The golf team has remained focused throughout the off-season traveling to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina starting on the first Saturday of Spring Break. While most of the squad flew out of Boston to the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport, Head Coach Jack Arena '83, Assistant Coach E.J. Mills, and senior co-captains Andrew Bruns and Sean Jules were stranded at Bradley International Airport along with several hundred other U.S. Airways passengers. With no flights leaving for Savannah until Monday, the coaches decided to rent a minivan and make the 16-hour drive.
Driving in shifts through the night-first Mills, then Jules, Arena, and finally Bruns-the four arrived at their destination at 7:10 a.m. Sunday morning, in time for their 9:30 tee-time. "We made a little space to sleep among the golf bags, got constant score updates on the national championship game [men's basketball], and only stopped to get gas and change drivers," said Bruns. "If we had a couple more hours before our tee-time we might have made a few more stops-like the world famous Café Risque just off I-95-but it was a great experience, one of the highlights of my career."
The Jeffs basked in beautiful weather while playing on the lush grass of Secession Golf Club. The team played a game of Intra-squad match play, in which William Collins '09 came out on top.
The men's golf team will begin its spring season on April 11 with the Lou Flumere Tournament, hosted by Bentley University. As the Jeffs enter their spring season, they look forward to the addition of Glenn Wong '09 to the lineup. "I am excited for the upcoming season," said Wong, who is returning to golf after a prolonged and exhilarating basketball season.
"We are aiming for our first Little Three championship in a while," said Jesse Corradi '08. One highlight of the upcoming golf season is Amherst's opportunity to host Little Threes at Hickory Golf Course. The Jeffs look forward to playing nearby and on a familiar course. "I would really like to emphasize how important it is for people to come out and watch our Little Three Tournament," said Corradi. Amherst will also participate in the Williams Invitational Tournament in late April, the team's first ever co-ed tournament. "We are really looking forward to working together with our friends on the women's team," said Bruns, "and it will be nice to play on a course that we are all familiar with."
The seniors are a bit nostalgic heading into the final six matches of their Amherst careers, but there are still many tournaments to be played. "With less than two months left before Sean, Drew [Russ '07] and I graduate, the drive down made me think about what golf, my coaches and my teammates have meant to my time at Amherst," said Bruns. Hopefully, this camaraderie will drive the Jeffs into a successful spring season.