Cass City's Langenburg Rolling Into Final Focused on Her Game, Not Her Finish
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2026
Lindsey Langenburg knew she was in the middle of a great round during the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Girls Golf Regional at Twin Brooks Golf Club in Chesaning.
But in order to keep it going, she tried as hard as she could to block out how great she was playing.
“It gets a little nerve-racking,” the Cass City senior said. “I remember the whole round, I wouldn’t check the scoreboard. The girls I was playing with were like, ‘Lindsey, you’re in first.’ I was like, ‘Don’t tell me that.’ Going into it, my mom and dad and coach were like, you know what you’re doing, just go out there and give it your best.”
Langenburg shot an 81 on Oct. 6, winning the Regional and leading Cass City to a second-place finish as a team, qualifying for the Division 4 Final which takes place Friday and Saturday at The Meadows in Allendale.
It was the best round of Langenburg’s life and tied for the third-best regional round in all of Division 4.
“I was feeling pretty good,” Langenburg said. “I was just trying to focus on not overthinking and taking it one stroke at a time. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I just wanted to play each hole by itself. My short game (was working). My chips were right up close to the pin, so I had some pretty good one-putts. My putting was definitely there, too.”
Langenburg’s Regional breakout was a crowning achievement during an already strong senior season. She finished first, or tied for first, in six of the eight Big Thumb Conference Jamborees this fall, and tied for first in the Big Thumb Conference Tournament.
“Last year, I was shooting in the high 40s, low 50s,” Langenburg said. “This year, I dropped down to the low 40s. I had a lot of practice all summer. I was out every day, hitting the range, hitting the course. I was just a lot more focused this year with it.”
Cass City coach Eric Tamlyn said Langenburg took her game to a new level this season, something he knew was right there all along.
“Lindsey always had the ability to bounce back and not let an early bogey or double get in her head,” Tamlyn said. “I think Lindsey kind of put together the round at Regionals we all knew she could. She had been shooting some mid and low 40s. From a fundamental standpoint, she’s just very solid.”
One major change Langenburg made this season was with the club she’s using near the green, switching from a pitching wedge to a sand wedge for her chip shots.
“Last year, I couldn’t get on the green to save my life,” she said. “I had a lot of three-putts and four-putts. I think it was that I hadn’t worked on it so much, because last year I was more focused on working on my irons. (Short game) is a lot of feel, and I think I just got more of a feel for it this year. The sand wedge around the green definitely changed a lot, because it has a higher loft to get it up there. Confidence, especially with pitching, is big. So many times you can get up to the ball and be like, ‘I hope I don’t hit the ground and duff this shot.’ Especially during Regionals, I would tell myself, ‘You know how to chip. Just get up there and trust yourself.’”
Langenburg plans to take her Regional mindset into the Final, and she’s already blocking out the fact her 81 makes her a serious all-state contender, or better, in her third Finals trip.
“Honestly, I’m just focusing on being relaxed,” Langenburg said. “I don’t want to get out there and worry about every shot or try to kill the ball. I’m really focused on tempo and keeping a rhythm.”
Having her teammates with her for the second-straight year will also help Langenburg relax, as classmates Lexi Tamlyn and Lily Jaworski, as well as junior Jaidyn Vanvliet and sophomore Nevaeh Stevens were all part of the Red Hawks’ runner-up finish at the Regional.
“Going alone (as a sophomore), it was my first year playing, so it was a little scary,” Langenburg said. “It was nice knowing my teammates were out there playing the same course – and also, being able to talk to them between days about the course.”
It’s a repayment, of sorts, as Langenburg’s presence was massive this season, not only for scores, but in helping get the younger players ready for this part of the season.
“This year was a little bit different, because Lindsey’s level raised so much, and she was either winning league matches or coming in second,” Eric Tamlyn said. “Lexi had herself a really good year, as well, so we were able to have some of our sophomores, juniors and one of our seniors, usually, step up. That all kind of materialized into a team that was competitive in the league, but we usually ran up against a Millington team that was really talented. We gave them a good run at Regionals; we only lost by six strokes.”
Tamlyn’s outlook on the Final is much like Langenburg’s, as he’s hoping she and her teammates can relax and play their game, and from there the scores will take care of themselves.
“I think that, culturally speaking, making the Finals is usually the goal,” he said. “Winning the Regionals and making the Finals is usually the goal. A lot of what we’re going to stress this week is trying to make the most of this moment and enjoy it. The girls get to go have fun on a world-class golf course. Let’s try to compete, try to have fun and soak up the moment.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Cass City’s Lindsey Langenburg tees off during a match this season. (Middle) Langenburg lines up a putt. (Below) The Red Hawks have advanced to this season’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final as a team after finishing runner-up at their Regional. (Photos by Danielle Laming/Cass City Schools.)
Jenison Will Smile: 'That's What Syd Would Want'
August 21, 2019
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
JENISON – The Jenison girls golf team is playing with heavy hearts this season.
Teammates and coaches are mourning the loss of the Wildcats’ No. 1 player, Sydney Carfine, who would have been a senior this fall.
The 17-year-old Carfine was tragically killed on the night of June 14 in a two-car crash in Ottawa County.
“It was like disbelief, like this can’t be real,” Jenison girls golf coach Linda Reimink said. “I was up north, and I knew that I had to get home and get together with our team. It was very emotional and just devastating for everyone.”
Carfine’s death shook the Jenison community and took its toll on her teammates, who had to deal with the loss of their fun-loving, outgoing and talented teammate.
“It was definitely hard for all of us, and the day after we got together to see each other and talk about it,” senior Amanda Smaby said. “I think as a team we’ve come together more because of it because we all loved Syd, and it’s making our season more meaningful.
“We’re looking at it as inspiration instead of keeping us from having a great season because that’s what Syd would want. Just to enjoy golf because she made it fun and she loved golf.”
Carfine was expected to be a leader on this year’s squad, and was looking forward to her final year of high school.
“She sent a long text to the team at the end of the school year how this was going to be our year and how she wanted to do sweatshirts with last names, and we’re going to carry through on that,” Reimink said. “We also have smiley faces on our shirts in honor of Syd because that was her motto: ‘Just smile.’”
While Carfine’s unexpected death has been hard to comprehend, senior Sophie Hoekstra said she thinks of her often on the course.
“One way I cope with it is I just remember that she is watching over me,” she said. “When I make a bad putt, she’s up there laughing at me, and when I have a good shot I say in my head, ‘At least you were here to see it.’
“It’s not too different because I know that she’s still here, but at the same time it’s really different because we don’t get to see her smile or get our hugs anymore. She was always so positive and always made friends with everyone she was with.”
Carfine began playing golf at a young age. Her mother, Jennifer, golfed at Michigan State University, and her late grandfather, Mike Mieras, was a PGA Professional at Hidden Valley Golf Course.
Carfine was a dedicated student of the game and worked hard to improve in all aspects.
She made the varsity team as a freshman at Byron Center and helped the Bulldogs reach the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final.
Carfine moved and transferred to Jenison, where she emerged as one of the top players on the team and in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black the past two seasons.
Despite her prowess on the golf course, Reimink said Carfine kept her sport in perspective and was dedicated to success in the classroom as well.
“She was really competitive, and when she got on the golf course she was competing, but also giggling about boys or something going on in school,” Reimink said. “It wasn’t all business, and she was way more than a golfer. She really cared about how well she did in school. When she had a freak out moment, it wasn’t about golf – it was about school. She was really committed and worked hard on her studies. She was very creative with her writing and art.”
Reimink said the team is doing its best to cope, but Carfine’s absence at practices has been noticeable.
“I think all the girls internally have handled it differently, but Amanda and Sydney always had individual competitions and that competitive nature against someone on the team she is going to miss big time,” Reimink said. “I feel like in practices, (Sydney) was really focused on her game, and we’re going to miss that. She was such a competitor and had big hopes for a really good year.”
Smaby said Carfine brought out the best in her and her teammates.
“It’s definitely a different environment now without her because she always added so much and was the leader of our team,” she said. “She always gave us a passion to want to do better, and she would make practices fun.
“She was the one we could talk to about anything. She made jokes and made everything a little lighter mood. It’s sad to think about, but the impact she made on our team and our program was just incredible.”
After struggling through back issues as a sophomore, Carfine qualified as an individual for the Division 1 Final last season and had aspirations to play golf in college.
“Her junior year, that was her number one goal,” Reimink said. “To get back to state.”
Carfine was honored last week during play at the annual Jenison Invitational. It was renamed as the Sydney Carfine Memorial Tournament.
There will be a moment of silence for Carfine at the Wildcats’ home football game Sept. 6.
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jenison’s Sydney Carfine would have been a senior this fall. (Middle) The Jenison girls golf team stands together last season, including Carfine, far left. (Photos courtesy of the Jenison girls golf program.)