An undeniably independent sport, golf requires time, energy and skill, and above all, a strong desire and passion to play and compete. “Golf is a difficult and demanding sport”, said Mr. Douglas McLean, Cathedral Catholic’s boys golf coach. “Our players practice for about three to six hours a day. It is a huge time commitment!”
Without a doubt, golf takes up a big chunk of the day for its players; however, the boys on the team say they are learning valuable lessons from playing the sport. One member of the golf team, Freshman Matt Mendes, said “There are a number of lessons golf has taught me over the years. They include honor, integrity, respect and most importantly, determination.”
Junior Ryan Bisharat, another member of the Cathedral Catholic golf team said, “Golf has taught me to never give up. It is difficult in many ways; however, it is still fun because I am playing with my friends and competing at the same time.”
Similarly, Junior Jordan McBrayer said, “I have learned that golf can actually be looked at as a life [lesson] because of the huge ups and downs we all face.” All the players agree that golf teaches them many valuable lessons, but that the work is hard, and the sport requires time and dedication.
Coach McLean is highly supportive of his boys and teaches them the skills they need to succeed on the course. Mr. McLean himself has played golf since he was six years old and has been a coach since 1989. When the boys practice together as a team, Coach McLean said, “I remind them of the swing basics that their swing coach has them working on, and then I watch to see if they’re executing those swing mechanics.” In addition to this, “I also try to help them with the mental part of the game.”
When it comes to games, as much as they would like to warm up ahead of time, the boys cannot usually do so because of the lack of available warm-up facilities. Indeed, “(The) players (would like to) warm up for matches at the Del Mar Golf Center, but generally it’s too crowded there and the short-game practice area is too small for quality practice time,” said Coach McLean. “But it looks like we may soon have limited access to the practice area at The Grand Del Mar, so we’re hoping that venue will eventually become our regular practice site.”
This is precisely why the boys practice a lot. According to Coach McLean, “The boys practice at a public course or have private swing coaches for their lessons. Eighteen holes takes five hours to play; so instead, the boys play only nine holes and usually have their matches from 3:00-6:30 P.M. after school.”
As far as traveling to compete, the Cathedral Catholic boys do not go too far away from San Diego; at least not outside California. According to Coach McLean, the golfers “participate in a large (40-team) college-format (54 holes in two days) tournament in Indio. The team has also traveled to the So Cal Regional and/or to the State tournament, both held in various locations in So Cal or Nor Cal.”
One thing is sure: the boys give it their all, whether during practice or while competing. And they have their work cut out for them. As Coach McLean explains, “Our league rivals are always Saints and La Jolla, who are also our D-II rivals. In terms of qualifying for the So Cal Regional (top two teams from D-I thru D-III combined), Torrey Pines and Rancho Bernardo are going to be extremely difficult to beat, and Poway should be right in there as well.”
Together, Cathedral Catholic’s boys golf team are a force to be reckoned with, with each member pushing the other to do his best and letting his Dons spirit shine through. Freshman Matt Mendes summed it up well when he said: “Golf can be frustrating, but there is nothing quite like putting together a great round.”
