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Led by two sophomores, the Hollister High School boys varsity golf team is looking to build a foundation on which the program can become competitive in the Gabilan League.
Coach Reggie Synegal said he is trying to show his players, many of them freshmen and sophomores, that if they can “hit it close, or if we can get to a position where we can chip it close, we can score better.”
He said the goal is for his team to get in the 210 score range.
“If we can do that this year,” Senegal said, “definitely we’ve seen a lot of big things happen.”
He said his team, led by Sophomores Jake Waterman and Zachary Garcia and senior Marty Hart, can hit the ball hard—but what sets them apart is that they care about each other and the program.
“They’re really caring guys,” Synegal said. “They respect me, our other coach and they get along really well.”
The respect and sportsmanship is apparent and extends to their rivals, as the players continuously encourage and congratulate each other on each shot.
Hart, 18, said golf is a mental sport and players tend to focus on improving at least one aspect of the game.
“It’s not about who you play against, it’s about beating yourself,” Hart said. “It doesn’t have to be a score, it could be ‘I putted better today.’ It could be, ‘I noticed I didn’t get as tired on the course.’”
The match against Sailnas’s Palma, a top golfing school in the area, didn’t go as Hart envisioned, but still he said he has learned a lot since beginning to play the sport, first on a youth league and later with the high school team.
In addition to being teammates, Garcia, 16, and Waterman, 15, share a similar story about getting into golf. Both played recreationally with their dads at a young age and were recruited by Molly Orsetti into a youth program at Southside School.
Garcia said he learned the basics in that program and has carried it to the high school level. He said though he has been in a slump, he feels confident he can turn it around based on some positive signs from the match against Palma.
“I had a lot of great strikes which made me a lot more optimistic,” he said.
Waterman said his play has gotten more consistent.
“I’m definitely trying to practice a lot more and trying to balance everything out with school work,” he said.
All three said their goal is to finish consistently in the high 30s or low 40s for a nine-hole round. Waterman, who still has two more years of high school golf, said he eventually wants to qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“It’s definitely a huge goal of mine,” he said.
The three players credited their development on the course to their coaches and Orsetti, who coaches the Baler girls golf team. They said all their coaches are positive, supportive, patient and dedicated to the players.
Senegal said it was important for the coaches to motivate the players and stay positive.
“Golf can be able to get you down,” he said. “It can beat you up.”
As for the rest of the season, the players said they want to continue to develop the program.
“We want the sport to grow,” Hart said. “We want to win the CCS title eventually.”
BenitoLink thanks our underwriter, Hollister Rotary, for helping expand the sports coverage around San Benito County. Rotary is a nonprofit organization that conducts humanitarian projects, encourages high ethical standards, and works toward world understanding. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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