THE TIMES’ ALL-COUNTY GOLF TEAM : PLAYER OF THE YEAR : His Temper Is Down; So Are Scores

Once Kent Wiese of Huntington Beach High School learned to keep his temper from flaring up, he really started getting his golf scores down.

He learned the most salient lesson at the start of the 1986 golf season. Wiese, then a junior, broke his left hand when he angrily slammed it into a wall.

“I used to have a pretty bad temper,” Wiese said. “But after I broke my hand, I said to myself, ‘Hey, you’re never going to be able to play this game if you carry around your temper all the time.’ ”

Wiese missed most of the 1986 golf schedule, but he did shoot the low score of 69 in the Southern Section Southern Division tournament at Green River.

Since then, his smooth swing and even temperament have helped him produce an enviable record.

This season, Wiese led Huntington Beach to a 10-0 record and the Sunset League team championship. He won the individual league title by six strokes, shooting a 152 for two rounds at a windy Los Alamitos Navy Course.

In the subsequent section qualifying tournament on May 18, Wiese, The Times’ Orange County Golfer of the Year, was the low scorer on his team, which won the Southern Division title. His 72 was the third-lowest individual score at the Orange Course at Green River.

In the Southern Section team championships May 26 on the Eisenhower Course at Industry Hills, Wiese shot the low score on his team and was eighth overall with a 79 as Huntington Beach finished third

At the Southern Section individual tournament June 1, Wiese finished fifth with a 72 on the Mission Hills Course at Palm Springs. Jeff Manson of Millikan won with a 69.

In his final high school tournament Monday, Wiese finished 13th (74-78--152) and his team fourth at the Southern California CIF championships at Westlake Village.

Wiese, who is also the student body president at Huntington Beach, plans to attend UCLA next fall on a golf scholarship.

Unlike many other outstanding high school golfers who began playing as soon as they could balance a ball on a tee, Wiese is a relative newcomer to the sport.

“I’m not one of those kids that picked up a golf club at 5 years old and has been playing every day since,” Wiese said.

Wiese played golf for the first time when he was 13 and started devoting some time to it after his mother arranged for him to have golf lessons as a Christmas present.

He also played football and soccer as a freshman and a sophomore at Huntington Beach. But his junior year, he decided to concentrate on golf. And on trying to control his temper.

“That’s been the big difference for him--his temper,” said Bill Seckington, Huntington Beach golf coach. “Once he broke his hand it helped him identify where he was and where he wanted to be. He has a lot of ability, but now with his temper under control, he can score really well.”

THE TIMES’ ALL-COUNTY Golf Team

Kent Wiese Huntington Beach Joon Lee Sunny Hills Dean Diascio Esperanza Steve Runge Capistrano Valley Scott Paul Savanna Craig Ballard El Toro