CORVALLIS — Roman Robins will tell you golf is as much about what’s happening between the ears as what happens on the course. Philomath High’s lone senior has built his game around that philosophy — and he’s working to pass it along.
“I love taking on that leadership role,” Robins said Monday after placing eighth individually in a home meet at Trysting Tree Golf Course. “I love being able to help when I can and being able to help lift the team up since I was lifted up by past seniors. It’s fun to finally be in that role.”
PHS girls win tennis dual over visiting Riverdale
Philomath High’s girls tennis team won two out of three matches Tuesday on its home courts in a dual against Riverdale, a 3A school out of Portland. In singles, foreign-exchange student Cecilia Milesi posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Stella Gatziolis. Riverdale junior Nina Rinard downed Warriors junior Lucy Thomas in the other singles match.…
Robins traces his introduction to the game back to his father, who put a club in his hands at a young age. When Philomath launched its boys golf program, something clicked.
“As soon as I heard the school got a team, I really started developing a passion for it,” Robins said.
That passion has deepened into something more reflective. Robins speaks about golf less like a sport and more like a life curriculum — one centered on patience, resilience and the discipline to move forward after a bad shot, a bad hole or a bad round.
“It’s just a good way of getting active every single day for me,” he said. “But then it also teaches me a lot in life — it teaches me to be patient, teaches me to have a positive growth mindset. I can carry that over to other things in my life that help me do good in school, at home, whatever it is. Golf has just taught me to have a proper mindset and to keep moving forward and not to dwell in the past.”
That next-shot mentality is something Robins has had to consciously cultivate.
“Like before when I’ve done bad, it’s all my mindset, and I keep getting mad at myself and I keep telling myself I’m not going to do good,” he said. “When you tell yourself you’re going to do good, if you just have the next shot mentality, things start going well. … You don’t dwell in the past — it’s all just mindset.”
Coach Mike Hood has watched Robins carry that approach into his role with a roster that also includes two juniors, two sophomores and eight freshmen.
“He provides a lot of leadership with everybody, a great all-around kid with amazing manners, amazing work ethic,” Hood said. “I’m really happy to have him on the team and being a senior in that leadership role.”
Hood has been encouraged by the team’s overall trajectory as the spring season progresses.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement in the guys just over the course of the last month or so,” he said. “We’re just continuing to take it one day at a time, get a little better every day and after these rounds, just work on the things that we need to work on, make some adjustments and keep moving forward.”
Consistency off the tee remains a priority. When asked where Philomath has the most room to grow, Hood kept it simple.
“It’s kind of across the board,” he said. “It’s getting their swings dialed in so they’re at least hitting the ball straight where they want to hit it.”
Among those working toward that consistency is sophomore Avery Petrovich, who learned the game from his grandparents and has found in golf something that suits him in ways other sports haven’t.
“It’s a lot more kill than other sports and I’m better at it than those,” Petrovich said. “And I like the overall community, which is a lot better than most other sports.”
Playing Monday at Trysting Tree — a course the Corvallis-area sophomore knows well — carried a familiar comfort, even if the round didn’t go the way he hoped.
“It didn’t contribute much today but usually there is a sort of comfort level to it,” Petrovich said.
Petrovich is measuring success on his own terms this season.
“Personally, just to have improvement in every tournament,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what I score as long as I feel good about it. It’s not something I had today but I’m hoping that at the next tournament, I can check that off.”
Robins carries similar aspirations into the final stretch of his high school career, with an eye on the postseason.
“I would love to finish my golf career with a trip to state and to be able to compete with the best of the best and grow some more,” he said. “Honestly, I just want to play the best I can with no regrets.”
Robins had a 42 on the front nine and a 45 on the back to finish with an 87. Junior Jamin Peters had the team’s second-best performance with a 102, which put him at 25th individually. Junior Lane Bettencourt (28th, 118), freshman Conrad Yates (29th, 122) and Petrovich (30th, 142) rounded out the varsity scores.
Cascade won the team title by 21 strokes over runner-up Sweet Home, North Marion was third (372), followed by Newport (374), Stayton (384) and Philomath (429).
Philomath’s boys are scheduled to play next this coming Monday at Mallard Creek Golf Course near Lebanon.
PHS at Trysting Tree Meet
Monday, April 6, at Trysting Tree Golf Club, Corvallis
Team scoring — 1, Cascade 329; 2, Sweet Home 350; 3, North Marion 372; 4, Newport 374; 5, Stayton 384; 6, Philomath 429.
PHS results — 8, Roman Robins 42-45—87; 25, Jamin Peters 53-49—102; 28, Lane Bettencourt 55-63—118; 29, Conrad Yates 51-71—122; 30, Avery Petrovich 68-74—142.
