Sean McGettigan might have created a monster.
As an experienced golfer, McGettigan was looking to reload Camden Catholic’s lineup when the Irish had a few spots open up due to graduation. He thought of his good friend and classmate Jack Kelly-Lyons, who was just a beginner.
The first time they played together, they decided to take on a couple of older students in a two-one-two match.
“I’m pretty sure we got whooped in a scramble,” Kelly-Lyons said. “I think it was by about 10 strokes.”
That was two years ago.
Now McGettigan and Kelly-Lyons are the top two scoring seniors on Camden Catholic’s golf team. Although two years is an incredibly short time to become a good golfer, Kelly-Lyons got up to speed quickly, even if there were a few speed bumps along the way.
“He was bad at first,” McGettigan said with a laugh. “But that summer, we kept playing and playing and really enjoyed it, and it kind of grew our friendship as well. We were nonstop playing during the summer, spring and fall.”
Kelly-Lyons, a Swedesboro resident who attended Guardian Angels Regional School, took on a part-time job of cleaning golf carts at Town & Country Golf Links in Woodstown and began utilizing the perks that come with working at a golf course.
“I was able to go out and play whenever I wanted,” he said. “I fell in love with it pretty quickly.”
Kelly-Lyons became a good golfer very quickly, too. It was just what McGettigan wanted – until he started playing against him.
“It’s kind of annoying, honestly,” said McGettigan, a Somerdale resident who attended Saint John Paul II Regional School in Stratford. “I was always better than my friends, or I would beat my brother’s friends. Then I introduced Jack to the game, and last year he came onto the team and started beating me the first few rounds. I’m like, is this real? Did I make a mistake?”
Kelly-Lyons has been the Irish’s top scorer five times this season, while McGettigan came up clutch with a team-best two-over-par 37 in a one-stroke victory over Moorestown on April 16. McGettigan also carded the team’s best score at the Camden County Championships at 6,384-yard Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood on April 20, with an eight-over-par 80 during cold and windy conditions. His score tied for fifth out of 80 golfers, while Kelly-Lyons’ 85 was good enough for 12th place.
McGettigan started playing at an earlier age but didn’t start competing seriously until seventh grade.
“I think my mom said I started when I was 2 or 4,” McGettigan said. “It was my birthday present from my grandfather – those little kid clubs. He was a big golfer, and then he bought me my next set. So I played a lot when I was younger, but nothing too major until seventh or eighth grade. I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
Through April 20, Camden Catholic was 5-1 in dual matches, thanks to a strong supporting cast that included seniors Chase Haas and Seamus Bieg and juniors Chase Martino and Josh Bedics.
“It’s all of our guys,” said Kelly-Lyons, who actually doubles as Camden Catholic’s leprechaun mascot. “I’d say we’re more of a gritty team. You got teams like Cherry Hill East that are shooting par and one-under. It’s tough to compete with that. But we try to string something together and it works.”
The leaders set good examples. McGettigan works at Valleybrook and helps teach junior leagues at the course.
“That’s been really rewarding,” he said. “We have a junior league every Sunday. It’s 12 and under, and they play the front nine.”
He’s creating good golfers one at a time, and he doesn’t seem to regret it, even if he has to take a loss once in a while.
“It’s back and forth all the time,” McGettigan said about his matches with Kelly-Lyons. “It’s always a competitive match. He’s gotten so much better. We’re about the same skill level now. It’s usually just a lot of fun out there, but you also want to beat each other. It’s always a good time.”
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