The journey leading up to, and then winding through, a college golf career inevitably ends up being a unique experience.
Two different players may start out in remarkably similar fashion but then each may evolve to a different track. In recent years, for instance, no external factor has influenced college golfers in a more profound manner than COVID-19.
A prime example of this is evident in brothers Jack Boulger (who plays golf at the University of Southern California) and Eric Boulger (UConn) of Walpole, Mass.
Both started their secondary school golf trek at Xaverian High School in Westwood, Mass., with older brother Jack (by 3 ½ years) forging the way.
Each became integral components of a run where coach Gerry Lambert’s squad won Massachusetts Division 1 state championships in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Lambert vividly recalls the first of those three wins, when Jack was a sophomore.