News

EVCC is proud of the many student golfers we have representing local schools. The schools our members and employees have played on include Forest Hills Eastern, Forest Hills Northern, NorthPointe Christian, Grand Rapids Christian and Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Take a moment to read a bit more about Egypt Valley’s Boys Team golfers and their respective successes at each of their schools this past season.

Erik Fahlen, Boys Golf Team Coach for NorthPointe Christian High School, shared the team’s highlights from the most recent season, including the team winning the OK Silver Conference and being All-State Academic. Egypt Valley members on the team included: Griffen VanErmen, Davis Formsma, Declan Fink and Sasha Perry.

“NorthPointe would like to thank the membership for allowing our team to practice here,” Fahlen said.

Davis Formsma, who medaled first (individually and with his team) at the OK Silver Conference Championship and had the lowest overall average for the OK Silver, got interested in playing golf when he was younger because of family.

“When I was young, I started playing golf with my dad, and as I got older, I really started to love the game,” said Formsma, who hopes to play the sport in college.

Varsity teammate Griffen VanErmen was also introduced to the sport thanks to his father.

“I grew up playing golf from a very early age with him and my two older brothers,” VanErmen said.

His personal achievements this season included receiving the First Team All-Conference OK Silver Award, All-State Academic Team, and Individual Honorable Mention All-State Academic.

“I have played three years of varsity golf with my freshman year of varsity golf sidelined due to the pandemic,” VanErmen explained. “I am looking forward to further competition this summer with a variety of golf tournaments. I will be attending and playing golf at Taylor University in the fall. I hope to add to my successes with the TU team.”

For Forest Hills Eastern student Jack Cavanaugh, watching his father golf made him want to try his hand at the sport.

“My accomplishments this season are All-Conference (4th) and our team took 4th in D2 States,” Cavanaugh said. “My aspirations in golf are to play college golf and to be better than my dad.”

Varsity teammate Hunter Morris, a freshman, became most interested in the game because of his brother, Marc Gerst, who is 10 years older than Morris.

“He had played golf his whole life, which ultimately got me interested at a younger age,” Morris said, noting some of his accomplishments this season, including Forest Hills Eastern winning regionals for the first time since 2016 along with finishing 4th as a team in the state finals. “I posted my lowest 36-hole total ever (79-74) to finish t-14 in states.”

In the future, Morris would love to play Division 1 golf and see what comes from there.

“For next high school season, I, as well as my teammates, would love nothing more than to bring home a state championship trophy for Forest Hills Eastern,” Morris said.

Mathieu Duflo, a freshman student and varsity golf team member at Forest Hills Northern, started playing golf when he was younger and really picked up the practice upon his family joining EVCC.

“When I first started playing, I would play nine holes maybe two times a week with my dad or mom. I fell in love with the game once I started to get a little better and I met friends at Egypt Valley. Without those friends, I probably would not be playing golf at the level I am right now,” said Duflo, noting that he’s proud of the friendships he made this season. “I don’t have a specific level I would like to reach, but I would love to play D1 college golf. I just want to practice and work hard to reach my potential.”

Like some others at EVCC, Tommy Jandernoa developed his love for golf while playing with his father growing up.

“I was lucky enough to play for our varsity golf team as a Freshmen at Grand Rapids Catholic Central,” said Jandernoa, who hopes to eventually play college golf. “Our team won our conference, regionals and state finals. I also placed in the top ten at the Katke Classic.”

Catholic Central teammate Charlie Maczka was introduced to golf by his parents at age five when they started playing together as a family. His love for the sport grew upon joining Egypt Valley.

“I learned the basics through the Junior Golf Program and even had some early success as a Junior PGA State Champion in 2019 as part of the All-Star team,” Maczka said. “Watching one of my favorite players, Jordan Speith become the world no.1 player and win majors during that time also inspired me to focus on becoming a good golfer.”

In addition to the Catholic Central High School Varsity Golf team as a whole winning the 2023 D3 High School State Championship, the 2023 D3 Regional State Championship, and the 2023 OK Gold Conference Championship, Maczka was also a Qualifier for the Michigan Junior Amateur (15 and under).

“I would like to keep improving as a player and win four high school state championships with my team at Catholic Central,” Maczka said. “My ultimate goal is to play golf at the college level.”

Congratulations to all our golfers on a great season!