By Brooke Geery
The Killington Golf Course will serve as the primary practice facility for the newly formed Killington Mountain School (KMS) golf team starting this August. The season officially gets underway on Aug. 18, with eight boys and a girl who have chosen to take place in this new fall offering from the school.
KMS coach Eric Kuntz has signed on to lead the team. An avid recreational golfer who has also dabbled in tournament play himself, he said he is very excited to share his love of golf with the kids.
“I played over 120 rounds last year at Killington—it’s one of my passions of being able to play outside,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to teaching.”
Because KMS’s students are alpine focused, many will be spending their summer months on snow training in places such as Mount Hood, Oregon and Saas Fee, Switzerland, but Kuntz has encouraged them to hit the links as much as possible as they can in preparation. They can’t officially begin practicing as a team until the season starts, and then their first official scrimmage will be on Aug. 24.
“We are gonna dive right into it!” he laughed.
The team is part of the Vermont Southern League (VSL) Division II, sanctioned by the Vermont Principals’ Association. They’ll play against teams from schools across southern Vermont such as Bellows Falls, Woodstock, Brattleboro, and Burr and Burton.
The students will play four days per week, Monday-Thursday, two of them on the resort’s golf course and one day at the Green Mountain National Golf Course’s driving range. Every fourth day, they’ll travel to a match.
Kuntz said the matches are somewhat informal and at the discretion of the hosting team’s coach. Up to five students of each gender can compete at a time, which consists of nine walking holes. The fifth day of the week will be dedicated to preseason ski training, which is usually a lot of gym work.
“They’re busy kids, they won’t have much down time,” Kuntz said.
KMS will host 4-5 regional teams in a match of its own at the Killington Golf Course on Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m. If a student shoots a 55 or under twice during the eight-week season, they become eligible to head to the state championships in early October.
Since this is the first time KMS has ever had a golf team, the main goal for this year is just to get the kids out playing, Kuntz said.
“I would like to make this a fun and productive season with kids learning and enjoying the Killington Golf Course. We’re super excited to see how this can grow into a fall sport,” Kuntz said.
