With the fall sports season now drawn to a close, Salem senior Ethan Doyle can look back on his final season of varsity golf for the Witches with a lot of pride. After he and his team got off to a slow start in a strange, shortened season, Doyle turned things around and finished the year with one of the more impressive overall resumes of any high school golfer in the North Shore.
“I got off to a pretty slow start, to be honest, and I felt like I just really didn’t play up to my potential,” said Doyle. “But as the season went on and I played more and more, I really got myself into a groove and started playing well.”
Doyle rebounded from his slow start to become one of the best scorers in the Northeastern Conference, earning medalist honors in nearly all of his matches and shooting under par four different times. He credits his reliable short game and his rediscovered aggressiveness for the turnaround.
“My short game is always there, and that’s usually what gets me out of trouble and keeps my rounds alive,” said Doyle. “But the real difference this year was that I eventually noticed I was being too passive out there and I needed to get back to playing more aggressively. Once I did that, I was really able to take things to the next level.”
To cap off his senior season, Doyle competed in the National High School Golf Association (NHSGA) Massachusetts Golf Championships at Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard. With his score of 2-over 74, which put him in a tie for eighth place out of more than 100 golfers, he qualified for the 2021 NHSGA Boys National Invitational. The Boys Invitational — a 3-day, 54-hole stroke play event that includes both team and individual competition — will be played June 28-30 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.
“It’s very exciting to earn a spot in that field and get a chance to compete against players from all over the country,” said Doyle. “I’ve seen Pinehurst in videos and on TV for the US Open and I know it’s a beautiful place, and I’m thrilled that I’m going to get an opportunity to compete there.”
Doyle points out that he actually made a double bogey on the very first hole at Shaker Hills before proceeding to shoot even par the rest of the way. Needing a birdie over his final two holes to make it into the top 10 and secure a spot in the Boys Invitational, Doyle made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
“I actually didn’t have a ton of prep work going into it, but it’s a course that my dad and uncle and grandfather used to play a lot so I got some great intel from them,” said Doyle. “I putted really well that day and made a couple of 25-footers on the back nine to get me over the top.”
But with the golf season now in the rearview for the time being, Doyle is now turning his focus to the basketball court. A four-year varsity player on the hardwood for the Witches, Doyle is excited to get back out on the floor and compete with his team this winter.
“I can’t wait to get out there with the guys, we have a great group and we’ve all really been working hard,” said Doyle. “This group has been playing together for five years now, ever since travel team before high school, so we really feel like we have a chance to come out and have a big year.”
