Sports

Varsity Golf: Varsity golfers outshoot all but one

JAY CARD PHOTOS | Matt Dunning hitting off the 8th tee during a practice round at Gardiner’s Bay.

The Shelter Island boys varsity golf team is off to a great start this year. We opened our season against Hampton Bays at Long Island National on September 8. This course has never been very kind to us. The fescue is pretty to look at but the word “fescue” is one that most golfers hate. We took our lumps and were able to hang on to an 18-stroke victory. Jay Card III had the low round of the day, shooting a two over par 37. “What fescue?” he said.

The score was Shelter Island 8, Hampton Bays 1.

Our next match was against Eastport-South Manor on September 14 at Hampton Hills in Riverhead. This is a wonderful golf course and a treat for us to play on. ESM’s team is comprised mainly of seniors. They have a strong home course advantage here because many of the shots are to blind landing locations and the greens have a lot of movement on them. Hunter Starzee had the low round for Shelter Island with a nice 39 and Spencer Gibbs had his all-time low round with a 41. ESM’s experience proved to be too much for us in the end and we found ourselves looking at a 14-stroke loss. The score was ESM 7 and Shelter Island 2.

We hosted Greenport/Southold at our home course, Gardiner’s Bay Country Club, on September 20. The course is in great condition and the greens are rolling great.

I can’t say enough good things about how well the members and staff have treated us. Jay had the low round of 38. Hunter, Spencer and Myles Clark all shot in the mid-40s. Matt Dunning held on to a two-stroke lead for the win. It was Shelter Island 8, Greenport/Southold 1.

The next day we hosted a young Riverhead team at GBCC. Jay and Myles had the low rounds of 42 and Hunter was one stroke back. The real story here was how Matt Dunning, who was down 4 strokes with two holes left to play, tightened up his game and played some great shots to earn the half point for our team. Riley Willumsen also recorded his second win of the year and is showing real progress.

It was Shelter Island 7½, Riverhead 1½.

Yes, this was a busy week. On September 22, we went to the Old Vine Club in Riverhead to play McGann-Mercy. Hunter had the low round for us with a nice 39. Both Spencer and Myles had 44s. The match was close at the end, with Riley playing a solid 9th hole to come from two strokes down on the tee to a one-stroke victory. This was very nice golf to watch. I was very proud of how well they handled themselves on the golf course and how hard they competed. We squeaked out an 11-point victory. The match score was Shelter Island 7, Mercy 2.

Chris Doyle tees off the 2nd hole at Gardiner’s Bay.

In order to keep the program growing, we have 7th grader Dante Meing, 8th grader Chris Doyle and 10th graders Nathan Mundy and Matt BeltCappellino. They are all working hard to earn that 6th spot on the play roster.

Next week we face the undefeated Mattituck team, away, and our rematch with ESM at home. If we are able to get a couple of victories this week, we will be tied for the league lead at the halfway point in the season. Wish the guys luck. They are working very hard and representing SI well.