Sweet 16s for Chipman
Niagara Falls golfer Jaret Chipman tied for 16th at the recent Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship. Photo by TOM WOLF IMAGES.
It has been a Sweet 16 kind of summer for golfer Jaret Chipman.
The 23-year-old Niagara Falls resident made it to the round of 16 at the Ontario Men’s Match Play Championship at the Taboo Muskoka Golf Course in Gravenhurst in late June before falling 2&1 (two holes down with one hole to play) to Justin Matthews. At the Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship, played Aug. 10-13 at Beach Grove Country Club in Windsor, the Saint Michael alumni tied for 16th with rounds of 69, 73 and 72.
“My game has been feeling really good this entire summer and it felt great to go up there and play against the upcoming juniors, the top college players in Ontario and some of the experienced mid-ams and older players in Ontario,” the former Canisius College scholarship golfer said.
In his only other appearance at the Ontario amateur, he made the cut in 2018.
“I wasn’t too happy with how I finished and I was definitely looking forward to this year in Windsor to get back into the swing of things against all the best in Ontario,” Chipman said. “A top 20 result you can never complain about but I left a lot out there.”
After the first round at Beach Grove, he was tied for third with several other golfers, one stroke behind the leaders.
“I struggled a little bit in the second round because it was a really tough day with high winds and then we had a three-hour rain delay on my back nine followed by a rush so we could finish before darkness,” the former three-time Niagara Junior Tour points champion said.
The third round was canceled because of course conditions after the inclement weather.
“When I found out the tournament was shortened to 54 holes, it was kind of a bummer for me because I was looking forward to two more days of competing and jumping myself up the leaderboard a little bit more,” he said. “Going into the final round, I was going all out and seeing how far I could take it but the putter was not good that day.”
His result was still good enough for the top finish among Niagara golfers.
“It gives me more motivation to keep going because I was only a couple of little mistakes out of the lead,” Chipman said. “I know the game is there.”
Other locals in the field included: Cherry Hill’s David Bunker (74, 72, 70), tied for 27th; Cherry Hill’s Ryan Dyck (71, 74, 74), tied for 36th; and, Lookout Point’s Jack Allan (78, 78), missed the cut.
Chipman, a Cherry Hill member, just completed five years at Canisius this spring and finished with a MBA in finance.
“All in all, my game got better as I gained more experience through the five years,” he said of his NCAA experience. “It kind of sucked losing some of the seasons as a senior and as a fifth-year because of COVID but It was nice to be able to finish off this past spring. It was fun, I played pretty well and I am going to miss it.”
His career highlights included being part of the first team win in school history at the Binghamton University Invitational and tying for individual medalist honours at the 2021 Little Three Championship. He also tied for 19th to record a career-best at the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.
He feels he made solid improvements in his game during his time at Canisius.
“Overall my confidence tee to green got a lot better and I felt a lot more confident with my driver. That is something that I struggled with throughout my junior career and growing up,” Chipman said. “Now when we are playing longer golf courses, I am a lot better with the driver. I am stepping up on a lot of par fours, hitting driver and getting myself in places where I can make a lot more birdies.”
He has also worked hard on his wedge play, iron play and putting.
“The days that I putt well are the days that I score well because I am so confident tee to green.”
Chipman has just finished up an internship and is in the process of looking for a full-time job,
“I had a couple of things on my schedule this summer and I have been focusing on golf,” he said. “It has been great to get a lot of playing and practising in at Cherry Hill.”
Cherry Hill is the perfect place to hone his skills.
“Moving out there is one of the best things I have done. The group of people there is so good and the golf course is topnotch and one of the best around. It is good because I can go out there and compete with some of Ontario’s best players as well.”
Cherry Hill’s membership includes noted amateur Dave Bunker and excellent juniors, Nolan Piazza, Luke DelGobbo and Ben MacLean.
“There’s players of all ages and you can go out there and pick people’s brains and find a nice game to play.”
Chipman has been happy to offer advice to the juniors heading out to play NCAA golf.
“I try to tell them to just keep playing their game. The reason they have gotten to some of the best schools in the U.S. is because of the success they have had in the past. One of the things I struggled with was trying to hit it a little bit further or changing my game a little bit to fit the NCAA. They need to stick to what they have been doing and adjust to the student/athlete lifestyle. The easier they are able to do that, the more success they will find right away.”
Chipman plans to continue to work hard on his golf game.
“My goal now is to improve and I am looking forward to playing as an amateur for the time being and I hope to continue to be one of the top amateurs in Ontario.”
