Fall Season Preview: Concord-Carlisle Golf

To hear coach Phil Gibson run down the credentials of his Patriots squad is like listening to the bucket list for any avid golfer.

League champion: Check. Two-time league champion: Check. State championship: Check. champion— the youngest ever — Check. Junior PGA tournament winner: Check. Compete in the most important amateur tournament in the nation: Check.

You get the point. Nearly all of the Patriots that figure to be significant contributors this fall have more accomplishments than most golfers can dream of in a lifetime. And none are more than 18-years old.

“The key, really, in high school golf is how committed the kids are in the offseason. Do they play tournaments and are they focused?” Gibson said earlier this week. “Our average kid played in seven or eight tournaments this summer. You’d go to a tourney and there’d be like 10 kids from CCHS while no other school had more than two.”

When Gibson starts talking about his team it isn’t exactly difficult to see why the Patriots should be contenders in both the Dual County League Small Division and Division 2 at the sectional and state level.

Among the Patriots, senior Tri-Captain Ryan Harris is the most accomplished. He’s the two-time defending DCL champion and was a member of C-C's last state championship team as a freshman.

Next up is fellow senior Captain Andrew Wester, who earlier this summer captured Concord Country Club’s title. No other champion in the club’s 107-year history was younger than Wester. Gibson calls him the 1B to Harris’ 1A.

And there’s certainly no forgetting about . Though she’s just three years into playing competitive golf, Shieh has already won a Junior PGA Tour event and this summer competed in the Public Links against the top amateur talent in the nation.

“What I really love about our team is that we’ve got a ton of depth,” Gibson said. “Any of the next six or seven kids — after the top five — on the team could be filling up the next three slots. I expect daily competition to fill those spots.”

Also returning for 2011 are senior Tri-Captain Kevin Delehey, who Gibson called “a fantastic leader and captain” and sophomore Drew Benshoff.

CONCORD-CARLISLE GOLF

Coach: Phil Gibson — seventh season

League: Dual County League Small Division

Last Year: Finished fifth at Div. 1 Sectional Tournament

Returning Starters: Ryan Harris, senior captain; Kevin Delehey, senior captain; Andrew Wester, senior captain; Karolyne Shieh, junior; Drew Benshoff, sophomore

Key to Success: The depth of the Patriots should give them the chance to win just about every match they play, including the important ones in mid-October. C-C essentially has two No. 1s and an interchangeable top five.

Game to Watch: The Patriots will play home-and-home matches with Norton High School, giving them a chance to play at TPC Boston, which hosts the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship.

Coach’s Take: “We have a chance to be good. Every year we have a whole bunch of goals from winning first match to winning the whole thing. I don’t think there’s anything this team can’t do.”