Woodberry Forest Golf

Friday, April 12, 2019

Varsity golf defeats Benedictine

Playing through a steady rain, the Tigers defeated the Cadets at home 157-166. Benny Haggin fired an even par round of 35 to earn medalist honors. Matthew Durham and Luke McNabb each carded 39 (+4), while Hughes Edwards completed the scoring with a 44 (+9). Rounding out the squad were Jack Malone, also with 44 (+9), and Meade Seay with 45 (+10). Pipes Fitz-hugh (42) and Thomas Mills (42) won their exhibition match vs. Benedictine.

Woodberry now squares its record at 3-3. The Tigers next host #1 Trinity Episcopal on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Golf sweeps EHS

The varsity and JV golf teams were victorious today at home in their annual match vs Episcopal.

Ranked #6 in this week's state golf poll, the varsity Tigers cruised to a 149-169 win, their best result to date and improving the season's record to 2-3. Benny Haggin and Jack Stein both fired one over par 36's, while Jack Malone carded a 38. Luke McNabb rounded out the scoring with a 39. Also playing for Woodberry was Hughes Edwards (41) and Matthew Durham (42).

With the win, Varsity Golf records its seventh consecutive win over Episcopal. The Maroon last won in 2010. Since 1986, the series stands at 23-4 in favor of the Tigers.

The JV golfers also had an easy win, 173-226, over the Episcopal. Meade Seay was the medalist with a 41, followed by Bennett Perry with a 43, Thomas Mills with a 44, and Pipes Fitz-Hugh with a 45. Also playing for the Tigers were Beau Watts (45) and Johnny Russell (51). The JV remains undefeated at 4-0.

Both varsity and JV golf will be in action on Friday. The varsity hosts Benedictine, while the JV travels to Richmond to face the Cadets.

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Varsity golf loses home opener

The Tigers hosted the Little Hoyas from Georgetown Prep today and lost a thriller, 462-467. Since this match has been played, the teams agree to have a larger number of scores count in order to increase the excitement and stakes. Today's format (best six of eight scores) put Woodberry to a stern test, especially when senior Matthew Durham was forced to withdraw due to injury after 11 holes. His teammates responded, playing some of their best golf of the season.

Luke McNabb led the Tigers with a two over round of 72, followed by Benny Haggin (74), Jack Stein (75), and Hughes Edwards (80). Rounding out the Woodberry team were Pipes Fitz-Hugh (81), Jack Malone (89), and Thomas Mills (90). Gary Bullard of Georgetown Prep was the medalist with a 71.

Woodberry falls to 1-2 and plays at home on Wednesday vs. EHS.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Varsity golf loses a close one

The Tiger golfers traveled to Chantilly National CC to face Bishop O'Connell Tuesday and fell in close match, 157-161. Benny Haggin was the low scorer for Woodberry with a 39 (+3), playing even par after a triple bogey on the first hole. Luke McNabb (40), Hughes Edwards & Matthew Durham (41) rounded out the scoring. Jack Stein (42) and Thomas Mills (50) were the remaining Tiger players in the match. Jack Malone (45) and Pipes Fitz-hugh (54) played an exhibition match against two golfers from Bishop O'Connell.

Woodberry (1-2) hosts St. Anne's-Belfield on Friday at home.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Varsity golf loses at Collegiate; JV wins tri-match

The varsity golfers traveled to Richmond for their first VPL match of the year and came up on the short end, 158-162, vs. Collegiate. The victim of bad luck, Benny Haggin had to declare a lost ball on hole 7 when his tee shot lodged some thirty feet in the air in a white pine tree, and he was unable to identify his ball. The resulting triple bogey hurt an otherwise fine round. Haggin, Luke McNabb, and Hughes Edwards all carded a 40 (+4), while Jack Stein also ran into some bad luck on the last hole on the way to a 42 (+6). Jack Malone and Beau Watts made their varsity debuts, both shooting 44 (+8).

The Tigers fall to 1-1, 0-1 in the Prep League. They play next Tuesday vs. Bishop O'Connell at Chantilly National.

The JV golfers fared better, besting Collegiate and Fork Union in a home tri-match, 167-177-232. John Tandberg was the medalist with a 40 (+5), followed by Meade Seay and Bennett Perry with 41 (+6). Winslow Newton rounded out the scoring with a 45 (+10). Pipes Fitz-Hugh fired a 46 (+11) and Johnny Russell a 49 (+14) to complete the Woodberry squad.

The JV Tigers are now 3-0. They play again Tuesday at Collegiate.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Golfers prevail amid springtime storminess

The Woodberry Forest varsity golfers opened their 2019 campaign on the road at Hunting Hawk GC vs. Benedictine. Playing in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable--cold, wind, and rain--the Tigers cruised to a 164-179 win over the Cadets. Junior Luke McNabb and fourth former Benny Haggin both carded 2 over rounds of 39 to tie for medalist. Captain Jack Stein shot 42 and fifth former Hughes Edwards completed the scoring with a 44. Two other WFS golfers played in their first varsity matches, senior Matthew Durham (49) and fourth former John Tandberg (45).

The JV golf team waited out the strong squall that pummeled the campus and bested the JV Cadets from Benedictine, 176-207. Fifth former Beau Watts was the medalist with a four over 39. Scoring for the JV Tigers were third former Bennett Perry with a 43, while fifth former Pipes Fitz-Hugh and third former Winslow Newton both had 47. Fourth former Thomas Mills (49) and fifth former Alex Forward (52) rounded out the lineup.

The varsity Tigers open Prep League play Tuesday at Collegiate. The JV golfers will host Collegiate and Fork Union here on Tuesday.

Monday, March 4, 2019

Meade Seay '21 scores hole in one

Meade Seay '21 scored his first hole in one on March 4, 2019, at Sea Island Retreat in Georgia. He aced the 167-yard seventh hole while on the Woodberry Forest spring break golf trip organized by head varsity golf coach Marc Hogan.

By the end of the six-day trip, golfers will have played eight different courses in the Carolinas and Georgia.

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.