San Lorenzo Valley High School has produced great athletes in football, baseball, basketball, and track and cross country, but never has won the league championship in golf — until now.
The boys’ golf team is celebrating this historic accomplishment — the first Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title for the Cougars.
For Coach Luke Dahlen, it all began after school on Monday Jan. 29, at DeLaveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz, for the first practice of the year.
“As a team, we gathered in a circle alongside the 18th hole practice green and we set our individual and team goals for the season,” he said. “Some of the individual goals were to make two putts, break 40, improve the short game, etc. but unanimously our team goal was to capture one of the 2 Central Coast Section berths given to the top 2 teams in the league.”
He added, “With our ‘Aim Hard’ philosophy, we practiced for 2 straight weeks before we even played a round of golf. I believe it was that pre-season practice, focused primarily around the practice greens that set the tone for our championship season.”
Scotts Valley Times editor Jondi Gumz interviewed the coach via email.
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First, I’m wondering about your golf background
After graduating from Sonoma State University, I worked at The Links at Bodega Harbour for several years until I realized that, one, you have to be kind of a good golfer to become a teaching professional (which I was ok, but never great) and two, tips from cleaning golf carts weren’t going to pay the bills.
The good news is I have surrounded myself and the players with a group of very knowledgeable golf coaches that include PGA teaching professional Jerry Thormann and Phillip D’Andrea along with some fellow committed parent coaches like myself, John Atkinson, Rob Buntz and Andy Brewer.
Did you decide to coach because of your son?
I had coached both of my boys all through Little League baseball and that was coming to an end while at the same time Dave Crandall the previous golf coach was retiring and since I was out there with James already quite a bit, I guess it just made sense.
I can’t think of a better way to end the teaching day than walking along the fairways of our beautiful Santa Cruz County golf courses.
How did your team manage to defeat Aptos, which has been the powerhouse, twice?
I really don’t know…magic maybe? We were so stunned and surprised when we heard the scores in our first match at Seascape. It was a total pinch me moment and I just remember hugging the other coaches and being so proud and stoked for our boys and all the hard work they had put in up until that point.
It was a complete and total team effort and to beat the defending league champs at their home course was as unexpected as our #5 Wyatt McCabe, chipping in on the last hole in front of both teams and all the parents. It was a surreal and magical moment and a turning point in our season.
Our goal went from hoping to capture one of the 2 CCS golf bids, to securing San Lorenzo Valley High School’s first ever SCCAL golf league title.
The quest for our first title was tested in our rematch with Aptos at our home course of Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club (or as we call it ‘The Creek’). They definitely wanted revenge from the upset loss earlier and again it was a very close match and I think this time it was a little bit of home course advantage that helped us secure that victory and would eventually lead us to our league title.
A big shout out to the entire Aptos golf team, every one of them is a class act and a lot of fun to hang out with on the golf course.
How much time do the team members spend at the golf course? Do they have a favorite course? Or courses?
This is our 2nd year as a coaching staff with almost all the same coaches and players and I believe our dedication to the short game during the preseason, spending a lot of time greenside working on pitching, chipping and putting has really helped these players lower their scores. The addition of seniors Wyatt McCabe and Connor Scarborough this year have also helped lower our overall team scores.
Delaveaga Golf Course has been gracious enough to share their practice facilities with us and so we were out there Monday–Thursday as much as possible and all pre-season.
I think another reason we’ve been successful is they have fun with each other and even though we don’t practice Friday–Sunday you can usually find our team all over the Bay Area using their Youth on Course to play all kinds of different courses.
They joke around with each other and that playful banter allows much needed laughs and an element of light-heartedness into a sport which can be heavy and serious at times.
Can you talk about the individual players?
James Dahlen, our quiet captain, is a returning junior who helped lead this team to a 3rd place finish last year and now to our 1st ever league title. A dog of a competitor. Treats his opponents with respect while he crushes them on the course with his effortless southpaw swing and low scores. Makes his teammates better, always lifting them up. I am very proud of him as both his coach and his father.
Keenan Buntz, Mr. Steady, another returning Junior, is our rock. He is calm, long and calculated on the golf course and deadly around the green. With his endlessly positive attitude, he is a perfect combination for the game of golf. Like James, we can always count on him to go low and he let his golf do the talking especially in the 2nd half of this season, which saw him take several match medalist honors on our way to some big league wins.
Wyatt McCabe, Clutch Mikey or The Bulldog, a senior and new to golf this year, was the best Christmas present a golf coach could ask for. Committed, determined and with an unparalleled work ethic, he’s the first to show up and the last to leave practice. Wyatt had some clutch performances this year and was a huge reason we upset Aptos at Seascape and won the league title. I only wish we had him for another year!
Connor Scarborough, The Competitor, a senior that we nabbed off the baseball team, is a natural talent and hates to lose. He was an instant team leader and another huge part of lowering our overall team scores this year leading to our title. Gonna miss Connor’s passion for the game and never-lose mentality next year!
Luke Fontinell, Mr. Smooth aka The Big Easy, is another returning junior, has taken a huge step forward this year, easily our most improved golfer and is one of the purest ball strikers we coaches have ever seen. He has continued to get better and better with each match. If Luke is locked in, we’re a tough team to beat.
Mason Atkinson, what can I say, everyone loves Mason aka Mr. Tempo Town. Mason is a true team player and great teammate, I could pair him with anyone. He works his butt off at practice and has come a long way this year with his silky-smooth controlled swing. He is playing confident and smart golf right now and what a perfect time to be doing so as we head into our League playoffs and the CCS tournament.
Got to give a lot of credit to our JV team as they have been out there grinding all year alongside the varsity players going 3-1 in their matches!
Does the team go to the CCS playoffs?
YES! We accomplished our day-one goal of making CCS for the May 7 tournament at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch!
I’m really proud of what these boys have accomplished for the school, for all the past SLV golfers and for themselves. Not only are they playing at a high level right now, but they are playing as a team and really seem to be having fun doing it. It’s really cool to watch.
We achieved our goal and so much more.
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TOP PHOTO (from left): Coach Luke Dahlen, Keenan Buntz, Wyatt McCabe, James Dahlen, Connor Scar-borough, Luke Fontinell and Coach Phillip D’Andrea