Dukette and Gonneville rule the links
|
|
KYLE MARTEL/TIMES ARGUS FILE |
Toolbox
By James Biggam Times Argus Staff - Published: July 4, 2009
Big expectations are inescapable if you grow up in Northfield and your last name happens to be Dukette or Gonneville.
Over the past four high school golf seasons, Marauders Garrett Dukette and Nick Gonneville have not disappointed.
"I've been coaching for 24 years and I've never had two kids who were as good as they are, who worked as hard at their game as they do," Northfield coach Tom McNair said. "There's not a conceited bone in either one of their bodies. I've known many people who have done far less who have talked far more. You'd never know from talking to them that they're two of the best players in central Vermont."
Both Dukette and Gonneville averaged below 41 for nine holes this past spring. Dukette's 1-over 72 and Gonneville's 77 propelled Northfield to victory at the 18-hole Division III Northern Sectionals, and at states Dukette posted a 79 to edge Gonneville by one stroke.
Singling them out as the 2009 Times Argus Golfers of the Year was automatic. "Garrett has been club champion at Northfield Country Club as a sophomore, and both him and Nick have qualified for the Vermont Amateur," McNair said. "They both have shot rounds under par and Nick has already passed the pro golfer test."
While the regular-season scoring averages for Dukette (40.5) and Gonneville (39.55) are nearly identical, their golf paths have contrasted sharply.
Gonneville's father, Mike, led the Northfield girls soccer team to 15 state championships and is one of the winningest coaches in the nation with nearly 400 victories. Gonneville's older sister, Whitney, was an All-New England fullback in high school and then became a starter for the University of Vermont.
In a family where soccer ruled supreme, Nick emerged as a wizard in the midfield during the fall and on the links in the spring.
"Nothing came easy to Nick – there was no history of golf in his family, so he's really a self-made player," McNair said. "He picked up the sport by himself and practiced and practiced and practiced and got to the point where he was finally one of the best players around."
Gonneville recorded scoring averages of 44.8 his freshman year, 40.38 his sophomore year and 39.63 last year.
"When Nick first started he was at a huge disadvantage because of his (small) size," McNair said. "He was hitting woods off a par-3 and Garrett was hitting iron. But he's gotten a lot longer off the tee over the last four years. When he first started playing as a freshman, he was dead-on with every shot. He was a great target player. As his game got longer, he's had to harness in the straightness. Any time you hit the ball farther, if you're 2 or 3 percent off, the longer it goes the more that 2 or 3 percent is going to get you in trouble.
"But he works very hard at the chipping and putting. It's nothing to see him at the end of practice with a couple hundred balls on the practice green. He hits balls throughout the winter and he practices harder than anyone I've ever met in any sport."
Gonneville snared medalist honors twice this past season, firing a 41 at Northfield, a 39 at Barre, a 37 at Northfield, a 42 at Barre, a 39 at St. Johnsbury and an 81 at the 18-hole North Country Invitational.
"When they came in as freshmen, Garrett was clearly the stronger player," McNair said. "They both improved, but Nick closed the gap this year and played the majority of the season as the No. 1 guy."
Being relegated to the No. 2 position may have been a tough pill to swallow for some, but Dukette shifted spots willingly. He then elevated his own game with humble confidence.
"Garrett was medalist as a sophomore for a team that won the state championship," McNair said. "As a senior he played No. 2, and he never made a peep. I don't know many kids who would do that."
It's fair to say that Dukette was born to golf, with three older brothers paving the way for him on the high school team. Adding the prior generation of relatives to the mix, the club championship plaque at the Northfield Country Club reads like a family tree.
"If you look at the club champions, 90 percent of the names up there are Dukettes," McNair said. "His dad, his uncles and his brothers are all great golfers."
It came as no surprise when Garrett was keeping up with the big boys by the time he was in middle school. He was driving the ball beyond the 250-yard marker as a ninth-grader, but each shot appeared effortless.
"He's very smooth," McNair said. "When he hits the ball, you don't get the impression of somebody swinging out of their shoes. It's a very natural swing. His form is very solid and he hits almost every ball to perfection. I can think of very few mis-hits he's ever had."
Dukette was medalist at four matches this past season and his scoring average was inflated quite a bit by one hiccup (a 50) at Stowe Country Club. His other scores included a 40 at Northfield, a 44 at Barre, a 37 at Northfield, a 42 at Barre, a 39 at St. Johnsbury and an 81 at the North Country Invitational.
"Garrett is a very easy-going kid and I've never seen him lose his temper," McNair said. "He's got a cool head and he's got a great demeanor."
McNair is quick to point out how much Dukette and Gonneville have raised each other's game through friendly competition, and he regards both as ultimate students of the game.
If one thing's for sure, it's that Northfield won't see a better 1-2 punch on the golf course for a long time.
"The most impressive thing about those two kids is how well they think about the game – they really understand the finer points," McNair said. "I'm not embarrassed to say I've learned a lot of golf from the two of them. They think the game like a 40-year-old player and not like a 17-year-old. A lot of people go out and try to overpower every course they're on, and they don't do that. They're playing irons off the tee when a wood might get you in trouble. It can be a puff-your-chest-out kind of moment and they don't – they resist the temptation to play the glory shot and they play the smarter shot. I know I'll never get two kids like this again."
16