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04/24/2017 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook golf squad began the 2017 season by playing four contests in four days last week, including a tri-match, and came away with a pair of victories for an early mark of 2-3. Both of the Rams’ wins came at their familiar confines of their home greens at Fenwick Golf Course.
After his team finished in the middle of the Shoreline Conference pack at 13-8 and then took 11th place in the Division IV State Championship last year, Head Coach Curtis Gullette is looking for the Rams to improve upon those marks this season. Gullette, who is entering his third season as Rams’ head coach, knows that Old Saybrook still has a long way to go, but overall, he’s pleased with his team’s performance in the early going.
“Considering our first match was an away match and it’s usually just a matter of getting comfortable, all in all, this week was a good start for us as a team,” said Gullette.
The Rams began their campaign by facing non-conference opponent Branford and Shoreline Conference rival Morgan at the Huskies’ home course of Clinton Country Club on April 17. Old Saybrook shot a 195 and took defeats against both Branford (185) and Morgan (193). The next day, Old Saybrook traveled to Portland Golf Course to compete against defending the Shoreline Conference and Division IV state champions and lost a 154-190 decision to Portland. After that, the Rams hosted North Branford on April 19 and then welcomed Valley Regional to Fenwick for a match the following afternoon. Old Saybrook defeated North Branford 164-228 and posted a 163-180 victory versus Valley to get in the win column this season.
In Old Saybrook’s season opener at Clinton Country Club, junior Jay DePalermo turned in a score of 47, junior Kyle Savino had a score of 48, junior Dean Nobile shot 49, and freshman Jack Walsh shot a 51 for their nine-hole round on the par-36 course. DePalermo and Savino finished tied for 27th on the leaderboard at last year’s Division IV State Championship.
Facing Portland on the road, DePalermo had the lowest for the Rams with a 45, while Walsh and Savino both shot a 48, and Jason Rothman scored a 49. Coach Gullette knew that his Rams would have their work cut out for them against the Highlanders, who are aiming to defend their two titles from last season. While Portland might be considered the class of the conference coming into this year, Gullette believes that Old Saybrook can climb its way up the standings in 2017.
“We know that Portland is far and away the best team in the conference. They have two, if not three, of the top five players,” he said. “We know winning the conference may be out of reach, but top five or top four in the conference is a good goal for us. As for states, we want to qualify and make a good run.”
After losing to Portland, the Rams came home to the comfort of Fenwick Golf Course and cruised to a 164-228 triumph over North Branford on their par-35 course. Savino earned medalist honors as the low man in the match with his score of 39. Rothman finished with a 41, while DePalermo and Walsh both scored a 42 for Old Saybrook.
Hosting Valley Regional to wrap up the busy week, Savino was once again the medalist by making par with 35 for the round. DePalermo was next in line with a 40, Walsh shot a 41, and Rothman finished with a score of 47.
As his team is 2-0 at home and 0-3 on the road so far, Coach Gullette believes that one of Old Saybrook’s top priorities is closing the gap between its totals at Fenwick and the opposition’s home courses.
“They are all comfortable at our home course. Getting them to be comfortable on our away matches will be key to our success,” Gullette said. “We shot over 25 strokes better at our home matches versus our away matches. It’s a big difference, and it’s all down to comfort.”
Win or lose, Coach Gullette feels proud of how his Rams are competing, along with the character that they’re displaying on the links during the opening stages of the campaign.
“The thing that stands out to me the most is that their integrity really shows,” said Gullette. “Golf gets a bad wrap because kids keep their own scores, but these kids are staying true to themselves, and representing the game with integrity.”