United Yet Divided, Golf Rules

Tice McVay (9) tees off of hole number 4 at Boulder Canyon Country Club.

photo by Austin Hall

Austin Hall, staff

Golf, by its very nature, is an individual sport. The very essence of the game is “self-improvement.” One can imagine then, that it is very difficult to take six individuals and tell them to work as a unit to produce results.

At the start of the season, a team starts with six varsity players who are chosen through a multi-day qualifying process that weeds out the weaker players through a gauntlet of different situations that could be seen on a standard day on the course. The final six are then classified as man 1 through 6, according to the scores they recorded on each of the qualifying days. During the course of the season, these positions can change and often do depending on how well and when an athlete plays.

The next step of the process is the tournament. Each team will bring its top six players to the tournament and they will be paired with players of equal skill from two or three other teams.

During play, things would go as usual as each player tries to perform each shot and record the best score possible. At the end of the day, the top four scores from each team are added up in a team score.

This is often where hostilities begin. When on the course, the players are constantly thinking about how the others are doing or what you can do to gain an edge.

JD Keszler (9) said, “Even though you want them to play good, all in all, you’re playing against them.”

There are really two rounds being played each day, the one against the other teams and one between teammates. Players are always looking to win as a team but also to improve their stances as players on their own.

Diving deeper, it is clear that each player wants others to succeed. After a long road trip and arriving after dark, it is not uncommon to take a walk to a nearby restaurant and sit down to eat with the team.

There are not many situations where one can get to know someone better by talking over pancakes and chocolate milk. A real bond between the players and how they all really hope the others do well is apparent. It is not uncommon to see teammates giving each other advice about how a green flows or an unseen obstacle that might cause trouble between holes.

Matt Eby (9) said, “It’s not a team sport, but it can be.”

Even though golf is an individual based sport, it is clear to see the camaraderie between the players and the common belief of trying to make the best out of every situation.