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Photo Michael Iacuessa
PHS golfers: from left, Zach Tobias, Trevor Lambrou, Chris McKernan, Coach Fran Johnson and Chris DeSousa. Also on the team are Jake Morris, Bronson Zawaduk, Russ Silva and Drew Locke. |
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Photo Michael Iacuessa
Chris DeSousa tees off. |
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Provincetown athletes making cut on golf course
By Michael Iacuessa
BANNER CORRESPONDENT
In some ways it is not surprising the top three players on the Provincetown golf team also play hockey. Where else would assistant hockey coach Fran Johnson recruit players when starting a golf program?
Johnson began the program in 2002 after Highland Links agreed to give the team free time on the course to improve their game. It is a key perk in attracting players as well.
And while Johnson jokes that “some of them can’t quite get the fact that low score wins,” the quality of their games is improving rapidly.
Senior Bronson Zawaduk, who picked up a club four years ago, is now shooting a 39 at the course. That is down from the 60s when he started. Jake Morris, maybe the most experienced on the team with five years behind him, and junior Drew Locke are close behind in the low 40s.
The trio even square off against some of their Harwich-Provincetown hockey teammates on the golf course when the two schools meet on the greens.
Most of the squad, which also includes Chris DeSousa, Chris McKernan, Russ Silva, Trevor Lambrou and eighth-grader Zach Tobias, is still working on the basics.
“I’m just trying to improve, hit the ball straight and the short game,” said DeSousa, a statement virtually all the other players echoed.
“They all want to hit it as long as they can,” the coach said, with a special nod to Silva, the strongest of the bunch. “He was trying to crush it.”
Johnson believes if he can get the whole team to shoot 45s, Provincetown could win every match.
“You won’t win the first two shooting 45s but you will win 3, 4, 5 and 6,” he said.
The matches are either medal play or match play depending upon the home coach’s call, but generally the top six of eight scores are counted.
For now, Johnson is trying to instill the concepts of the game in his players.
“They have different ideas. They might want to chip with a wedge rather than a 9-iron but more can go wrong with the wedge,” he said.
He also wants them to think ahead: “Which way is the green going? Do you want to be above the hole or below the hole?”
This year Zawaduk and Morris have drawn tough head-to-head competition, including some of the top young players on the Cape, but combined they have a winning record.
And there have been some other memorable moments, such as when a match against the Nauset JV came down to Lambrou, a freshman, and he iced the game.
While Provincetown has been competitive at 3-3 this season, the coach believes playing on the squad offers more in experience than just winning. For instance, matches at Nantucket are played at the exclusive Sankaty Head, a club where Bill Gates is a member.
“The kids have never seen a golf course like that,” said Johnson.
Of course being able to golf for free year-round at Highland Light and while putting see whales in the ocean is not too bad either. Nonetheless, it is still hard for many of the players to get much play time in during he summer, while some of their top competitors can hold summer jobs at clubs farther up Cape.
“A lot of the kids at this school have jobs in the summer. They don’t have the background that allows them to hang around a country club all day,” said Johnson.
Golf is a frustrating game even for seasoned veterans. But while the players probably have their up and down days, Johnson said, it has not been a difficult experience as a coach.
“It’s not really that frustrating because you see them picking up the game, and they’re learning,” he said. “When you see the kids improve, that’s my reward, when they come off the course and have a smile on their face.”
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PHS Sports
Nauset Sports |
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Oct 6th, 2005