Ashland Golf

For the past 10 seasons Mike Roman has been the Ashland junior varsity golf coach, but when Rick LeBlanc stepped down he figured it would make for a smooth transition. The move up may have been rather seamless, but the upcoming season for the Clockers on the links may be tough.
“We’ve lost some contributing seniors to graduation, but we do have a lot of younger kids back,” the new varsity coach said. “The good thing is that we seem to have a lot more kids in the pipe lines on the rise, which looks good for the future of Ashland golf.”
Although Roman will have golfers that are returning to the course with experience under their belts everything is going to be pretty much up for grabs when the team opens its tryouts on day one (August 23).
While this may be Roman’s inaugural season with the varsity club he has an idea of who he’s dealing with. Coming back to swing the clubs once again are juniors Laasya Thatavarthy and Brett Erwin, both athletes have been playing consistently in the top 6 for the Clockers. Erwin shoots in the mid to low 40’s while Thatavarthy is a low 40’s shooter and participated in the MIAA girls golf tournament where she had a first round qualifier to participate in the State Tournament. Sophomore Nick Simpson is another top golfer who will be in the mix for the Clockers.
“I have some ideas going into the season, but outside of these three I’m not really sure,” Roman said. “There are some young kids that will be trying out and as for some of the seniors I’m not sure if they’ll be back or not.”
Taking part in the Tri-Valley League is tough, Hopkinton finished second in the Division 2 South Shore Sectionals and took home the State Championship while Dover-Sherborn grabbed the Division 3 South Shore Sectionals. While winning the TVL Championship would be great honor Ashland knows that it’s most likely an unobtainable feat.
“Our goal is to continue what Rick (LeBlanc) was building here. I want the kids to go out and have fun while they improve upon their game,” the coach said. “We’re looking for some more kids to come out for the team. Improve their golf game and have fun while they’re doing so.”
Roman knows that win is the cure to everything and if this year’s team can generate some wins maybe they’ll be able to entice someone who would have never think about joining the team.
“Everyone loves winning, but as long as the atmosphere is fun to play in maybe we can cast a wide net and get some kids to come out and play,” Roman said. “Even if we can get some recreational players to take a shot at it, who knows maybe they’ll like it and turn into a good player.”
Ashland and its new coach is looking to build upon the program for the future and allow Clocker golf to move forward. In the past Ashland has used Glen Ellen Country Club in Millis as its home course, but as of this year the team willing be calling Holliston’s Pine Crest Golf Club its new home.
“It will be a different course, but most of the kids have played there at some point; a lot of them have participated in a golf camp there this summer,” Roman said.
As the tryouts get underway Roman will have more of an idea what he has when the season opens this month. What he does know now that golf is as short season and when you are involved in a lot of tri-meets it makes for a very long day on the course. However, the athletes taking part in the sport love what they are doing and it doesn’t really bother them; they’re just looking to take their game as well as the team to the next level.