On April 6, the boys golf team traveled to Rockaway River Country Club for their first away match of the season against Morris Knolls. After a tough battle in cold and windy conditions, the team outscored Morris Knolls 155-176, led by sophomore Chase Simms who fired a 33, 3-under par, with an eagle and two birdies.
With the spring season just underway, the course conditions are not at their full potential, causing greens to be specifically tricky to navigate. Despite this setback, Simms and the rest of the team seemed to overcome this battle.
As well as Simms, sophomore Tommy O’Brien also said that his putting was the strongest aspect that kept his round together. He said, “My approach shots weren’t great, but I made up for it with the putting.”
Coming into this match, none of the Blue Devils had played the course before which made visualizing shots much more difficult. Head coach Ryan Daly said, “Our game plan coming into this match was just learning how to compete on the road, on a course that’s not as familiar to us. The greens, which here, especially at this course, can be tricky, so I’m proud of them for handling adversity and fighting through to get a win.”
Simms added, “I definitely tried to play pretty conservatively. Just hitting the fairway, hitting it somewhere on the green, and then making a few good putts.”
Preparing mentally for these away matches is a key component to success for Daly. “With tryouts, we put them through a pretty tough trial process, and they had to really learn how to plan under pressure,” he said. “That’s part of their growth and maturity process. You prepare as best you can, but when you get out here, you just have to trust your game, pick a spot and try to hit the spot.”
This season, the Blue Devils have a young team, consisting of many freshman and sophomores. As they continue to grow as a team and gain more experience, this win gives them momentum for the rest of the season, especially for state tournament qualifications.
Daly said, “Our goal going forward is to keep getting better every time we play. Hopefully we peak at the right time, peak at when we get to the end of the season and try to get a championship.”
The Blue Devils now move to 2-0 on the season and will travel to Canoe Brook Country Club on April 7 against Oratory Prep.
