Grafton’s Zen Golfer

GRAFTON – Playing a round of golf with Grafton High School senior Ryan Schiappa, the former South Worcester County League champion, causes Carter Burnett some nervous jitters.

“I don’t play well when I play with him, ‘cause I’m like freaking out,” said Burnett, who is a sophomore and teammate of Schiappa. “It’s ‘cause he’s so good,” he said after the league championships earlier this month.

Since winning the league title as a sophomore, Schiappa has proven to be one of the most consistent and best high school golfers in Central Mass. The senior captain earned medalist honors in nine of the Gators’ 16 matches this season. If he wasn’t medaling, he was finishing in a close second. He seemed to save his best play late in the season against Millbury where he shot 1-under par 35 in a nine-hole match.

Grafton seniors Nick Viens and Ryan Schiappa with the first-place team trophy and certificate at the SWCL Championship tournament. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba.

Schiappa’s good play carried into the high school tournament postseason finishing second by one stroke at the SWCL Championship with a 7-over-par 77 at the Leicester Country Club on Oct. 12; he tied for second at the Division 1 Central golf championships, again by one stroke, with a 4-over 75 at the Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester on Oct. 19. He successfully capped his season and high school career by making the top ten at the Division 1 State Championships with a 9-over 80 at the Wentworth Hills Golf Club in Plainville on Monday, Oct. 25. He also helped lead the Gators to the SWCL team title.

After the SWCL Tournament, Schiappa said playing is not about winning or losing for him. “Whoever shoots a better score deserves to win … I’m just happy to finish strong. I’m happy with my perseverance when I grind it out on the course.”

Grafton coach Bill Stock said to be good at golf, a player has to be willing to put in the extra practice time to get better. “Like anybody in golf, you have to put the work in during the summer months and play a lot and practice a lot.” He should know, he has coached the Gators for two decades. “If they put the work in, especially on their short game, they’ll be fine. There’s no great secret to the game of golf. You gotta practice it and play it. And it is a sport that you can make yourself good at if you want to by putting the time and effort into it. It’s not like other sports where you must be tall or fast or strong. If you’re not, you can’t play those sports. But you can play golf. You can play it for the rest of your life.”

Schiappa, who used to play baseball as a kid, decided to devote his time to being the best golfer he could be. “Well, I think he started playing at a young age and developed a fondness for the sport,” Stock said. “He enjoys being out there ‘cause he’s a member of Pleasant Valley (in Sutton) and I know people that are also members over there. They say he’s in the practice range religiously.”

Both Stock and Ryan’s mother, Jenn Schiappa, said Ryan’s even-keel temperament allows him to focus and bear down when things don’t always go his way on the golf course.

“He throws things; he jumps up and down and yells and screams.” Stock joked and laughed. “No, he’s quiet. He’s very reserved; not overly emotional. He plays within himself and doesn’t get flustered when things go wrong. He actually has the perfect personality for the game of golf, which is great because he’s able to put things in the past once he hits a bad shot. He forgets about it and just focuses on what’s next in front of him. The good golfers have that ability.”

“It’s been a pleasure watching him all these years,” said his mother. She then turned to her husband, Mike, and asked, “He’s very laid back, isn’t that right wouldn’t you say?”

His dad answered, “very laid back. He’s very calm.”

“Yes, very calm,” his mom concluded. “And very humble.”

Ryan Schiappa said he is just naturally a calm and composed kid. “Being calm is just part of my personality. I just take deep-breaths out there. It’s important to focus on breathing. I know that I can do well if I’m calm and just play the game, so I’m not too mad about when the bad things happen.”

More importantly than his individual accomplishments, Stock said he is a good role-model for the underclassmen. “He’s especially good with some of the younger ones,” Stock said. “I mean they all look up to Ryan because of what he’s accomplished already, you know? And they want to be as good as he is. He is a good teammate and he leads by example and they try to emulate all aspects of his game.”

“When my teammates have bad days, I just tell them not to worry about it,” Schiappa said. “It happens. If their swing is off, I’ll try to help them correct it. Anything they need help with, I try to help them. However, if they get frustrated on the course, usually I would just let them go. I don’t talk to them because usually when I get frustrated, I don’t like people talking to me. So, in those cases, I just let them calm down by themselves and talk to them later.”

Burnett said he will continue to improve his golf game from the lessons he’s learned from playing with Schiappa. Notably, Burnett wants to be calmer on the course like his captain. “Overall, I need to take more time with my shots,” he said with a snicker. “Yeah, I kinda just get up there on the course and just hack away sometimes. I don’t take as much time as I should.

“I’ve learned a lot seeing Ryan play,” he said. “I’ve learned that you can make up shots when you have a bad hole. Not everything is going to go your way and I learned that by seeing the way he plays. If you get a bogey, you can still make it up with a birdie. A birdie is not a one-time thing. You can definitely do it and get better.”