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05/28/2021 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook golf team has a promising future as one of the top teams of the Shoreline Conference. The Rams have a solid core of freshmen in the lineup this year along with some steady veteran leadership, and last week that culminated in the Shoreline Conference Championship at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain on May 25.
Old Saybrook finished in sixth place out of 11 Shoreline teams and saw some impressive individual performances over the 18 holes of play.
Head Coach Brian Dailey is in the midst of his first season coaching the Rams after his would-be inaugural Old Saybrook season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Coach Dailey is happy to finally be out on the links at Old Saybrook’s home course, Fenwick Golf Course, with his student-athletes.
“It’s amazing to be out there. Fenwick treats us like gold. They care about getting kids out there to play golf. The captains were very helpful, and we seemed to all get along like the team always knew each other,” said Dailey. “I have a laid-back approach, which I think worked well with this group. I try to play with the kids everyday and work on different aspects. I focus on course management instead of swing training. I think everyone in the league was feeling the frustration of missing last year, but as the year went on, it all felt normal. I looked forward to it every day, and I could see the team felt that way, too.”
The Rams turned in a final score of 382 as a team in Shorelines to earn their sixth-place spot. Senior captain Garrett Brady and freshman Drew Kulmann both shot a score of 85 and tied for 11th. Freshman Rylan Murphy shot a 99 in a 24th-place tie, while senior captain Joe Sinibaldo finished with a tally of 113 and tied for 38th place. Jacob Speed turned in a score of 121 for a tie in 42nd place and rounded out the Rams’ five.
Brady has been a consistent No. 1 for the Rams all year and a steady leader as well. Coach Dailey has enjoyed the easygoing seniors approach as a captain, and also his solid skills on the links.
“Coming into the season, he was the only guy with match experience. He played well as a sophomore and he shot 84 in states that season. We wanted him to lead us around on the course. He’s got a great sense of humor, too. He narrates his own match and gets us all laughing,” said Dailey. “He’s specific and numbers-oriented. A lot of the other guys are new and just focused on hitting the ball straight, but the way he approaches his matches gives the other guys a different way to look at golf.”
The Rams have another senior captain in Joe Sinibaldo who has less match experience than Brady, but brings qualities that any coach wants out of a team leader.
“I first met Joe through a Google meet at the start of the season, and I could tell right away that he was mature, an old soul. I knew I could count on him to be a liaison between me and the kids since I’m not in the building during the day. He took that role and ran with it,” Dailey says. “He’s a positive person and good with all the players on the team. He’s an extra set of eyes and ears, and he tells me how the kids are doing. He looks at issues that we may have to work on as a team.”
One of the big surprises of the season has been the play of freshman Drew Kulman. He has been nipping at Brady’s heels through much of the season. The pair tied in the Shoreline Championship with a score of 85 over the 18 holes at Stanley.
“I don’t think Drew had played any competitive golf prior to this year, at least he’s never mentioned that. He’s been a solid No. 2, and to have a freshman put up an 85 at Stanley is impressive,” Dailey said. “Not that Garrett needs any added motivation, but Drew’s been kind of pushing Garrett along. It’s good to have someone right behind you. They have good competitive banter and they give each other about who’s going to have a better score in a match. I expect Drew to come back as the No. 1 next year. Having Garrett’s senior leadership passed down to him is exactly what you want as a coach.”
The Rams have two other freshman who see consistent match play, Speed and Murphy, who are both new to the sport—Murphy more so than Speed.
“Jacob’s only been playing a couple of years. He’s got a great swing. As he continues to play, he’ll be great in his own right. He’s played every match this year, and is consistently building experience. We have high hopes for him in the future,” said Dailey. “Rylan was pretty much brand new this year, but he’s got the bug now. He thinks about golf all day long. He’s a positive guy and fun to play golf with. His positivity really helps him. He makes sure that he plays one shot at a time, and doesn’t get down on himself. We’re really excited about our core coming back next year.”
Given the lull that all teams are experiencing after missing an entire season, Coach Dailey feels that his squad has had a great year. Even more exciting is the future for Old Saybrook golf.
“The expectations this year were to keep the program moving, rebuild, and develop a solid core for next year. I think we’ve accomplished all those goals and then some. We’ve struggled a bit on the road since our players experience was mostly at Fenwick,” said Dailey. “We played very well at Stanley, though. If you divide the 18-hole score by two, it was basically what we are shooting at home. The team is developing well and improving on their games. Next season, I’m sure they will step up their game and be even more competitive.”