WOODBURY – During my senior year, the Chiefs were rolling, Nonnewaug Golf ended with a one loss record and were the Berkshire League champions. As soon as the season finally opened, my senior golf season was already starting to end. 

Two months.

 That’s all Connecticut high school golfers get.

 By the time we shake the rust off and get going, the season is, basically, over. And, honestly, it feels like we got cheated. 

Golf is a hard sport. It takes time, and a lot of it to get better. In Connecticut, the schools make the golf season too short. In Southern states, the golf season is much longer. For example, Florida’s high school season runs from early August to early November, almost three extra months of competition. According to Cypress Bay High School in Georgia, they allow up to 12 playing dates, and plenty of southern programs develop year round simply because the weather lets them. The PGA National High School Golf Association says most states get 8-12 weeks, which makes Connecticut one of the shortest.

That small difference matters. These more weeks mean more reps, and more opportunities to lower our team average. I know that it matters because I have first hand experience. This season, we were breaking the school record match after match. More time also means more exposure for players hoping to play in college. 

“You can be a talented player here and still get overlooked,” Ryan Campanario, (how many years coaching) NHS’ golf coach said. “It’s not the players, it’s the calendar. We just don’t get the time other states do.”

As a senior, this hits me especially hard. I only had two months to play my favorite sport. It’s frustrating knowing that players my age in other states have already played twice as many times by the time we play our first match.

Jack Nettleton, a four year starter for NHS golf, understands the challenges of playing such a shortened season. 

 “Our season is so short. It is such a disadvantage that we have less time to grow as a team. As our season went on this year, we kept breaking school records,” Nettleton said. “I wonder what would’ve happened if we had two more months of playing.” 

Nettleton isn’t wrong. 

Connecticut has snow, rain, inclement delays, and a spring break that feels like winter is not leaving. But that shouldn’t stop us from pushing for a fairer season. The CIAC and Nonnewaug High School should add more playing time before school starts. 

We put in the work. 

We showed up.

We deserve a season that reflects that. So to the CIAC and Nonnewaug Athletic Directors, give the golf team more time. Let us compete. Let us get rolling. And let us actually play the sport we love, before the season ends just as it starts.

This is the opinion of NHS Chief Advocate reporter Ethan Wild ’26.