Sussex Academy golf downs Cape in opening match

Sussex Academy golf coach Doug Grove summed it up, “We were lucky.”

For the second straight year, the Seahawks defeated Cape by a single stroke, 182-183, March 18 at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Sussex Academy’s home course.

Cold, strong winds affected scores in this season opener for both squads. Grove said, “It was a rough day. I wished it was later in the season when we played against each other, like last year. Everybody here is much better than they showed today.”

He was not kidding. On May 10 last spring, the two teams met at Rehoboth Beach Country Club. The team scores were nearly 20 strokes lower at 166-165, using nearly the same rosters.

The final scores at Kings Creek showed how tight it was for both squads. Cape’s Eddie Ghabour and Sussex Academy’s Dominic Piperno tied for co-medalist honors with a pair of 42s.

The next four spots were tied at 46, made by Cape’s Jacob Gabbard and Tyler Healy, and the Seahawks’ Quentin Bowman and Austin Dostal. Either of the two 48s scored by Sussex Academy’s McKenna Danahy and Ryan Dostal was just enough to best the 49 posted by Cape’s Chad Hughey.

Cape coach Rob Harrod shared Grove’s view. “It’s a shame we had to play in those conditions. It was brutal. We’re evenly matched, and we lost another dogfight.”

For as tight as the match was, the two teams know each other well and kept the contest friendly, even as penalty strokes for wayward shots added up for both sides.

Ghabour was happy to have the first co-medalist finish of his varsity career and hoped for better team results in future matches.

The Vikings next traveled to Garrison’s Lake Golf Club March 20 to play Smyrna. Cape bounced back quickly from the Monday loss with a 171-188 victory, led by medalist Travers Johnson’s 41. Its starters posted six of the best eight scores. 

Kingston Davis’ 42 took second, with Healy and Gabbard’s pair of 44s completing the team scoring. Ghabour shot 45, while Gabby Hamstead posted a 46 in her first varsity match.

Harrod said, “I’m proud of everyone’s rally. They played much better. It was tight within our own group. The greens were lightning fast, so a lot of putts rolled by. Every week or every match, someone can step up and play. That’s how good and how even we are as a team.

“All were way more focused and business-like,” Harrod continued. “It’s like we played out our jitters in the first match. We won the match at spot four, and our fifth and sixth scores were way better. All were within five strokes of being medalist. That depth and consistency looks promising.”

Cape’s first home match Tuesday, March 26, will see the Vikings host Lake Forest at Rehoboth Beach CC.

Sussex Academy won its second match March 20, defeating Indian River 172-206 at Bear Trap Dunes in Ocean View. Former Sussex Academy player Sarah Lydic, now a senior at IR, won medalist honors with a round of 38. Sussex Academy then had the next six best scores. Leading the way were Piperno and Keenan Williams with a pair of 42s. Austin Dostal logged a 43, while Ryan Dostal finished with a 45. Rounding out the Seahawks’ scores were Grant Barrows with a 46 and Quentin Bowman with a 50. 

Sussex Academy will take on Smyrna at Kings Creek CC Monday, March 25. 

Bushnell upgrades

Changes for most golf-related products from one year to the next tend to be incremental. 

That is not a bad thing. When a company spends significant time, energy and expense developing patented products that succeed in the marketplace, it naturally tends to emphasize extracting as much value from those intellectual properties as possible for as long as possible. 

Incrementalism is a common method to achieve that goal.

I met Bushnell Golf’s Candice Wood at the 2024 PGA Show. The trade marketing manager for the company discussed several new iterations of products I wrote about after last year’s show. 

We first looked at the ProX3+ ($599.99), its top-of-the-line laser rangefinder. In addition to all the bells and whistles from last year, the company added wind speed and direction data in the reticle display. The device orients itself to provide accurate information tied to where the golfer is on the course. 

Wood then showed off the iOne Elite watch ($199.99), which she describes as the best yet in the GPS golf watch category. It now includes slope-compensated distance information. That option won’t mean much on flat Cape Region courses, but it would certainly help on the hilly upstate Delaware layouts.

A touchscreen provides several useful displays, including the usual back, middle and front green yardages as well as a movable pin placement option. 

For tune-lovers also seeking GPS information, the upgraded Wingman 2 device ($149.99) came to the market this month. Its new features include beefed-up magnets for a better hold on golf carts or other likely spots, a visible battery strength indicator, a built-in microphone to take and receive phone calls through its Bluetooth connection, and a USB-C charging port.

We finished the visit with a look at the new Phantom 2 small GPS device ($129.99). This edition offers a larger font display (handy for aging boomers), a magnetic mount for push carts or other locations, and the same pin placement adjustment feature found on the iOne Elite watch.

As usual, the company’s booth at this year’s show stayed busy, with many club pros meeting sales staff to set up their deals for the coming season. That level of activity was another incremental improvement Bushnell should have enjoyed.