By Christopher Tremblay

A ten-year old Tommy O’Brien was just looking for something to do one day and decided to go out with his father and older brother Patick to the Norwood Country Club to play a round of golf. The young O’Brien had never picked up nor swung a club, but things would certainly change for him that day.

“That first time on the golf course I really didn’t know what to expect; I didn’t think that it would be too hard, “O’Brien said. “But it was more difficult than I expected, which was a good thing as it became something that I could work on to get better. Hitting that one good shot gives you hope for improvement.”

O’Brien would continue to go out on the weekends with his dad and brother and just play for fun, but eventually he wanted his golf game to become more serious. Soon after, he found himself an instructor and his game began to steadily improve. He recently started playing New England Junior PGA Tournaments; two summers ago, he participated in six or seven tournaments, and this past summer took part in ten. 

“Playing in the tournaments has definitely helped my competitive side,” O’Brien said. “There are a lot of good players there and I can use that to improve my game. Not only do they push you to be better, but you can watch the things that they do on the course to better yourself as well.”

Upon entering high school, O’Brien was set on making the golf team in some capacity but was not sure what he was up against.

“During the tryouts, I just wanted to go out and play my best game,” O’Brien said. “Being unsure of the competition, I just wanted to go out and show that I could play at this level.”

After making the varsity squad, O’Brien wanted to work on a successful freshman campaign for the Mustangs. He would continuously find himself in the third or fourth group each match, but it didn’t bother him as that’s where he expected a first-year golfer to play. 

“I just go out and play my game,” O’Brien said. “It doesn’t bother me where I am playing, first or fourth group, I am going to play the same way.”

With that attitude, the young golfer was looking to get off to a good start on the golf course and was hoping not to leave anything behind. He wanted to play the game while hoping to be the best that he possibly could be to help his team succeed.

Things seemed to work out during his first season as the freshman shot an average of 3.5 over par and quickly found himself as Norwood’s number one golfer. 

“Being number one was certainly a surprise, but it showed that all my hard work paid off,” O’Brien said. “I definitely didn’t expect to be number one. I knew that I was a good golfer and just wanted to go about and be competitive each match while working my way up the ladder.”

According to Norwood Gold Coach Chuck Allen, O’Brien takes the game very seriously and continues to put in the work. The Mustang Coach went on to say he’s consistently 2.5 over par through 15 rounds with 13 of those rounds shooting in the 30’s and finished fourth overall in the Tri-Valley League.

“He goes out and does what he needs to do and doesn’t act like a superstar doing it,” Allen said. “He’s got himself a swing coach and spends a lot of time on the golf course working on his game.”

One of the things that O’Brien believes is very important to be a successful golfer is the mental side of the game; it can be a challenge but one in which you must defeat to be a good golfer.

“You need to stay composed at all times on the golf course,” O’Brien said. “If you go out and hit a bad shot, you can’t get frustrated and let it bother you. You just got to continue without an issue. Just stay composed and don’t worry about that shot.”

 

O’Brien will be going back to the State Tournament this fall, hoping to improve upon last year’s disappointing showing. 

“I am really excited to go back there and play,” O’Brien said. “Last year as a freshman, I didn’t do all that well as I was nervous. Pleasant Valley Golf Course (in Sutton, MA) is a tough course and I want to bounce back this year and put together a better day. If I can shoot in the 70’s, I’ll be happy.”

Although only a sophomore at Norwood High School, O’Brien still has two more golf seasons left before he graduates. Over those two seasons he is looking to keep improving while bringing his average down. Following high school, the three-sport athlete, would be interested in playing golf on the collegiate level.

“If I could play golf in college that would be great,” O’Brien said. “But it’s tough being from New England and trying to overtake the Southern players who play year-round. If a school offered me the opportunity, great, but my top priority in college would be to get a good education.”

Coach Allen believes that if O’Brien continues to work on his game there should be no reason that he couldn’t play golf in college. For now, the Norwood sophomore still has two and a half years to go at Norwood High School and another two seasons playing for the Mustangs at the Norwood Country Club.