Golf Shuts out North Hampton 10-0 in Third Season Match

Last Saturday, the Exeter varsity golf team competed at home in their third match of the season. Big Red outplayed North Hampton School, winning all of their matchups and finishing with a score of 10-0. The varsity golf team has shown promise this year, as this is its second shutout of their currently undefeated season. Their record stands at  3-0.

While the match favored Big Red, both the weather and course conditions challenged the players’ ability to compete. Lower Harry Saunders said that the overcast and sub-freezing temperatures made it especially hard to judge distances on the course and stay concentrated. The course was also still recovering from a recent snowfall—even after it has melted, snow tends to leave its mark on the golf course by damaging the greens, making it difficult to putt. 

Despite the poor conditions, co-captain and upper Charlie Dubiel commented on how the course was surprisingly well-maintained in comparison to other courses that the team has played on. “The greens were much better than I expected, but it’s always hard this time of the season in New Hampshire,” he said.

Co-captain and senior Steven DeLisio suspects that as the weather and conditions get better, the team’s level of play will also increase. He thought that the team still struggled, despite their win, as the players need more time to adjust to hitting on a real course. “We had a lot players play well and beat their opponents, but we’re still in the first part of the season—most of the time we aren’t even on the course yet,” he said.

So far, however, the co-captains are proud of the team’s composition. In the last three matches, several players outside the team’s top four have scored well. He hopes the other players will continue to practice and improve. “It’s really great seeing players rise to the occasion and have a great game,” Dubiel said. “Even if they don’t put up points for the team, it’s nice to see our team’s future players becoming confident, skillful golfers.”

Despite the strong start, Dubiel wants to remind his team to not become overconfident, but rather preserve their momentum with hardwork and dedication. “Coming off last year’s undefeated season, it’s easy to not work as hard this season, but we have to focus on the next match, hole and shot. We need to keep everything in the present and not worry about the bad breaks we can’t control; that’s how we’re going to hit the next shot successfully,” he said.

The Exeter varsity golf team is excited to put Dubiel’s words into effect in their upcoming away match against their rival, Andover. The smurfs’ golf team currently boasts an undefeated record as well.