A seemingly simple yet extremely complicated sport, golf requires an immense amount of time, practice, and passion. Golf demands players to give their full time and commitment to the green, and this year, the boys’ golf team has been doing just that.

Leading the team is head coach Mr. Douglas McLean, who has a strong background in golf himself. He has been playing golf since he was about eight years old and has been coaching at Cathedral for 26 years. He makes sure to teach the players the basic skills and knowledge they need to carry on a healthy and fun golf environment.

One thing is for sure, the boys give it their all when it comes to golf. Golf takes up a lot of any players life. The players practice on their own time, and rarely get to practice all together as a team. However, every Monday the team gets together and works on basic skills and swings.

Coach McLean is a great supporter and coach for the players. Playing on your own for hours can be difficult, especially when the day is not going your way. “They’re out there on their own and sometimes all they really need is a little bit of comfort to settle them down, especially when they get in trouble,” Coach McLean said. “They want to make it all better all at once, but you just have to clear out of the mess you’re in and get on the green; don’t make it any worse because you can get it back on the next hole.”

A tough sport, golf is mentally harder than many of the other sports out there. “For golf it’s just you, out there, without very much coaching,” said Coach McLean. “It’s all so quiet. You’re on your own and all it takes is one thought to mess you up so easy.”

Without a doubt, golf can be a very frustrating game to play on some days. Coach McLean makes sure the players feel confident in themselves and guides them through these frustrating times.

“When things get hard I’ll tell the players you just have to be your own best friend, so that they don’t get down on themselves,” he said. “You never get down on a best friend or on your partner, you encourage them that they can do it and they will succeed, so I want the players to do that themselves.”

Golf does take up a lot of the boys’ lives, but has taught some of the players valuable lessons. Sophomore Chad Brinza said, “It teaches me how to deal with all the good and bad things that happen in life, to not dread on the bad things, and to keep moving forward even when it’s tough.”

Senior Jordan McBrayer believes golf has many great values that come with it, and has brought him where he is today. Through hard work and dedication, Jordan has recently signed his letter of intent to play golf at Regis University in Denver Colorado next year. “If I play well enough in college, I would love to turn ‘pro’ and learn the even more ups and downs golf can throw at you,” he said.

The boys have had a good season so far, and Coach McLean said, “There was a little bit of a rough start, but with hard work the boys improved immensely.” The boys sure have improved, because they beat their rival school Saints twice so far this season. For now, the golf team is in good hands, and hopes to become even better throughout the rest of the season. Coach McLean said, “We hope to get the Western League banner and go onto State Championships.”

Regardless of the end result, the boys’ golf team will prevail through what the sports has taught them. “Golf is almost like a metaphor for life in many ways, there’s all kinds of lessons it teaches,” Coach McLean said. “The one that sticks out the most is fortitude. Never give up. People have a tendency to let go when it’s hard, but you can’t. You never know what can happen in the end.”