Men’s Golf Team Looks to an Optimistic Future as Fall Season Comes to an End

By Maegan Green

The men’s golf team recently competed in their last tournament of the fall season.  The 19-team invitational was hosted by Elizabethtown College and took place in Hershey,Pa.

Hood finished in 17th place with a score of 350.  Sophomore Kevin Baker finished as the Blazer’s top performer, with a score of 82.  Tyler Fairly finished with a score of 88.  Harry Shultz scored 89.  Michael Casadi final score was 91, and Patrick Cairo finished with a 92.

“We are rebuilding our team,” said head coach Tom Dickman.  “We have a lot of potential, but we have a fairly new team.”

The team consists of five players, three of which are new to the roster. Cairoand Shultz are both first year students, while Casadi is a transfer.  Tyler Fairly is the only senior on the roster.  Next semester, Ira Benoit (’13) is expected to return to the line-up in March for the start of the spring season.

“The future for golf is bright,” said Fairly.  “We have a young core of players that seem committed to staying at Hood and being an active participant for the next few years.”

There will be another season of golf during the spring semester.  “The team just needs more competitive rounds of golf under its belt,” said Fairly.  “I’m hoping for some team finishes in the spring that place us in the top five at least once.”

Hood competes with an average of 15 to 20 other schools in each tournament.  “Most of the tournaments take place inPennsylvania,” said Dickman.  “We usually leave campus at around nine o’clock in the morning and make it back by nine at night.”

“One of the things that is hard for the players is tournaments conflicting with classes,” said Dickman.  “Each time we compete, they miss classes and have to set aside time later to catch up on their school work.”

Golf affects the players on and off the course. “For me, golf is a mental escape from the rest of the world,” said Fairly.  “When I am on the course that is all that exists at that time.”

There is supposed to be a girl’s golf team as well, but nobody signed up for it this semester.  “I am recruiting right now, and it would be nice to see more girls interested in golf,” said Dickman.  “Hopefully, next semester we will get the girl’s team started up again.”