The expectations, lofty yet reasonable, cling to this Westfield boys golf team. Expectations of conference and county titles, of sectional championships and state championships. Ryan Daly knows it. Barnes Blake knows it.
“Definitely our goal,” Blake, the captain, says, “and we believe we can do it.”
“We definitely have a chance,” Daly, the head coach, says, “and I believe in our guys, I think we have a championship team.” But he adds a crucial reminder: “We have a lot of work to do between now and TOC.”
Westfield stood as sturdy as a boulder last season, and only a couple fragments have chipped off. A team that won four tournaments, including division and sectional titles, retains most of its core talent and garnered nj.com‘s preseason No. 1 ranking. The Blue Devils did lose Nick Conti, who plays now at Gettysburg College, and Thomas Smith.
But back is Blake, the reigning TOC individual champion and a Georgetown commit. Back is Tate Esler, a Skidmore College commit. Back are junior James Dunn, sophomore Brody Esler and seniors Seth Seiden and Spencer Shore, all fixtures in last year’s lineups.
The team holds astounding depth, “almost depth that’s completely unheard of,” Blake says. “Our top eight or nine guys can fit into any spot.”
That fosters a unique practice environment, where after-school trots at Echo Lake Country Club turn into something tantamount to qualifying rounds, golfers vying for roster spots at upcoming tournaments.
“It creates a really great atmosphere,” Blake says. “It’s a really competitive atmosphere that kind of pushes everyone to get better and fight for their spots, because nobody’s spot is really secure.”
The intensity at practice, Daly says, prepares the golfers for those pressurized tournament rounds that decide championships.
“The competition among our players just requires them to have to play meaningful golf, in pressure situations, pretty regularly,” Daly says. “So when they have to go to a tournament—like the county tournament, or the sectional tournament, or the invitation tournaments that we play—they’re not intimidated.”
Those tournaments are scattered throughout the season, beginning with Monday’s Wall Invitational. Westfield’s tournament slate also includes the Red Devil Invitational, the Garden State Cup and the Blue Devil Invitational.
Last year, the Blue Devils won the Garden State Cup and the K-Golf Classic, along with the division and sectional tournaments. Blake won individual titles at the K-Golf Classic, the division tournament, and the TOC (by three strokes), and finished second to teammate Conti at the sectional tournament. In matches, the Blue Devils finished 7-1.
The lone loss? To Cranford. By one stroke. The Cougars also nipped the Blue Devils in the conference tournament. The first match between the rivals arrives on April 11. That should be a fun one.
The two teams did recently contest a preseason scrimmage at Echo Lake CC, Westfield winning, 228–240, in a slightly modified format where more golfers’ scores than usual counted toward the final tally. Blake carded a 36 to lead Westfield, followed by Tate Esler and Dunn with 37s and Shore with a 38.
The regular-season match between Westfield and Cranford, though, still awaits a couple weeks away. The conference and state tournaments hover even further in the distance.
“You really just have to take it day by day,” Daly says. He adds, “Golf is a humbling game. And just when you think you have it figured out, things can go haywire really fast.”
Even for a team of such prodigious talent as Westfield.
