Lehigh men’s golf readies for spring season

After winning the Patriot League title last season, the Lehigh men’s golf team has their sights set on another trophy. 

The Mountain Hawks are led by graduate student David Hurly, who was ranked second on the team in 2023 with a 72.4 scoring average. He said the expectation for the upcoming season is to be within striking distance in every match. 

“This season I expect us to be competitive in every tournament we play,” Hurly said. “It’s unrealistic in our sport to expect to win every time we tee it up, but being amongst the top teams and top individuals when we play should be the expectation for all of us.”

Outside of golf, Hurly and his teammates enjoy other athletic events — including playing basketball. 

Sophomore Will Caronchi is one teammate that Hurly plays basketball with, and said the game benefits his golf skills as well.

“I love to play basketball,” Caronchi said. “During the offseason, we played a bunch of pickup games. I think basketball has some skills that transfer over into golf as well, like visualization and feel.”

While the team excels on the greens and on the court, both Hurly and Caronchi are also dedicated to their off-season preparations. 

The team partakes in a range of team-bonding activities, from getting some hoops in to taking time for themselves.

“I am big on taking time off,” Hurly said. “So after we finished up the fall season I took some time off to focus on school and enjoying my last year of being here. So I spend a lot of time with my teammates.”

In the offseason, many team members travel to keep their game fresh. Over spring and winter break, Caronchi traveled south for a change of scenery.

While at school, the team goes to the Mulvihill Golf Learning Center on Goodman Campus, where they can hit balls from indoors and also work on chipping and putting. 

Hurly and Caronchi’s approaches to off-season practice have allowed them to improve on the course. In addition to physical practice, Hurly said he also focused on a few mental changes this off-season.

“Our sport and training is very different from others, as the majority of the practice is done on your own,” Hurly said. “I used to be the person that would practice too much and sometimes without a purpose, but I’ve adopted the philosophy of work smarter not harder.”

Younger members of the team have also formulated strong ambitions for their seasons.

First-year Matthew Quinn steps onto the green with high expectations for the team after earning Catholic Conference All-Star and Boston Herald All-Star for Saint John’s High School in Massachusetts.

“I am looking forward to having a chance to win a Patriot League Championship,” Quinn said. “I did not experience the win so I want to have that experience this spring. We know we will have a good chance at being in contention for (the championship.)” 

The team has its first qualifying rounds for the Patriot League Championship on the horizon and said they look to continue their high level of play. 

Caronchi said there is team-wide excitement going into the first qualifier.

“I am looking forward to next week where we will compete in our first event of the spring at Torrey Pines in California,” Caronchi said. “That is going to be a treat for us to compete on such an incredible course.”

Quinn said the strong results from the fall season and the team’s camaraderie will help carry momentum into the spring season.

“The fall season went well, we finished well in every tournament we played and finished the season with a win at our home tournament,” Quinn said. “We have a lot of fun together as a group, which I believe is why we are able to have success on the course.”