The women’s golf team has consistently scored in the top half of their competitions this season. This past Sunday, they took it up yet another notch, winning the team title at the two-round Cortaca Northeast Invitational. Maddie Hong ’23 had a big hand in this success as she was the individual medalist for carding 80 in the first round and 75 in the second.

The Spectator

asked Maddie some questions about her performance, the team atmosphere, and her goals for the future.

You were the individual medalist in Hamilton’s win at the Cortaca Northeast Invitational. What clicked for you during that great performance?

My teammates and I were talking about how sometimes a few parts of your game click, but it’s rarely everything. On Sunday, my irons and putting were pretty strong, but still my driver game wasn’t great the entire round. I think a major part was that I got pretty lucky that I was able to stay out of trouble off the tee and then save myself by getting on the green in regulation.

Do you have a method of coping with the pressure of competition so that you can perform at your best?

Honestly, I try to keep as few thoughts in my head as possible. By now my swing is pretty much muscle memory and overthinking during the round typically just gets me in trouble. Of course there are times where you have to make decisions on different shots, but I usually play my best when I go with my initial thought.

How does your team help each other throughout the season?

I think one of the major ways we help each other is by not letting each other hold onto a bad round. We encourage each other to look forward and focus on things that we can control. Just having that emotional support from my teammates was probably one of the main reasons I was able to turn it around after the Middlebury Tournament.

What are your aspirations for the rest of the season, and what are the team’s aspirations?

My goals for the rest of the season are to stay consistent with how I was playing last weekend, keep my irons strong, and hopefully figure out my driver. We are playing a tough course next weekend at Williams, so I believe everyone on the team wants to try to keep scores under 80, and maybe start closing the gap between us and teams like Williams and Amherst.

Some athletes speak about how doing something once gives them the feeling that they can do it again. What kind of confidence does this medal give you?

I definitely feel a little more confident, however, with golf you can be good one weekend and bad the next. Two weekends ago, I had one of my worst tournament rounds, and last weekend I had one of my best tournament rounds, so you really just have to work to be consistent and try not to hold on to a bad round.

Lightning Round

What would you consider the weakest part of your game?

Definitely my sand game. Luckily I didn’t go into the sand once on Sunday, which was one of the main reasons I was able to stay away from too many bogeys.

Favorite competition-day meal?

Dunkin’ iced coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese wake-up wrap

Best part of being part of the golf team?

I think the best part of being on the golf team is having teammates who will support you when you are playing both well and poorly. Golf is usually such an individual sport, so having a group of people you can debrief with after the round and talk through any problems you faced on the course is extremely helpful.