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Grace Jackman

Junior Parker McConnell finishes the hole, ultimately carding a 40 in the end, showing steady performance across the greens. Besides his performance on the greens recently, McConnell also sees growth beyond. “Over the year, from the beginning of golf season, I think I’ve mentally grown,” McConnell said. “And we’ve been in the weight room, so [I have] physically grown as well.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, the boys varsity golf team played against Lake Forest and Lake Zurich in a match at Hawthorne Woods Golf Course. The team finished in second place with a final score of 152, just short behind Lake Forest at 148. Lake Zurich shot 158. Junior Finn Sullivan finished in first place with a shot of 35, junior Hunter Graeb shot 38 and junior Austin Scott shot 39. 

The match overall went by quickly for the players as they moved around the nine holes, often putting the most important part of each hole. Uneven lines added an extra layer of difficulty for the players.

“Hitting fairways was pretty tough today,” Scott, who has been golfing competitively for about three years, said. “[With] fairways, you’re dealing with uneven lines. [We] just got to execute all the shots.”

The players also have to manage the transition from course to course and the mental strain of about three to four matches a week.

“Quick transitions, quick adaptability is kind of important out here,” senior Luke Angelos, who has been playing competitively for about three years, said.

On the previous Monday, the varsity team managed to take home a win in the Lake County Championship, Sullivan winning first, McConnell winning second and Scott winning third. 

“I think as a team, we all kind of locked in mentally and just [made] sure we’re staying confident on the course,” Sullivan said. “[We] won the Lake County invite…so I think that was a good one for the team.”

The team this year is full of new players, which can come with its own set of challenges in terms of team dynamics as the team continues to their next matches for the year, with the next match being the Boys Varsity Invitational against Buffalo Grove at Buffalo Grove Golf Course. 

“[The new team] comes with growing pains and all that,” Angelos said. “But I think we ironed out those pretty quickly and early on. So now the winds will just start rolling. It’ll be a natural byproduct.”