BREWSTER — There were jokes and laughter at Nauset High School’s golf team practice at The Captains Golf Course here on Monday. The easygoing mood is not what you’d expect from a team that went 8-10 a season ago, dropped two of its last three matches — both on tiebreakers — and missed out on postseason play by a single win.
But this isn’t that team. Nauset’s head golf coach, Brian Hicks, graduated six seniors and now has 11 players, including just one senior, with little experience at the varsity level. Junior Jack Martin is the exception.
Despite the high turnover in the roster, there’s a reason Hicks is looking forward to the team’s Sept. 2 opening match at The Captains against Cape Cod Academy.
“The guys on this team love golf in a way I have never seen before in this program,” Hicks said. “They went out all summer long and played, worked at their games, and got better because of it.”
Hicks said he’s not sure yet who the team’s number two and three players will be. “To get beyond the initial stage of making it to the qualifiers, we need to find three other guys who play well consistently,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to work on from now until October.”
Hicks is counting on Martin, who grew from being a freshman phenom in 2021 to the number one player on the team and its captain in 2022. Martin tied for 11th at the MIAA Division 2 State Championship with a 3-over 75 after posting a scoring average of 37.1 during the regular season.
It’s rare for a sophomore to be chosen as captain, and Hicks said he couldn’t remember another time in his nearly two-decade career that it’s happened. “Jack’s expectations for himself are higher than any expectations I could have for him,” he said. “He’s got incredible leadership qualities, not necessarily rah-rah in your face, but if you want to watch how it’s done, if you want to see how to practice this game, if you want to see how to excel or see the right temperament, watch Jack Martin.”
Martin began his sophomore season wrestling with what kind of leader to be. Then he settled in and just played golf — golf that would push his teammates to try to reach his level. In the end, they couldn’t match it, but he’s already seen a different drive in this new group that should help the team to return to postseason competition.
“We have the commitment and the talent to do it,” said Martin.
He can certainly put the ball out there. Off the first tee on the Starboard Course, he roped one deep down the fairway with a didn’t-get-all-of-it shrug.
“Our biggest strength this season is going to be the competitiveness of the team, with guys fighting for a spot in each match,” he said. “That’s going to bring out the best in everyone.”
What made recent teams so successful, aside from talent, was the yin and yang of the team’s two captains. In their final year, Nemo Frawley and Cooper Guiliano were near perfect complements: Frawley held the Warriors together with his good-natured attitude, while Guiliano led by example on the course, and everyone followed suit.
This year’s lone senior, Sean Kipperman, hopes to fill the role that Frawley held in his only year at the varsity level. Kipperman has worked hard on his golf game all summer, and it shows.
“Jack has been a really good role model for me coming into the season,” he said. “I’m hoping to help out some of the other guys and do the same that Jack did for me.”
Kipperman has seen his sister Julia, a sophomore, excel at the varsity level, and he’s ready to do the same: “I’m hoping that I can help bring some low scores to the table. Jack’s our anchorman, but we’ve got Jake Eldredge, Finn Mayhew, and others shooting low, so we’re hoping to go far.”
There’s definitely a swagger about the team. All 11 of them know they will be fighting to make the top eight who travel to matches — something they relish. Hicks believes the competitiveness involved will ultimately make the team not only better but tougher. But at the end of the day, he says, “You play the golf course, you don’t play the opponent.”
