The golf season is a process that lasts for weeks.

This has been the case for Missouri Military Academy as it acknowledges its season could have been better so far but still believes it will be ready for districts.

Head coach Anthony Yannielli said the Colonels are “very close” as each cadet has “one thing” that needs refinement still before they each have a complete game that will add up to a complete team.

“We’re getting to where we need to be for when it matters,” Yannielli said. “Once we get out and get practicing and they can focus on what they need to work on the most, we’ll be doing pretty well.”

MMA has played about nine out of its 12 meets and tournaments, with some 18-hole tournaments scheduled before districts on May 6 at Norwoods Golf Club in Hannibal. Yannielli said its best, as of April 16, happened on April 15 at a tournament in Elsberry, where the Colonels finished third.

Yannielli said MMA did win that same 18-hole tournament a year ago, but the top three teams were five strokes apart so MMA was right there after posting some of its best scores of the season.

“You have a hole or two that break in the other teams’ favor and not in ours, now we’re in third place,” Yannielli said. “We had a couple in the 80s and low 90s. They’re progressively getting better within two or three weeks when it really starts to matter.”

Near the top of MMA’s key individuals is, of course, returning state qualifier Gabriel Ontiveros, who missed all-state honors but only by five places. He, by far, had the Colonels top score in a quad meet at Eugene they won as he finished with a 29 while the next best MMA score was 44.

Ontiveros’ younger brother, Carlos, is also having a great season, Yannielli said, as Carlos was one of the cadets that shot that 44 at Eugene and has been posting some other good scores this season. Yannielli said Cooper Johnston, Joseph Roach and Gaston Gastelum are returners that have “improved significantly,” and Trey Rudolph has been “progressively better.”

While Yannielli likes where MMA is at now, he said there is still some improvement before the Colonels are ready for districts.

“Putting has been kind of our Achilles heel this year,” Yannielli said. “Instead of three-putting, we get two putts, or instead of two putts, you get one putt. You start to see your score go progressively lower. Within 20 yards of the green is where we struggle a little bit so our focus is working on those and getting better at that.”