Waltham High School golf team preparing for exciting year

Nothing beats some fall golf, and the Waltham High School boys golf team is ready to enjoy a fun season in 2025.

“I don’t know what it is about this upcoming year, but I am more excited about this team than I have been in any of my 25 years at Waltham High,” head coach Russ Sorin said. “I am pretty fired up. Our underclassmen were the pride and joy of our team last year. We had three powerhouse sophomores and a powerhouse freshman that were our top four kids all year. Now, they are bigger and stronger; one of them is a captain. Our top four is going to be pretty strong even though we are in one of the most difficult leagues in the state.”

This formidable group includes juniors Evan Gollinger, Jack Fox and Ed Karish and freshman Dylan Burke. As the aforementioned captain, Gollinger has the potential to be the number one option in the lineup while Fox and Karish were both Dual County League All-Stars last season.

“Those top four kids are something so it is going to be great,” said Sorin. “I am super excited for those kids.”

Following these four student-athletes, there will be some opportunity for others to step up in the lineup.

“Our last four positions, we have eight or nine kids that can fill those spots, mostly sophomores and juniors,” Sorin said. “It is going to be a super competitive team this year and fun to see kids get after it and to see if we can make the tournament. It has been a while.”

The one obstacle that stands in the Hawks’ way this year could be their home course. Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course in Weston is well known in the local golf community for its lackluster conditions and was recently ranked the worst golf course in the country by MyGolfSpy.

“The people that run the course are so good to our team,” Sorin said. “But it is in a tough condition. I don’t want my kids to get used to those conditions because it hurts our program in the long run. We can’t compete when we go to Concord [Country Club] or Nashawtuc [Country Club].”

Sorin might try to seek out arrangements for the team to play some home matches at a different course. However, it is difficult to land openings because of the high demand for golf in the area.

“The golf schedule is insane because a lot of courses don’t have many open times,” Sorin said. This leads to the team having weeks in which it will bundle four of its 14 matches into a span of just a few days.

Nonetheless, there is plenty of optimism for the crew heading into the year. WHS will get started the week of Aug. 25 and will also feature a junior varsity program slated to play about eight matches.

“We have kids really getting ready, big time,” Sorin said.