”

Heading into the state tournament, Rentschler wanted to finish in the top 10. With rounds of 93 and 90 at Heritage Hills Golf Course in Hershey, she reached her goal with a 10th place finish.

“I feel like the golf season for me went pretty well,” said Aly. “At first I was nervous, since it was my first match and I started third. After that I wasn’t really nervous, I just had a few hiccups, but recovered from that for counties, etc.”

Although she was a freshman, she was in the starting line-up since the beginning of the season. She was competitive and consistent throughout the season, but she really turned it only in the post season tournaments. With a round of 92 at Golden Oaks, she placed third in the county tournament, surprising even herself.

“My goal going into counties was to place,” said Rentschler. “I wanted to move onto districts, but I really set a goal for myself to place. I was surprised that I finished third because I didn’t shoot all that well that day. When I went out golfing with Ryan Smith, I shot an 86, the winning score at Golden Oaks for counties.

“I was hitting my driver very well that day. They were going long and straight. I was also very comfortable playing with the girls in my group.”

She coach wasn’t surprised by her strong finish at the counties. He has seen her work ethic and the improvement she has made over the past year.

“She has been taking lessons and practicing for hours at the course,” said Zimmerman. “She has worked very hard and put a lot of time into her game. Aly’s an example of someone receiving success at the cost of working hard.”

Next was the District 3-AA Girls Tournament at Briarwood West Golf Club on Oct. 9 and 10. Rentschler shot an 89 in the first round and an 81 in the second round for another third place finish.

“I felt very excited making third in districts because I honestly never thought I would make it this far,” said Rentschler. “I didn’t know what the competition was like, and now when I look back, I think that there was nothing to be worried about because I just played another round of golf.”

Aly has been playing golf since she was seven years old. Her father got her interested in the sport and her love for golf never wavered since. With her father teaching her the game, and her two grandfathers supporting her all along the way, she grew to love the sport, and get better at it as time went by.

“I like it because it keeps me close to my grandfathers, who both passed,” said Aly. “But also, just the fact that I am in love with the game. There is just this feeling that I can do better every time and I always say that I want to conquer the courses that I don’t do that great on.”

Her coach has every confidence that she will conquer anything she wants in the game of golf.

“Aly is only a freshman with three more years to grow mentally and physically,” said Zimmerman. “The sky’s the limit for this young lady.”