Originally published on April 19, 2015

Having won the championship title five times in a row, the boys’ golf team seeks to stay strong and claim it yet again.

With nine members on the team, and five of them being underclassmen, head coach Juan Lopez has switched his focus from training in the weight room to spending more time on the courses. This was to give the new players more experience on the courses, which has been beneficial. “[The new players] have all been lowering their scores,” Lopez said. “They just need to work on their consistency for short and long games.” Short game consists of making shots within 10–40 feet from the green, while long game consists of driving the ball down the fairway with the fewest strokes possible.

“We aren’t afraid to give each other constructive criticism.”

The Cardinals play their matches on Monday, then train at different golf courses from Tuesday to Thursday, including the Harding, Fleming and Lincoln courses. “We started practice earlier because we knew we would be a bit short on experience,” co-captain senior Lawrence Jiang said. “Golf is one of those sports where you get better with practice.”

In addition, the captains themselves have been doing their best to help the new golfers, in and out of practice. “It’s different for everyone, but we try to get everyone confident in their shots and get themselves into a comfortable spot for their next swing,” co-captain senior Sam Miller said. “We have also done some bonding games, like football, so that we becoming a close group and have been getting everyone’s confidence up, so we aren’t afraid to give each other constructive criticism.”

“It shows the character for the team, and the success we will have as the team gets better.”

Thanks to their focus on practices and gaining experience, the golfers are performing well, having started their season 4–0, including a win in the opening match against Galileo on March 9, where they won 214–271. “For our team to score so well in the first match, it shows the character for the team, and the success we will have as the team gets better,” Lopez said. More recently, Lowell beat Balboa 209–285 on April 15.

The players are bringing their all this season, especially freshman Joshua Lim. “His games are consistent and he has a good short game,” Lopez said. “His strength is his mentality. He has the confidence to perform well in the game, which is essential to golf.” Lim is currently one of the top players, helping his team with his scores and mentoring the other new players with their techniques.

The Cardinals face Burton High at the Fleming Golf Course on April 20.