The men's golf team trudged through the challenging MacDonald's Cup this past weekend, finishing 13th out of a field of 15 teams with a team score of 591 - 292 on Saturday and 299 on Sunday - on the par-70 Yale Golf Course.
"It's frustrating to finish so far down," said Head Coach Michael Hughes, "but I felt it was a step in the right direction. ... If we didn't drop a few strokes, we could have been in the middle of this."
The Bulldogs paced the tournament and captured the victory on their home course. Yale Golf Course, known for its difficult approach shots and greens, forced teams to more effectively plan their shots.
"The greens at Yale are pretty difficult and were actually pretty slow this weekend," said co-captain Jack Mylott '13. "Since they're so large and tilted, I don't think we made the transition too well."
The team practiced at Metacomet Country Club to prepare for Yale but ended up playing on much slower greens than they expected.
"I think we had the most putts in the field," Hughes said. "We should be able to handle those greens."
The team did put together a number of solid rounds in the cup but was outplayed by a strong field. After not being able to play last weekend, Nelson Hargrove '13 was the top scorer for the Bears, shooting 73-72, five-over for the weekend, and earned himself 29th place as an individual.
"Nelson played great this weekend," Hughes said. "He had the third most pars in the field...If a few of his putts go differently, he could have been in the 60s for both rounds."
Justin Miller '15 had Bruno's best round with a one-over 71 on Saturday, but he was not able to carry that momentum into Sunday, carding an 80.
"For me, I learned a lot from last weekend (at the Big Red Invitational)," Miller said. "I put everything I learned into play on Saturday, but it's easy to revert back to what you've been doing."
Jack Wilson '16 and Peter Callas '14 both shot 74 on Saturday, while Wilson improved to shoot 73 on Sunday and Callas shot 76. Mylott followed in the scoring with rounds of 80 and 78.
Though the scores may not have shown it, the squad shot the ball well, with a number of players recording a high percentage of greens hit in regulation - a statistic used to measure shots played onto the green with a chance of scoring either birdie or par.
"Peter hit 14 and 15 greens, Nelson hit 16 and 15, and I had 15 on Sunday," Mylott said.
There were other positives to be taken from the team's play this past weekend. The team placed first in the field in par-three scoring - the cumulative score shot on par-three holes - at four-over, and was third in the field with 119 pars in the tournament.
"If everyone minimizes the big mistake and comes away with a bogey instead of a triple (bogey), these close matches will end up working in our favor," Mylott said.
Hughes expressed concern about major miscues on a few holes taking away from overall competitive performances.
"We were once again plagued by playing 14 great holes and a couple holes poorly," he said.
"The biggest problem is big numbers in our short game," Miller said, referring to putts and approach shots near the green.
Hughes said he viewed the weekend as a learning experience for his relatively young team.
"Every time we go out there, it's a chance for them to learn," Hughes said.
The team will use this weekend to fine-tune its game in a scrimmage before heading to Philadelphia Oct. 13 and 14 to participate in the Big 5 Classic.
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