By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
On a team where consistency was the norm, Kyle Macklin was as consistent as anyone.
The senior helped the Montgomery High boys golf team to a perfect 14-0 record and a Central/South Jersey Group IV sectional championship.
“Kyle and Dan (Altieri) were like a 1-2 punch and Andrew (Kotler) had some good moments as well,” Montgomery coach Joe Bassford said. “Kyle has improved every year, which is hard to do in high school golf, especially when you are already averaging 40 or below in your career.
“His freshman year he played a few varsity matches. His sophomore year he gradually came on and got a little better. One thing that is incredibly impressive is that we have played 13 18-hole tournaments the last two years and in 12 of those he was under 80 and the other one was 80. That speaks volumes to how hard he works.
“The kid loves the game as much as anyone I have seen. He practically lives at Cherry Valley. He’ll get to the course at 6 a.m. and leave when the sun goes down.”
The work Macklin put into his game paid off with an outstanding senior season. He shot a 79 at sectionals to help the Cougars to the team title. He shot a 2-under 70 at the Cherry Valley Invitational, a 72 at the High Bridge Classic and a 73 at the Somerset County Tournament. He also shot a 76 at the Skyland Conference Tournament and a 77 at the Galloway National Challenge to help the Cougars to the team title. For the season, his average in regular-season 9-hole matches was a team best 37.7.
Kyle Macklin is the Princeton Packet Boys Golfer of the Year.
“I remember I shot a 52 my first round of high school golf,” Macklin recalled. “To come out and eventually shoot in the mid-30s and low 70s, I was so happy with the way I improved. I think a lot of it was how hard I worked and how I started to understand what it took to become one of the better golfers in the state.
“Once I figured out how hard you had to work to get there I just wanted to make sure I did everything I could to get better. I would spend 10 or 11 hours at the golf course on the weekends. I practiced as much as I could and wanted to do everything I could to get better.”
It certainly helped Macklin that he was part of a team that had as deep a roster of talented golfers as any team in the state. With players like Altieri, Kotler, Brian Walker, Andrew Hong and Joe Depinto all averaging 40 or below, the competition was always fierce.
“We could have had a similar record with any of our top 10 playing this year,” Macklin said. “We had 12 different people play in matches. That makes me play harder because I know if I don’t play as well as I can there is someone waiting to take my spot.
“We have a very competitive team. From the 1 to 18 everyone wants to be there and it forces you to work harder. You know you can’t take a day off.”
When it comes to golf there are no days off for Macklin. He’s always working on his game and will have even more opportunities to do so next year when he heads to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“Kyle is the type of kid who wants to be the best at what he does,” Bassford said. “His sophomore year Justin Zheng was our MVP and then his junior year Dan Altieri was our MVP. This year Dan and Kyle shared that award. I think Kyle just kept getting better. He was always playing for a spot and with our team you know other guys are right there and close. So you know you have to be at your best all of the time and have to keep working.”
In college, Macklin will have the opportunity to play in the great weather all year round, which should help his game continue to grow.
“That was one of the big things I looked at when choosing a college,” Macklin said. “I really wanted to play all year round. The teams around us and in our conference are all so good. The last four (Division 2) national champs have come out of our conference. That was a factor as well because now I get to play the best players in Division 2 and that will push me to get better.
“And the area weather is great. They get 320 days of sunshine a year and it doesn’t get below 65 most days.”
Added Bassford: “He’ll love that environment. If the course is open he is there. Now in Florida he can play year round. There is no telling how much better he will get. He has a great swing and great mental game. It seems effortless when you watch him swing.”
Macklin leaves Montgomery having been part of some great team and individual success on the golf course. The Cougars had hoped for a better showing at the season-ending Tournament of Champions. But other than that day the rest of the season was near perfect.
“I didn’t finish as strong as I wanted to with the last tournament,” Macklin said. “But for the most part I felt I was consistent the whole year. We went 14-0 which is not easy with some of the teams we play. A lot of the guys played well in the different tournaments. We won the sectional and the Galloway tournament and were second in just about everything else.
“I was very happy with the whole experience with the team. I could not have had a more enjoyable time. Just being a part of it was great. We knew we could have a special team. We had six freshmen my first year and two of them were on the varsity. My freshman year I played JV and then sophomore year I was one of the top four most of the season. That was a big jump for me.”
And from that point on, Macklin was a consistent mainstay in the lineup of one of the state’s most talented teams.
