Last season, the men’s varsity golf team became the first team in Wakefield history to become NAC-6 conference champions. The team has hopes of claiming the title again and strives to advance to regionals, then make their way to states. As the 2022-2023 season takes place, they are currently undefeated within their conference. 

Will Smith, a senior returning for his third season, is confident that through practice and hard work, the team can reclaim their title. 

“[We] just [need to keep practicing] and keep going,” Smith said. 

Throughout the year, the team has continued to improve and has a positive outlook for the season. The players continue to support each other and push each other to get better with every practice.

Liam Percy, a returning junior on the team acknowledges how mentally challenging golf can be, and how important it is to keep working hard, even through tough times.

“Golf is really mental. [If] you have a bad first hole or something, you [may] just give up and shoot a terrible score,” Percy said. “But if you just stay in it you’ll be fine [and] you should be able to recover from it.”

Smith believes that the best way to play is to remember to have fun and relax when playing.

“[We need to] keep working on the game and try to play better,” Smith said. 

James Doyle, who has been Wakefield men’s golf coach for 16 years, emphasizes how the team’s strong bond is one of the key components to the player’s success.

“The unity and camaraderie the team has built amongst themselves [is their biggest strength,]” Doyle said. “They want each other to play well.”

Jack Peterson, a returning sophomore, recognizes how much the team has strengthened over time. 

“I feel like everybody has just gotten better,” Peterson said. “Since last year happened, everybody was more motivated to do better.”

While entering into conference play this season, the boys of Wakefield golf strive to exceed the expectations and play as well as possible in order to regain the conference champions title again. Last season, Wake Forest was the biggest competitor. Although Wake Forest will still be a competitive match, Millbrook seems to be a major rivalry for the Wolverines. 

“We were in first place ahead of Wake Forest [last year],” Percy said. “[But] I think Millbrook is our biggest competitor this year.”

The men’s golf team is currently undefeated in conference play and are on track to becoming conference champions for the second time. 

 “I look for them to continue to put in the time both in practice and outside of practice to do what it takes to play their best,” Doyle said. “They have goals of making it to Pinehurst for the state championship.”