Mental game up, scores down for Wycoff

Hun sophomore helps golf team win opener

By: Bob Nuse
   Jordan Wycoff is one of the new breed of high school golfers who come into the season ready — no matter what the weather has been like.
   "I was able to go down to Florida a couple times during the winter and work with my coach," said Wycoff, a sophomore at The Hun School. "I also traveled a lot in the fall and got to play quite a bit. I played in some tournaments over the break and felt pretty good once the season started."
   Wycoff appeared to be in mid-season form when the Raiders opened the season with a 218-270 win over Princeton Day School last Wednesday at Bedens Brook. He shared honors for the match with fellow sophomore Tom Stoddard as both players shot 40.
   "I think we have a pretty good team this year," Wycoff said. "We have four real good freshmen who should help us. I think each of them will come in and play some. And we also have Zach LaPalme, who is an all-prep player. So we’ve got some good players on the team."
   Wycoff hopes to be one of those players this year. A year ago, he averaged a 42.7 in six matches with the varsity as a freshman. This year, he would love to see that average come down by at least a couple of strokes per round.
   "From last year to this year I’ve lowered my average from the low 80s to the low 70s," Wycoff said. "I think the biggest difference has been that mentally I am playing my game much better. That’s been the biggest difference in my scoring. The way you approach each hole is so important. I’m managing the course much better now than I have in the past and that has helped my scores quite a bit."
   "When he keeps his head in it, he is a very good player," Hun coach Dave McMillin said. "I am looking for him to be a leader for us, on and off the course this year. He plays a lot of golf down in Florida and you can see that he has really worked hard at his game. He’s a nice player and I expect some good things from him this year."
   That could be true of the whole Hun team, which went 4-7 last year, but looks like it will be much better this year. With Wycoff and Stoddard both with an added year of experience, plus the freshmen joining holdovers like LaPalme, Ica Morales and John Mulvey, the Raiders appear deep and talented.
   "I like our team this year," McMillin said. "We’ve got some experience and we’ve also got some good young players."
   Wycoff offers a combination of both, experience from a year with the varsity, and the fact he’s still just a sophomore.
   "I’ve been playing a long time now," Wycoff said. "I almost quit about four years ago when I broke my hand, but I stuck with it. I went down to the Jim McLean Golf School in Miami and that really helped me. I got into a lot of tournaments when I was in seventh and eighth grade and I’ve been playing competitively since then.
   "I enjoy playing in the different tournaments. The best part about golf is making birdies and shooting lower scores. When you can go out and shoot a lower score than you have before, that’s the best part of the game. I also like the fact that it is all on you. If you lose or don’t play well, you can’t blame anyone but yourself."
   Wycoff hopes those days of not playing well are few and far between. And he’s hoping there won’t be much losing for the Hun School team this spring.