After an inconsistent stretch, Haverford’s golf team is focusing on one thing: the next shot. The Fords fell 208-203 to the Hill School, responded with a second-place finish at the Penn Charter Invitational, and won the Episcopal Invitational at Merion West. They narrowly beat La Salle 226-228 before finishing third at the Germantown Academy Invitational.
With such a young team, Coach Stephen Cloran expected some inconsistencies.
“Coming into the season, I knew that it might be a little bit of a roller-coaster ride,” Coach Cloran said.
Coach Cloran credited Sixth Formers Jack Luterman, Harry Neilly, Charlie Friel, and Quinn Gallagher with helping the younger golfers develop a better mental and physical presence on the course.
“[The Sixth Formers have been] great in putting their arm around the young guys and not only talking about their successes in the Inter-Ac over the years, but where they have also come up short.”
For this team, being teammates doesn’t stop when the final putt drops.
“We’re more connected in the group chats, you know, talking about a lot of stuff, and all of us are really trying to support each other. We’re all bought into the program,” Neilly said.
Coach Cloran agreed.
“It’s a tight team that really likes each other,” Coach Cloran said. “In all my years as a coach in sports, that’s not always a guarantee. So I’m very grateful for the togetherness of this team.”
This closeness extends beyond matches and practice.
“A couple of nights ago, the whole team went to an indoor golf place when it was raining. And we hit balls for probably four hours,” Neilly said.
Support for your team is easy to have on the range and during practice but hard to maintain on bad days.
“You could play so good one day and really bad the next,” Neilly said. “You know, a big thing about this team is we just support each other, and we’re always there for each other.”
That support helps the team stay focused on the next play.
“We always talk about flushing or forgetting the last shot. Whether it was a great shot, a good shot, or a terrible shot, we constantly harp on flushing it,” Coach Cloran said.
“I definitely think Gulph Mills is going to test the team the most because it’s the second-to-last Inter-Ac match. It’s a kind of tight course. It’s difficult,”
Harry neilly ’27
The Fords now set their sights on their upcoming home invitational at Gulph Mills.
“I definitely think Gulph Mills is going to test the team the most because it’s the second-to-last Inter-Ac match. It’s a kind of tight course. It’s difficult,” Neilly said.
Coach Cloran points to a different factor.
“We know the course well. Probably we know it the best. It’s our home course. So we should be confident and comfortable,” Coach Cloran said.
Coach Cloran sees a real opportunity for this team to play deep into November.
“I truly believe that this team has the capability and the skill set to win the Inter-Ac, win states, and win on EA Day,” Coach Cloran said.
