“It has been building all summer,” said Spencer of his back-to-back shows.
The 18-year-old tells his summer appearances like a tic-tac-toe game. He achieved his first major score when he signed up for match play at Mass. Amateur Qualified held July 12-16 at the Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton.
“That was a big boost to my confidence,” said Spencer. “Then it was cool to play well in the first round in the US Juniors, and then everything just came together at Mass. Junior and a few weeks later at New England Junior. “
The measure. Junior was a grind. Spencer had to stay loose enough to hit a stacked field that included Aidan Emmerich, a Globe All-Scholastic and senior at St. Mary’s, while keeping his focus even in the delayed rain.
“Matchplay was tough,” said Spencer. “On the first day of the match, Wednesday, there were 36 holes. And then it rained on Thursday and we had to come back on Friday to play two more games. So it was about staying focused and ready for action, because 36-hole days are obviously quite long. “
Spencer never has trouble finding talented golfers to play with on his home course, Cummaquid Golf Club in Yarmouth Port. His father Stephen has been a head professional at Cummaquid since 2007 and his younger brother Jack, a junior at Mashpee, is also a strong player.
“Both boys grew up in Cummaquid,” said the older Spencer. “The association was great for our family and supported them. Five, six, seven, eight, even nine years ago, they waited around and got hooked up with everyone they could possibly play with. And they still do that today – so they played with all sorts of people and players. “
“Colin’s first set of clubs was made of plastic,” he added. “I’m pretty sure it was those plastic Snoopy bats when he was two or three years old. He swung them around the living room and the garden. He’s actually left-handed, but he never knew, and when he was 4 or 5 years old he had a real set of right-handed clubs and was playing right-handed before we even knew whether he was left-handed or right-handed. “
Colin became a mainstay of the Falcons roster when he enrolled in Mashpee Middle High School as a seventh grader.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “I was 12. The first year I arrived there were seniors on the team who were grown men. They were pretty grown up and now I’m a senior and there are seventh graders on the team. “
His debut opened his father’s eyes.
“He shot a 71 and finished second in his league game when he was in seventh grade,” said Stephen, who played at Bryant College when the Bulldogs were a Division 2 program. “I don’t think he expected it, but he went and did it.”
Colin’s exercise regimen has improved over the years. When he’s not on the field, he’ll hit the net or practice putting at home. On the rare occasion that a bat is not in its grip, it is likely that it is stretching, doing some form of strength and conditioning, or meditating.
“He’s working on all different aspects all the time,” said Stephen. “And he’s a real student of the game. He researches golf and just loves golf. It was fun to see how it all came together for him. “
Jack sees his work ethic too. As much as the younger brother loves golf, he admits that Colin is “on a different level”.
“I’m going to bed right now and get a drink out of the fridge and watch him punch balls into the net in our garage,” said Jack. “Last year when we had online classes, he putted during his Zoom meetings. It all contributes and makes it better. He loves it so much. “
Both Stephen and Jack admire one aspect of Colin’s game more than the others: He doesn’t let a bad shot sway him.
“Everyone hits bad shots – it will happen,” said Stephen. “Some people don’t have the ability to get over it. He does. He’s only 18, but he’s much wiser and more mature – he just is. That’s him.”
“Even if he gets off to a bad start, something always happens that turns him around, whether it’s a birdie or an eagle,” said Jack. “If it starts badly, it will end up strong – I wish I could do it.”
When he is about to decide which college to go to, Colin has one final price on his checklist. He plans to end his high school career by winning a state title with his brother Jack and the Falcons this fall.
“It’s going to be fun,” Colin said of the state tournament. “It’ll be a little sad that it’ll be the last, but hopefully we’ll end it with a good one. And even if we don’t, it’s been six great and cool years, that’s all you can ask for. “
Colin Spencer worked on Friday at a tournament at the Boston Golf Club in Hingham, concentrating and getting out of the tight spot.Jonathan Wiggs / Globe Staff
Tea shots
Golf, along with cross-country and fall swimming, will continue to compete in MIAA section tournaments en route to the state finals in Divisions 1, 2, and 3. However, with the divisional reorganizations, there was a shift westward with a number of schools to level the state equally for the central, north, south and west brackets.
The distribution: center D1 (24 schools), center D2 (23), center D3 (23), north D1 (23), north D2 (21), north D3 (24), south D1 (23), south D2 (22 ), South D3 (23), West D1 (21), West D2 (24) and West D3 (22). The brackets South Shore and Cape & Islands are now simply South. For example, Bishop Feehan and Hopkinton, who used to compete in the South Shore, will now compete in Central. This also applies to Billerica and Dracut, formerly in Division 2 North.
Watching other golfers
Emma Abramson (Jr.), sandwich
Isabel Brozena (Sun), North Reading
Aidan Emmerich (Sr.), St. Marien
Will Gefteas (Sr.), Canton
Alex Landry (Sr.), St. John’s Prep
Joe Lenane (Sr.), Xaverian
Aidan O’Donovan (Sr.), Somerville
Justin Peters (Sr.), Bridgewater-Raynham
James Robbins (Sr.), North Andover
Molly Smith (Jr.), Westford