Woodberry Forest Golf: Tigers defeat the Maroon

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Tigers defeat the Maroon

The Tigers had the privilege of playing the Maroon at the Army/Navy Country Club in Arlington, courtesy of new EHS golf coach Charlie Moore, US Navy veteran and WFS golfer from the class of 2011.

Since Episcopal was the host, the match was played under IAC scoring--best five of six scores. The Tigers easily prevailed 185-209. The Tigers are 18-2 this century against the Maroon, dropping matches only in 2010 and 2012.

Will Brown was the medalist with a two-under-par 34, followed closely by Mack Edwards's one-under-par 35. A single bad hole each cost Henry Cardwell (38), James Doyle (38), and Chris Nabors (40). Taylor Blackwell (42) also participated, while Tommy McMillan (38) and Wade Logan (42) won their exhibition match vs. two Episcopal golfers.

With the win, Woodberry improves to 6-0-1 overall. The B Varsity Tigers will play a tri-match on Friday at home versus Blue Ridge School and Veritas.

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.