Huskies Go Down Swinging Strong

The Huskies travelled to Canterbury Woods to play The Holderness Bulls. Canterbury Woods has once again helped the Huskies golf season get off to smooth start. Being just that much further south than New Hampton, Canterbury often opens earlier for the season than the courses a little further north. They have helped accommodate our team, the Holderness Schools team, The Tilton Schools team, and Proctor Academy’s team this spring. With Holderness’s course, Owls Nest still not open for the season, they hosted the Huskies today at Canterbury Woods. The temperature was perfect with a strong breeze. The wind gusts played a factor on almost every hole. Some helping some hurting.

Teeing off in the first group was Mark and Jack. 

Mark faced off against a familiar opponent in the Bulls number one starter. They matched against one another last season. So Mark had an idea of the type of golfer he was matching against today. Mark’s impressive round of 3 over par, 39, was one shot too may to hold off his opponent. Mark went down one on the first hole, but never let the match get any worse than that. He fought back to even on the second hole and then again on the fifth, but after his opponent took the lead on the sixth, the Bulls starter played defense and matched Mark stroke for stroke the rest of the way in. Mark had an uphill 20 foot birdie putt on the final hole to try to even the match up. His putt slid to the right and just missed dropping in. The scorecard shows it was a battle for both players from start to finish.

Jack shot a respectable and impressive round of 5 over par, 41. On any other day his scores on most all of his holes would have matched well against an opponent. Today however, his opponent matched his Bulls teammate with a 38. It’s tough to stop the bleeding in a match when your opponent is firing on close to all cylinders. The match was closed out on the seventh, but the smile stayed on Jacks face the rest of the way in. Like the old saying goes, A bad day on the golf course is still better than a good day in the office. Win or lose, Jacks attitude stays the same, positive. 

In the second group off the tee was Eli and Matt.

Eli halved the first hole, won the second, and never looked back. He gained the momentum and set the tone in his match after the second hole. He got it to plus 3 on the sixth green and closed out the match on the seventh. He did this while shooting a very solid and impressive 4 over par, 40. Elis score earned the point in his match and was a big contributor in winning the best ball point.

Matt shot 42 today. A score that any one would be happy with. A score that we aim for when we take the first tee. A score that would normally win a match in the 4 spot. Today however, Matts opponent came out on fire. With his opponent carding a 3 over par 39, the match finished on the seventh, but Matt didn’t. He parred the final two holes to record another impressive round.

The final pairing featured Colin and Jaedyn.

The match of the day, unequivocally, goes to Colin. With both Colin and his opponent shooting a 42, you would never know the match was almost all but over after 4 holes. Colin went down one on the first, down two on the second, and the dreaded, three down after three. He halved the fourth hole to put a halt to the onslaught. In match play, if you take to the fifth tee, three down in the match, you pretty much feel like you’re about to climb Mt. Everest. And if you’ve ever played the front nine at Canterbury Woods, from the sixth hole on, it feels like you’re climbing Everest. So Colin did what he’s learned to do in match play format. He dug deep and ground it out one hole at a time. Grinding, the epitome of match play. You have to stay in it until the match is over, and that’s just what he did. He won the fifth and sixth hole, gave one back on the seventh, and took the eighth tee two down. No worse feeling in match play, no room for error, you have to be on the offensive, and you cant miss. He parred the eighth, bogeyed the ninth, and shook hands to a halved match. A match like that is both physically and mentally exhausting. Well done Colin.

Playing in his first team match was Jaedyn. Jaedyn has been shaving strokes off his scores with every practice round he’s played and earned himself a spot as the number six starter. Jaedyn learned today that even though you may shoot a lower score stroke wise than your opponent, you can still lose a match in the format we play. He went back and forth on holes with his opponent all the way to the eighth tee box, where he found himself down two. His opponent parred the 180 yard par three eighth hole, and shooks hands to a well played match. Jaedyn shot 44, a round and match to be proud of.