by Henry Gatto ’25
September 26, 2023
As fall sports swing towards playoffs and postseason, USN golf is poised for success but struggling to get student supporters. Despite the fact that USN has had a golf team for over 25 years, it continues to be a less appreciated sport; low spectator rates, little publicity, and little public knowledge have led to a lack of interest from the student body.
Over two decades ago, photography teacher Trent Boysen became the assistant coach for the golf team. His passion for golf was well-known among the faculty. He now serves as the head coach, primarily working with the girls team.
Justin Fitzpatrick, the assistant coach, became involved in the program early into his tenure at USN. He started in 2012, and within his first two years as a teacher, he became the assistant coach of the boys’ and girls’ teams. While the girls’ and boys’ teams compete separately, they practice together every day.
The season officially begins two weeks before school, but optional tournaments often occur during the summer. The summer preseason is an important time for team bonding; most of the players travel to the University of the South (Sewanee) for a few days of repetitive conditioning, lots of fun, and thinking forward to the year ahead.
Once school starts, practice takes place every day. The coaches use fun drills to teach students of all skill levels.
Boysen said, “We get kids with all skill levels. We have kids who are brand new to the sport, and we have kids who have been playing before Middle School. So there’s not any one thing that we can look for.”
In golf, there are three types of strokes: driving, chipping, and putting. These three strokes make up the game in which golfers compete to complete a course in the fewest number of swings possible. By mastering these different types of strokes, golfers gain the skills to play short middle and long distant shots well.
Boysen works on the larger shots and enjoys helping kids perfect their form. In conjunction, Fitzpatrick works on students’ putting skills to land the ball in the hole. These skills are taught in practice through games, drills, and scrimmages. On Fridays, students typically participate in challenge matches with each other.
These games lead to separate ranking among both teams known as the ladder. The ladder operates similarly to a leaderboard. Golfers strive to be higher up on the ladder. Often the ladder will determine who will compete in matches and tournaments against other teams. The top five boys and the top three girls contribute to the overall team score. When playing an easier team or a less competitive match, students may be chosen from the bottom of the ladder to score.
The average time for a match will be about three hours. Tournaments are even longer, lasting upwards of five to six hours. In recent years there have been almost no spectators coming out to the matches.
“Last year during the state meet, only one fan came out to support the team,” said Boysen. “There’s hardly any other high school kids that will come and watch a match.”
While speaking to the coaches and participants, the issue of student encouragement was constantly brought up. A great need for student involvement out on the course was expressed by students. While matches start at 4:00 P.M., Fitzpatrick suggested that people come after their after school activities are over. The most thrilling part of the match is that last hour where the points are close and the last people are putting to a close.
“You should see the end, which would be an exciting thing to see. That’s what I would encourage people to do,” Fitzpatrick said.
This season is coming down to be very competitive for USN. Recently, the top of the ladder has been pushing the whole team towards improved scores through lower swings. This competitive attitude is appreciated from the coaches. Some of the standouts that are leading their teams are Eli Gold ‘24, Kate Vaughn ‘24, Ainsley Moore ‘24, Jordan Brod-Glinter ‘26, and Ryan Barrett ‘24.
As the team gets excited for the final stretch, members turn their focus towards postseason tournaments. The first one is Tuesday, September 26, which is the district tournament. If the Tigers finish in the top three teams, USN will qualify for the Region Tournament.
“It’s definitely not a given that we do that, as we are in a very tough district,” Fitzpatrick said.
Monday, October 2 is the Region Championship, in which the Tigers have to be top two to go to the state championship.
While victory is not guaranteed, boys’ team member Nicolas Spigel ‘25 is embracing the challenge.
“We’re a very fun team to watch and we can do some damage,” he said, “so come out and support!”
