On August 15th, 2024, the Malvern Prep Golf team set out from the Philadelphia International Airport to Charleston, SC. Their first initiative when they arrived in Charleston was traveling to Bulls Bay Golf Club. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the Bulls Bay’s staff and stayed in three different four-person cottages along the course.
The players and coaches were so grateful to be able to share this experience with one another. Varsity Golf Coach and Upper School Math Teacher Mr. Myles Huf described his emotions when he realized he would be able to go on this trip.
“I was blown away by the opportunity that we are going to have to travel as a team to build those relationships and play golf at some amazing places,” Huf said.
However, the Friars did not only make an impact on the course like they always do, but also in the clubhouse. The members loved to see the boys’ young smiling faces walk through the clubhouse with incredible confidence.
Mr. Don Migliori, who hosted the entire team down at Bull’s Bay Golf Course, felt the impact the Friars made in the clubhouse and shared his thoughts.
“They played at Bulls Bay and they played at the river course at Kiawah and in both clubs, there was real buzz about these great, young, [and] talented golfers coming to town and bombing off the tips,” Migliori said.
Migliori, who was generous enough to pay for this excursion, said he helped in order to honor Coach “JoePa” Redican, his father-in-law. He said that JoePa is always preaching about how great the kids of Malvern Prep are. Don took it into his own hands to give these kids the experience of a lifetime.
That evening, they got their first look at Bulls Bay when they played their first round of the trip. Eamon Cochran, a Malvern senior and one of the Friar’s varsity captains, described what this experience does for the team.
“I was excited, but I was just happy for the opportunity to be with the team. We haven’t had that good of a bonding experience yet. We’ve done small things like go bowling and [that] type of stuff, but I thought this was a great opportunity for the brotherhood and just to come together as a team for the season.” Cochran said.
The first three days consisted of waking up in the morning and having a team breakfast in the coach’s house, followed by a round of golf. Later in the evening, they would head back to the Coach’s house for a team dinner.
During these team dinners, each player would be challenged to speak aloud for two minutes. They had to share opinions, but they mainly did it to keep the whole room entertained. This activity allowed for each player to have the opportunity to get to know each other and emphasize the brotherhood virtue of Malvern.
After dinner, the team would hang out and do different activities before bed. Their first priority was their nightly team meeting led by coaches and captains to recap the day. They also talked about the many goals they have for this season, such as winning the Inter-Ac and strengthening their program as a whole. After that, the players would usually find themselves in fierce competitions to see who had the best-putting ability on the practice green.
This was the usual routine throughout their first three days in Charleston, SC. Then on the fourth day, they were lucky enough to play the River Course at Kiawah Island Golf Club. Here, they were accompanied by Gerry Frey, who was kind enough to pay for all twelve golfers to play. They met him for lunch and showed their utmost gratitude to Gerry for taking them to one of the nicest courses these golfers have ever played.
The Kiawah Island Golf Club is world-renowned and even hosted the PGA Championship at their Ocean Course back in 2012 and 2021. This course is not your typical golf course because it has Bermuda grass, not found in Pennsylvania. However, the golfers took this as a challenge and used their competitiveness to go low.
“The views were awesome [and] there is a lot of elevation. [There was] different grass, it was Bermuda grass, which they don’t have in Pennsylvania. So that was different. That was one of the nicest courses I’ve ever played.” Cochran said.
That night, they went back to their cottages at Bulls Bay for their final night together. In the morning, they played one last round before their flight back to PA. In total, they played five rounds over five days, making long-lasting memories with their brothers that they will remember forever.
