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Tees Off
Mason Stewart tees off on the 12th hole during the Wildcat Invitational Golf tournament at the Norwich Golf Course. Photo by Marc Allard.
It’s a different mindset.
For the first time this season, the Woodstock Academy golf team had to compete for 18 holes at the Wildcat Invitational at the Norwich Golf Course rather than the nine holes that is traditionally played in a high school match.
“It’s a different animal,” said Woodstock Academy coach Rich Garceau. “It’s an endurance test. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and so it does help the guys develop that mental toughness. You can see, sometimes, the guys mentally fatigue.”
Another difference from a normal day on the course was that teams were limited to four players and all scores counted. There was no opportunity to throw out the high score.
The Centaurs went into the tournament with a goal.
Garceau wanted to have four players under 90.
The Centaurs came close.
Jack Gelhaus finished with a 79, Mason Stewart carded an 88 and Eli Child came in just under the red line at 89.
Those numbers meant the Centaurs finished ninth as a team with a 350-stroke total. That was well behind the winner of the 46th annual event, Xavier, which finished with a 297.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Gelhaus said of his round. “The greens were pretty hard and hard to read and I had three three-putts which isn’t good. But it was a hard course and we were playing from the tips (the blue tees). It’s never going to be an easy day.”
Gelhaus also had another handicap.
The senior had to wear a back brace after suffering another injury playing soccer the day before the tournament.
Gelhaus was forced to miss the season-opening match this year after taking a soccer cleat to the face.
“It didn’t hurt too bad except on the drive, the drivers killed me,” Gelhaus said of his latest injury.
It has not been the easiest of seasons for Gelhaus, not only because of the injuries.
Going into the Wildcat, he had only broken 40 once.
“It’s been a tough year, my irons haven’t been there, but (Woodstock’s home course) Quinnatisset hasn’t opened its range yet (that happened late last week). It’s always tough without the range open,” Gelhaus said.
The team total said to Garceau that the Centaurs were “OK” right now.
“We still have a little bit of work to do,” Garceau said.
He, like Gelhaus, was excited to know that the driving range at their home course had opened so the team could get some work in.
“It’s not often that I’m excited about going to the driving range or the putting green, but that’s what we need,” Garceau said. “We’re close, but we’re not where should be or want to be. We’re not where the guys want to be. Hopefully, we can work some of the kinks out in practice and get to where we need to be to make the (Eastern Connecticut Conference) tournament (on May 31) more competitive for us especially since it’s at Quinnatisset.”
The Centaurs returned to the course May 9 and suffered a 7-0 loss to Killingly, which finished second at the Wildcat Invitational.
Despite the loss, the practice showed.
Gelhaus shot a season low 37 and Stewart also had his best effort of the year, a 39.
The Centaurs (9-5, 3-3 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II) also got a 41 from Child and a 45 from Robert Maheu.
The Centaurs had three matches scheduled for this week with one at home against Montville May 15 before going on the road to East Lyme and Bacon Academy on May 16 and May 17.
Girls’ golf
A little practice is starting to make for better things for the young Centaurs girls’ team.
They shot their lowest team total of the season, a 199, against Glastonbury May 9 at Quinnatisset.
It didn’t produce a win as Glastonbury shot a 187, but it did show the team’s potential.
“A little practice time goes a long way especially for the new players,” coach Earl Semmelrock said. “The practice time is what everyone needed. The away scores are still higher than we would like but many of the new girls with limited experience on the course are seeing these new courses for the first time. You can tell them what to expect but once they get out on the course it is in their hands to navigate the course and post the best score possible. I am really proud and pleased with the effort from all the girls.”
The Centaurs started last week with a second-place finish at the girls’ Wildcat Invitational. Unlike the boys, the girls played only nine holes. Instead of the 16 schools and 21 teams that showed up for the boys, only four teams were on hand for the girls at the Norwich Golf Course.
The Centaurs finished with a 226 total, 12 strokes behind the winner, Waterford, in the first meeting of the week with the Lancers.
Caroline Eaton and Linda St. Laurent both shot a 57 for the Centaurs.
Those numbers got better May 9.
Eaton shot a 46 and St. Laurent a season-best 49 in the loss to Glastonbury. The low scores came despite newly aerated greens at Quinnatisset.
While that didn’t bother them in that match, it came into play May 11 when the Centaurs traveled to the Great Neck Country Club in New London.
“When you go from aerated greens, full of sand, to fast non-aerated greens like we had (Friday), it’s hard to adjust to the drastic change in speed. That certainty had an effect on our score,” Semmelrock said.
The Centaurs were back over 200, finishing with a 228, well shy of Waterford which captured the ECC regular season championship with a 197 total.
“They have a very strong top of the lineup. Three girls that usually score in the low-to-mid 40’s and can go lower than that. Their No. 1 player is very talented,” Semmelrock said.
Both teams defeated Bacon Academy.
Caitlin Cannon was best for the Centaurs with a 53.
The Centaurs have a 4-6 overall record and a 2-2 mark in ECC play and head into a pretty busy week.
”With four matches this week, our goal is to close out the season with a winning record,” Semmelrock said. “We actually get an entire week and a few days of practice before the ECC Championship (ay 29) that we host at Quinnatisset. If all the young ladies play up to their potential we could be right in the mix for the tournament title.”
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director