September 27, 2012
When faced with severe winds, low temperatures and a difficult course, even the most experienced golfer’s skill and mental strength are put to the test. Despite the grueling weather conditions, Hamilton’s men’s golf team competed this past weekend at Williams College with great success, finishing seventh out of the 20 teams competing and 4th out of the participating NESCAC schools.
The Taconic golf course could potentially have been a challenge for the team, since its fast and sloping greens require golfers to perfect their ball placement and short game skills. Despite this, Coach Steve Stetson says that the teammates “played well tactically,” especially in such conflicting weather. Notably, on Sunday, Sept. 23rd, when the cold and wind drastically worsened from the day before, the Hamilton team moved up several spots to the top half of the competition, passing many skilled golf teams. “We are improving from week to week in many small ways. We seem to be peaking at the right time,” Coach Stetson says.
Overall, the entire team effectively demonstrated their skills and played very well. Greg Scott ’14 competed with scores of 74/76. A “talented, consistent, [and] smart golfer” according to his coach, Scott finished in third place, having just missed good birdie chances on his last two holes on Sunday. Close behind him was Matt Yung ’16, who received two 78’s and finished 12th out of the 84 competing golfers. Stetson comments that the team is very impressed with the first-year consistency, saying, “The guys think he looks like a young Greg Scott out on the course…Greg was an All-American, so that sounds like quite a statement.” Mac Pivirotto ’15 shot two 81’s, an impressive score for a golfer who had a back injury that kept him from competing earlier this season. Additionally, teammates Knute Gailor ’13 and Chris Bousquet ’16 played well and received respectable scores.
Pleased with the team’s performance, Scott said everyone, “managed to put together a pretty good team score despite the cold. Taconic is always a hard test and I think the freshmen managed it extremely well… Hopefully we have gained a little momentum going into NESCACs this week!”
In order to be eligible for next spring’s league tournament, Hamilton must finish in the top four in the NESCAC Champtionship Qualifying Tournament this weekend at Amherst.