The amount of torque McCabe Buege puts on his golf swing has caused more than one cracked head face on drivers that have since moved on to the golf club afterlife.
But the latest club to face doom under Buege's watch came a day before the Class 3A, Section 5 tournament last week at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids.
Using the club as a casual leaning stick of sorts while talking to fellow players, it snapped like a toothpick. That sent Buege scrambling to find a new driver, but the best he could do on such short notice was a completely different type and brand than what he's used to.
No matter. The Rogers senior went out and shot a 3-under-par 69 to win the section tournament by four shots over teammate Corey Muenzhuber. It was Buege's 12th medalist honor of the season, and fifth consecutive competitive match in the 60s.
He is among the favorites as the Class 3A state tournament kicks off Tuesday at Bunker Hills.
"My hunch is I think he's really ready to play well," Royals coach Dan Bursheim said. "He likes Bunker, and it plays well for him."
Buege has a new Calloway driver in tow for this week's state tournament, a club he is more comfortable with than the replacement TaylorMade club he swung at the section meet. But Buege, a Central Florida recruit who finished fourth at last year's Class 3A tournament, would do just fine without a driver in the bag.
"Using [a driver] puts him in better position," on the par 5 holes and on the longer par 4s, Bursheim said. "But he's got Bunker mapped out, I guess you could say. He could go without it. He hits his 3-wood far enough he can use that at times."
Tough competitionBuege's Rogers team hopes to improve on its runner-up finish at state from a year ago. But it faces some top-notch competition.
A veteran Eden Prairie team has been the talk of Class 3A all season. The Eagles won the prestigious Tri-State Invitational in April by a whopping 16 strokes over Rogers, which won the event in 2010. All but one (Cretin-Derham Hall) of this year's state teams were at the Tri-State.
The Eagles' Dylan Baker was the only player to shoot under par in the second day of that event, firing a 1-under 71 in far-from-ideal conditions. He tied Buege and teammate Austin Wilson for top honors overall.
And this time of year Wayzata is always a force. The two-time defending Class 3A champion Trojans are back at state with all but one of their players from last year's winning team.
Wide-open fieldThe girls' Class 3A field is a mystery. Defending champion New Prague did not qualify as a team, though freshman McKenzie Neisen is back as an individual. She was runner-up a year ago at Bunker Hills.
Stillwater is the highest-finishing returning team, back after last year's third-place effort.
One more for Orono?If Orono makes it a four-peat in Class 2A boys' competition, which begins Wednesday, it will be the Spartans' last time celebrating at the Ridges of Sand Creek in Jordan. That's because Orono will move to Class 3A next year. The Spartans made it back to the Class 2A tournament after a stellar display in the Section 5 meet. Dakota Clark shot a 5-under-par 67 to lead the charge.
Familiar facesMinnewaska has also gotten used to hoisting the hardware in Jordan. The Lakers are back and in search of an eye-popping sixth straight girls' state championship. They won Class 1A in 2006 and '07 before rattling off the past three Class 2A titles. Four of the six players from Minnewaska's championship last June are back. Red Wing, however, is also in the tournament. The Wingers ended Minnewaska's remarkable 78-match winning streak in April at the Alexandria Invite.
1A highlightsThree Class 1A boys' teams will make their state tournament debuts Wednesday at Pebble Creek in Becker: Lanesboro, Frazee and BEST (Babbitt-Embarrass/Tower-Soudan) ... The individual field features two past champions in Frazee's Beau Hanson (2011) and Springfield's Dillon Schultz (2010) ... Providence Academy has four golfers back from its girls' state championship team ... Seven of last year's top 10 individuals return in both the boys' and girls' field.
