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07/19/2018 12:00 AMRecent graduate Sam Paulson just finished up his final season as a member of the Valley Regional golf team. Sam had solid year that saw him win the Warriors’ Lowest Scoring Average Award for consistently turning in the best totals on the squad throughout the spring. He also served as a senior captain for Valley in just his second year with the program.
It was a pretty big accomplishment for Sam to earn the distinction as his team’s low scorer this year. Even though he only joined the team as a junior, Sam managed to become the Warriors’ top golfer in a short amount of time. Sam feels proud that he was someone who the Warriors could rely upon on the golf course.
“I’d say my biggest achievement was probably being able to come in my senior year to and lead the team,” Sam says. “It’s pretty great considering I had only come in and joined the team last season in my junior year and didn’t have too much competitive golf experience.”
Sam’s first encounter with golf came when his father Scott Paulson introduced him to the game. At first, it was just a way to pass the time. However, after Sam’s uncle Marc Parr emphasized how valuable golf can be outside of the competitive arena, Sam began focusing more on the sport.
“At first, it started as a sport that my dad showed me. I never took it seriously, but I enjoyed it. My uncle...was a big factor in why I kept playing. He saw it from a career aspect and the business factor with people in offices going out and playing golf,” says Sam, a Chester resident. “When I got the opportunity to join the Valley team, I thought, ‘Free golf, I can’t say no to that.’ It’s a good life skill to have to meet people and talk to people.”
As Sam continued improving, he started to display his strengths on the course. Sam excels at working with wedges close to the green, as well as with his putter on the green. One thing that Sam loves to do out there is sink the long putt.
“I’d say generally my strengths are my short game and my putting. I have a generally good up-and-down game,” Sam says. “When it comes to hitting a consistent shot I can rely on, I would go with my pitching wedge. I think at that range, I have good accuracy with that club, but I would say that I feel more satisfied sinking a long putt. It depends on the situation, but I’d rather see one of those go in the hole any day.”
Since Sam focused so much on improving all aspects of his game, he was an ideal candidate to lead the Warriors as one of their captains this season. One of the ways Sam led the Warriors was by making sure his teammates followed the proper protocol for whatever course they were playing. Sam also made sure that his teammates always maintained a positive outlook, even during a challenging match.
“At a basic level, the team responsibility would be to make sure that everyone is dressed correctly and behaving correctly at a nice golf club,” he says. “On a friend perspective, I make sure everyone is having a good time and not getting down after a bad hole or game. I have to make sure people don’t get too angry. It never pays to be angry on the golf course.”
Valley golf Head Coach David Sparrow says that Sam brought a professional approach to the Warriors, despite the fact that his senior captain only played competitively for two years. Sparrow feels that Sam has the determination that’s needed for any golfer to succeed on the links.
“In golf, you have to be very self-motivated...Golf is very much a mental game,” says Sparrow. “You have to have self-motivation, and Sam stood out as the best player on the team in terms of attitude and motivation.”
In addition to playing golf at the high school, Sam was also part of Valley Regional’s robotics team as its lead programmer and a co-captain. Sam saw a lot parallels between analyzing his golf game and the problem solving that’s required to program a robot at one of those meets.
“I enjoy building things and other engineering-type activities. I jumped at the opportunity for the robotics team and it was a lot of fun. I plan to help out in the future and come back,” Sam says. “Before a golf match, I’m generally thinking about what I consider my weaknesses. I’m excited to start the match, because I can prove to myself that I can get past the challenges. I’ve always enjoyed math and problem solving and learning in a school environment.”
Next year, Sam will attend the University of Connecticut, where he is going to major in electrical engineering. Whether he’s playing competitively or connecting professionally, Sam believes that golf will always be a part of his life. Whatever happens, Sam feels grateful that he was able to learn so much during his two seasons with the Warriors.
“I learned a lot. I enjoyed my time here,” says Sam. “I don’t know how much competitive golf I’ll play in the future, but I’ll definitely keep playing and improving myself.”