By: Noah Gloege

World Editor

The Los Gatos High School Boys’ Golf season is well underway, with the team having played against some of the best competition in the area. The final league game will take place on Apr. 23, with the league final taking place on Apr. 28 at the Santa Teresa Golf Course. The team has been on an impressive run this year, winning six matches and losing three, placing third in the league.

Los Gatos High School social studies teacher Dave Denight has led the golf program for seven years, earning many honors. He helped win the girls’ league championship in 2022 and the boys’ league finals in 2023. Mr. Denight reflected, “Everyone has their off days. The great thing about golf that keeps people loving the game is that everyone has great days as well, when nothing seems to go wrong, and to focus on those positive days.” He also emphazised his hopes and goals the team has this year and how their teamwork has improved, sharing that “the team has excellent commitment and camaraderie. They are all responsible and realize it is a team effort, persistently showing empathy towards each other. We hope to continue to be competitive and do well in the league championship as well as CCS.” 

Over the last couple of weeks, the team has been honing its skills on the green to improve its scores. While many golfers are returning, some have just started playing. Junior Zachery Pan shares some insights on the last couple of rounds. Pang described his experience thus far as “super fun and competitive, we’ve been making sure to keep each other on our toes.” He explained how he stays calm during the rounds: “I tell myself to breathe and restart every shot, good or bad.” Golf is one of the most dynamic sports in terms of mentality and requires constant shifts; a strong mental game is most important. 

Many people do not realize how many people actually play golf at Los Gatos, as the team roster changes drastically each year. Long time golfer and junior Cole Dunstan commented that, “Something I didn’t realize about high school golf was the number of kids that actually play golf at our school. There are more people than I thought would play, especially this year.” Golf has become more popular over the years, and the team is starting to see better numbers. Dunstan added that the course schedule they have faced has been difficult, with the Saratoga Country Club being the most challenging, as it “is really tight and has pretty drastic elevation changes,”and that the greens are “fast and tricky, which makes it difficult to score well.” 

With the season coming to a close, the boys’ golf team has worked towards getting better and the improvements have shown. As the 2024 league winners and 2023 Santa Clara Valley Athletic League league tournament winners, the team has a lot to be excited about heading into the end of the season.