In the summer of 2024, Gilbert girls golfers Ava and Ella Lohrbach had just helped the Tigers repeat as Class state champions by setting a new 3A-record low score.
Nevada boys golfer Parker Rodgers was coming off a third-place finish during the 3A state meet at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames.
The Lohrbach twins were now on their own for the first time as older sister Eden, a two-time state champion and two-time runner-up, had just graduated and was off to golf at the University of Nebraska. Rodgers was even more lonely as the only Cub golfer to qualify for state.
With the Silo Club in Nevada, formerly known as Indian Creek Country Club, undergoing renovations — it is set to reopen in May — Rodgers was forced to find a new golfing home. He quickly became a member at Veenker.
The Lohrbach twins were already frequenting the elite Ames course, often rated as one of the best in the Midwest.
All three golfers spent hours dedicated to their craft every day. It was inevitable that they were going to bump into each other.
“It’s pretty hard not to when all three of you are out here 12 hours a day,” Rodgers said. “You cross paths once or twice and eventually end up playing against each other a couple of times.”
Friendships lead to state championships
Once they did, friendships were born.
“We’ve played a lot together,” Ella said. “Almost every day all summer and in the fall, we’d still come after school, so a lot of rounds.”
Rodgers followed up his bronze medal at the 2024 3A state meet by winning it all in 2025. He carded a 7-under par 137 over 36 holes at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls to beat out Gilbert’s Ryan Lynch by one stroke for the individual title.
The Lohrbach twins made history on the girls side. They followed up their older sister’s back-to-back individual state crowns by going 1-2 individually at the Saddleback Ridge Golf Course in Solon.
After placing 10th individually as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore, Ava won her first individual state title with an 8 under score of 136. Ella was three strokes behind in second place with a 5 under 139.
The two rounds by the Lohrbachs were the best by any girls golfer competing at the state meet across all four classes.
Rodgers and the twins have their sights on another individual state championship, and in the twins’ case, a state runner-up for whichever one does not win it all, in 2026.
“It’s awesome because they push each other,” said Gilbert girls coach Grant Walker. “They’re constantly putting pressure on each other to be better. That’s the awesome part for us as a program. You want to see your athletes get pushed.”
It benefits the twins because, in the past, they always had to answer to Eden when they were not at their best and they went to her for advice.
“Having each other out here is really nice because we can help each other with our swing,” Ava said. “We can tell each other if we’re doing silly little things in our setup to our swing. That’s really nice to have someone to keep you accountable.”
It helps Rodgers to have two other golfers at his level there to offer pointers.
Twins take on role of big sisters
“Coming out and playing with them, I’ve learned a lot of different ways to compete,” Rodgers said. “They’ve taught me a lot more.”
With the Lohrbachs being a grade above Rodgers — they are seniors and he is a junior — they have sort of taken him under their wing as a younger brother.
“Most of the things I do chipping and putting are stolen from them,” Rodgers said. “I’ve probably learned more than they have.”
They make sure and keep things fun, but interesting.
The trio often plays putting and chipping games together. They play 15, which is a lag putting game, and 18, a chipping up and down game, and 21.
The short game is usually the most challenging and frustrating part of golf. Those games provided a way for each golfer to improve in a competitive environment.
“I feel like we just come out here and play games,” Ella said. “We all play together a lot of the time. It’s a lot of fun.”
But it is not all fun and games. Sometimes they spice things up to see how they can perform under stressful situations, which they will surely face in the postseason.
“These two and Johnny Bouska (Gilbert boys) and Jamin Colvin (Ballard boys) will play for a candy bar or who buys dinner or something like that,” Rodgers said. “Building pressure and competition is great. It’s helped me a lot.”
Bouska currently has the 18-hole low score among 3A boys golfers this season at 64 and Colvin is fourth at 68, according to Varsity Bound. Those two are also Veenker regulars, as are some of the Lohrbachs teammates at Gilbert.
Big expectations
Through their golfing games and competitions with Rodgers, the twins have learned leadership skills on the fly.
They helped a Gilbert team, which was expected to take a big step back after losing a ton of talent, earn its third consecutive team state championship.
“We put a lot of work in to get to where we were,” Ella said. “We had to get a few new players, and they wanted to put the work in after the legacy all of those seniors left behind. They were motivated to keep up, so that was exciting to see.”
Balancing the hard work and dedication with keeping things light and enjoyable is the goal of both Ava and Ella this season.
“Making it fun for the team,” Ava said. “This week is a long week because we have four tournaments. Just trying to incorporate fun so they are not only trying to get better, they want to come to practice.”
The twins want to lead Gilbert to its fourth team championship in a row, along with going after another 1-2 finish individually before heading off to golf in college at Drake. Rodgers wants to hit his stride at the right time to make it back to state, where he will try to top his 2025 finish and earn another state title.
With how hard they have been pushing each other, it would be foolish to bet against them.
“It’s kind of an expectation,” Rodgers said. “It’s still going to be really fun to see if we can beat our marks from last year.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: How 3 elite high school golfers sharpen each other’s skills
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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