Huskies Run With The Bulls

On a near perfect weather day, had it not been for the clouds, the Husky golf team tee’d it up against The Holderness Blue Bulls. This was our first match we have been able to host at our beautiful and meticulously maintained home course, Laconia Country Club. We had played a couple practice rounds on the back nine prior to this match, but today we would be going out on the front. 

The team’s captains Will and Mark took on two very skilled golfers. You could say that the Bulls one and two starters golf skills were so similar that they might be twins. They were. Twin brothers from Vail with serious golf games. Both coaches knew this was going to be great matchup. We were right.

Will went back forth in his match, trailing, leading, and bringing it to all square on the ninth tee. Wills opponent was not making many mistakes in his round of two over par, 38. What Wills opponent started to learn, is that Will doesn’t make many mistakes either. Shooting a one over par 37, Will parred the ninth to win a full point in his match. After Will’s match, he told me that his opponent was such a gentleman in the match and that he wished he could have had more chances to play against him. Not because he won the match, because he felt they were on the same level, in every aspect of the game. The passion for this game runs deep among these young golfers, and they love to play the game correctly with competitiveness and respect. 

Mark took on the other half of the Bulls twosome. Mark sprinkled in a couple birdies, mixed in with a few bogeys and a double, along with three pars, to shoot a colorful round of 39. Normally that would be a solid enough showing for a match. Today however, Marks opponent managed to card a two over par 38. He had seven pars and two bogeys. That’s a tough match to win, almost zero room for error on every shot. One slip and his opponent will gain the advantage. Mark held in till seventh hole, where his match was closed out with a loss. Rather than be upset by that, Mark stepped to the eighth tee, knowing that himself and Will were up by two in the best ball point with two holes to play. Marks match may have been over, but that doesn’t mean the best ball point is over. Mark struck one dead center, and threw an approach shot to 20 feet shy of the pin. His opponent threw a dart to about 5 feet. Most would consider this deflating. Not the Huskies captain. Mark stood over that 20 footer, put his trust in his putter , and drained it. It wouldn’t matter if his opponent made his birdie putt or not, Marks birdie was enough to close out the best ball point in favor of the Huskies. 

In the three and four spots were Jack and Eli. Jack fired an impressive round of 41, five over par. His opponent fired one better with a 40. Jack was down one on the ninth tee in his match and the best ball point was up one in favor of the Husky pairing. Jack and his opponent both had par putts, both putts had a lot on the line. Both players rolled them in. This gave the Huskies a full point in the best ball match, even though it handed Jack a loss in his match. Jack did exactly what was needed to help earn a point for the team. He held in there till the final hole.

Jacks playing partner Eli shot an equally impressive round of golf. A 44 was all Eli needed to shoot to secure a win and earn a full point in his match for the team. Eli played in the four spot for strategic purposes. He hadn’t played the front nine before and Jack has. This gave Eli some insight as to where he should put his tee shots on certain holes. This proved to be helpful, because Eli jumped out to an early lead in his match on the first hole, and never looked back or lost the lead. He shut the door on his match on the seventh hole and watched as his partner Jack secured the other point on the ninth. Two points in this twosome was a huge turning point in the team match. This brought the total to 4-2 in favor of the Huskies. One point was all that was needed to earn a team win.

The team looked down the fairway to see the approach shots from their teammates in the five and six spots. Nate Blanchard in the five spot for strategic purposes as well, shot a matching 4 over par 40 against his equal and worthy opponent. Matching 40’s would make you think it’s a tied match. That’s what makes match play so exciting, you can win a match by shooting the same score or even shooting one or two strokes more than your opponent. It’s not what you score on holes, so much as it is, when you score on holes. Nate shot what he needed to score, when he needed to score it, in order to take his match to even on the ninth. His approach shot flew the green and left him with a tricky and delicate chip shot. A quick upslope in front of him, to a pin tucked close to the back fringe, left little room for error. As both teams looked on from just aside of the green, Nate turned to his teammates with that big grin of his and said, watch and learn boys. With soft hands and a smooth swing, Nate flopped his shot up close to the pin to lock in a win on the hole and a win in his match. Nate has been coming through at clutch moments all season, playing in whatever spot he is asked to play in. His positive attitude and ever improving golf game, are key components to this teams chemistry. 

Playing in the six spot was returning starter Ray MacDougall. Ray earned this spot by winning a nine hole match against fellow teammate Grady Moore the evening before at Laconia. Both coaches were able play in the foursome with Grady and Ray for their match, and were able to school both of them in match play strategies and match play management whenever we saw an opportunity. Match play format is a completely different mindset when you are playing golf. You play both sides of the ball like any other sport. Offense and defense, and there’s no better way to teach these strategies, than to play alongside them during a match. It was a close match, down to the 17th hole. Ray carried this momentum into the following day and went out and shot his personal low, a 7 over par 43. This is so incredibly impressive and we couldn’t be prouder or happier for him. Ray has managed to shave a staggering 15 shots off his season opening round of 58 to this round today. He has put the time in to improving his game and it was on display in this round. Rays match was closed out on the seventh hole, but the best ball point was still in play. Not knowing how Nate’s match would end up, it was imperative for Ray to stay focused in the match. Did he ever. Ray parred the eighth and ninth hole which was enough to help secure a full point for the team. If Nate’s match didn’t go the way of the Huskies, that best ball point would’ve been critical in securing a team victory. Ray was there to back up his partner had Nate fallen short. 

This win was the true definition of , a team win. Everyone had a role in it, and it took everyone to earn a win.
Ray and Grady will be competing for the six spot in a practice round Tuesday, for the spot in Wednesday’s match against Winchendon. That match will be stroke play and Ray and Grady have been the two golfers on the alternate squad that have elevated their games enough to compete at the varsity level. Everyone on the team is showing signs of improving, but only a few have stepped up their scoring to earn the starting spots. Everyone on the team is gaining match play experience every time we play a practice round, and every one is given the same opportunities to improve their game. It’s been exciting and fun to watch everyone’s game progress in some type of way.