Woodberry Forest Golf: Woodberry goes back-to-back in VPL

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Woodberry goes back-to-back in VPL

Woodberry Forest successfully defended its Virginia Preparatory League golf title today at Independence Club in Midlothian. The Tigers shot 594 (294-300) to win the 36-hole event over St. Christopher's by eleven strokes

In Woodberry's opening round, fourth former Shep Hardison fired an even par 72 on the 6300-yard Tom Fazio layout to lead the way. Fourth former Bennett duPont and third former Timothy Walter were one shot back (73). Senior captain Thomas Walter shot 76. The Tigers had a five stroke lead over Collegiate.

On day two, fifth former Milt Barber was first off and fired a 74. Classmate Charlie Moore followed with a 77, and Thomas Walter then shot the Tigers' low round of the day, 73. Bennett duPont came in the a 76 to round off the second day's team score. The Tigers withstood a charge by St. Christopher's, bettering the Saints' second day score, 300-303.

By virtue of their top ten individual finishes, Thomas Walter, Barber, duPont, Hardison, and Timothy Walter earned All-Prep status. Woodberry's win is the school's 24th VPL golf title since 1976.

The Tigers now await a bid to the VISAA tournament, Monday, May 17 at Sleepy Hole GC in Suffolk.

Virginia Preparatory League Golf Tournament
Independence GC
36 holes, par 144
Best four scores each day count towards team total


Name	1st	2nd	Total
Thomas Walter	76	73	149
Bennett duPont	73	76	149
Shep Hardison	72	77	149
Milt Barber	80	74	154
Timothy Walter	73	81	154
Charlie Moore	78	77	155
	294	300	594	1st

Individual (All-Prep)
1	Mark Hourigan	Collegiate	71	72	143
	Chris Kapsak	TES	70	73	143
3	Harrison Vance	St Chris	71	73	144
	Bryce Chalkley	St Chris	73	71	144
5	Thomas Walter	Woodberry	76	73	149
	Shep Hardison	Woodberry	72	77	149
	Bennett duPont	Woodberry	73	76	149
8	Ben Donohue	Collegiate	74	76	150
9	Davis Whitmer	St. Anne's	74	78	152
10	Timothy Walter	Woodberry	73	81	154
	Milt Barber	Woodberry	80	74	154

Golf Facilities

Our golf facilities are unmatched. The only high school in Virginia with its own course, Woodberry plays its home matches on a nine-hole golf course designed in 1926 by Donald Ross. We also have the Graves Golf Practice Area, built in 1991, which has a driving range, two practice greens and sand bunkers. With our Doppler-based TrackMan launch monitors, we can track each player’s clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, and carry distance. We can then use this data to test different equipment. Our indoor putting green allows us to practice putting and short-game skills in any weather.

Coach’s Corner: Varsity Golf Coach Marc Hogan

Of the campus’s many resources, the school’s golf facilities truly set it apart. With a nine-hole Donald Ross-designed golf course and a range of other amenities for the teaching of golf, Woodberry is poised to nurture the young golfer. And no one is more suited to bring together the promising golfers who choose Woodberry Forest with traditional techniques honed at the Graves Practice Area and modern-day technological tools installed in the Squash Pavilion than Marc Hogan.

Having worked with the golf program for over twenty years, Marc holds a Level III golf teaching certification from the United States Golf Teachers' Federation and a Level I golf fitness instructor certification from the Titleist Performance Institute. He was the first coach certified in the DECADE course management system, which teaches players course strategy. His contributions to the game have been honored by the Virginia Prep League, which has named him Coach of the Year nine times, and by VISAA, which has awarded him the title six times.

As he does in his English classroom, Marc embraces technology in the teaching of golf. With particular support from Mitch Hull ’77 and past parents Hallie and Ed Pettegrew, as well as an anonymous gift, the school has video-recording devices, computers, and three launch monitors that analyze a player’s stroke and help him match it to swings used by the world’s most successful golfers.

Marc is a Greensboro, North Carolina, native and earned his BA and MA from the University of Virginia. He has taught English at Woodberry Forest since 1987. A scratch golfer, Marc has qualified for the Virginia Senior Amateur Championship six times and made match play four times in 2017, 2019 (round of 16), 2020, and 2021. He has also qualified for the VSGA Amateur Championship in 2021 and 2022. He lives in the Rapp House with his wife Linda, who works in Culpeper. They have three daughters, Miranda, who lives and works in Staunton; Anna Grey ’14, who lives and works in Charlottesville; and Cordelia '17, who lives and works in Charlotte.