San Domenico School's Men’s Varsity Golf team enjoyed its first dual match success in a couple (if not a number) of years, as the Panthers defeated Urban High School Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.
The final score was:
San Domenico: 189
Urban: 235
On a sodden, rain-soaked Presidio Golf Course, the Panther golf team had its most consistent performance since coach Russ Kessler took over the team in 2023. Asking only the minimum of four players to travel and compete in very difficult conditions, all four Panthers rose to the occasion, outscoring all Urban players on their home course.
At the start of the match, temperatures hovered around 58 degrees, and a breeze coming off San Francisco Bay made the chill much chillier. Golf balls were plugging and burying in the soggy fairways and rough, making locating a player's ball difficult and time-consuming, extending our exposure to the elements. A misstep could also mean stepping right out of your sunken shoe while trodding saturated ground.
Coach Russell employed a very conservative approach toward playing the golf course. He asked the boys to hit their favorite clubs, playing to safe targets in the fairways and onto the greens instead of playing a power, pin-seeking game. Making confident swings to conservative targets kept their balls in play with easy approach shots to the pins. This strategy will become a consistent Panther game plan in coming matches.
Victor Z. ’26, the team’s 2023 MVP, led all Panther scorers for the second straight match. Butchie L. ’26, a transfer with a solid golf swing, an understanding of technique, and a penchant for practice, also scored very well for not having seen the Presidio course in the past. Noah P. ’26, paired with Butchie in this match, kept pace and has shown dramatic improvement in his game since last year. Noah and Butchie have significantly benefited from putting instruction and drills from coach Russell in the last couple of weeks.
The real story from the match was the performance of Ben N. ’26. Ben was of unknown quality early on in the golf season, but Coach Russell recognized the athlete in him during the last few practices, and Ben has performed well beyond expectations in the driving range and in match play. Ben's ball striking was solid, and his cool demeanor will be an asset under pressure. He is the number four starter on a golf team that is beginning to demonstrate it has found its footing and is ready to take strides toward being competitive.