September 26, 2013
Ideally, practice should prepare a team to face more difficult circumstances than they will ever encounter in game situations. Unfortunately, in a sport like golf, where course layout and conditions essentially dictate the results, it is not always possible to simulate what one will face in tournaments.
At the Mount Holyoke Invitational last weekend, the Hamilton women’s golf team played at the Orchards Golf Course in South Hadley, Massachusetts, which hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 2004. Hamilton only had four players at the tournament while all the other schools had five players each. This difference made every Hamilton score count. Facing a challenging course, the Continentals finished 12th out of 14 teams, with a cumulative two-day score of 778.
Saturday’s first round was an encouraging start, as Hamilton started off with a cumulative 379, leaving the team just behind a cluster of schools in the middle of the pack. First-year Katie Veasey shot the team’s low score of the day with a 92 and was the only Continental to lower her score on Sunday, shooting an 89.
On Saturday, Charlotte Chandler ’17 and Liz Morris ’16 carded 93s, finishing one stroke behind Veasey. Morris saw the encouraging first round as more emblematic of the team’s overall ability, noting how the lack of an extra golfer eliminated any margin for error.
“I’d say that our first round was a solid start. The Orchards is not an easy course...and we did a good job navigating deep bunkers, tight fairways and tricky greens. Sunday wasn’t the best representation of what our team is capable of but every hole was a learning experience. And we’re bringing those lessons to practice this week and up to Middlebury this weekend.”
Women’s golf has only been a varsity sport at Hamilton for two years. Combined with the team’s relative youth, the 2013 season is a foundation upon which to build. As the eldest member of the team, Katie Steates ’15 feels the responsibility to help build Hamilton into a consistent contender.
“It’s not really about my age,” she insisted. “All the scores have been close in practice and at the tournaments. We have a great group of girls on this team, and we are all looking forward to improving our play and competing over the next couple of weeks. We are really excited about our future prospects.”
The Continentals will play at Middlebury Invitational at Ralph Myhre Golf Course this weekend. Per the USGA course rating and slope database, the Ralph Myhre course should be considerably easier, rated at about a stroke to a stroke-and-a-half easier. While the Continentals may not have been fully prepared for what they encountered last weekend, the lessons they learned from a trying tournament should bear fruitful short-term and long-term results.
No comments yet.
Comment Guidelines
Please log in to post a comment