GETTING IN THE SWING: Walter Gumbinger follows through on a swing in action this spring during his freshman season for the Dickinson College men’s golf team. Former Princeton High standout Gumbinger emerged as a star this spring for the Red Devils, earning several Top 25 finishes along the way. (Photo by Cain McMillan Photography, provided courtesy of Dickinson Athletics)
By Bill Alden
Walter Gumbinger decided to relax a little last August before going through Dickinson College men’s golf team and he ended up paying for it.
“I made a mistake of taking a few weeks off before I went to school because I wanted to feel refreshed mentally,” said former Princeton High golf star Gumbinger, who placed first in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) boys’ golf tournament in 2025 as a senior.
“I didn’t touch a club for a week or two. So when I got there, I felt really bad in my golf swing and not confident. That mental and physical piece went away.”
Struggling to find his form, Gumbinger didn’t see much match action in the team’s fall season.
“I ended up missing the A team in the first four-round qualifier that we had by one shot — that really stung,” said Gumbinger, noting that meant he didn’t make the team’s top five and get to travel to matches for the Red Devils. “I didn’t play much in the fall. I played in a
B team event.”
Putting his nose to the grindstone over the winter, Gumbinger got back in synch when the spring season rolled around.
“The winter break was good,” said Gumbinger. “I went the other direction with my swing. I was very flat then I became very steep to try to get away from it. I worked with Jason (Springdale Golf Club Director of Instruction Jason Barry) a lot over the winter. During February when we had nothing and we weren’t golfing outside, I was practicing every day. We have an indoor simulator.”
That work paid dividends as Gumbinger made the A team for the spring season and emerged as a solid performer, earning several Top 25 finishes along the way.
After playing well in an initial team qualifier in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Gumbinger clinched his spot on the A team by tying for 21st at the Dickinson Spring Invitational from March 22-23 with a nine-over 152.
“Another freshman, my buddy Landon [Mauser], and I tied at the four and five spot,” said Gumbinger. “I was like you can take the four spot, I didn’t care as long as I am playing.”
Making the A team was a confidence builder for Gumbinger.
“For me, it is like as soon as I do something and once I know I can do it, it opens the floodgate in my mind,” said Gumbinger. “As soon as I know I can qualify for an event, I typically do.”
In the last weekend of March, Gumbinger came up big to help Dickinson place first in the Swarthmore Invitational at the White Manor Country Club in Malvern, Pa. He fired a +9 222 in the three-round event to finish ninth individually as Dickinson bested runner-up Franklin & Marshall by
12 strokes.
“That was my first travel, stay in a hotel, away event,” said Gumbinger. “I shot 77 the first day and then we had 36 holes the next day. I shot a 75 that first round and in the second round, I was 2-under through 17 and we had already won the tournament. I shot a 1-under 70. It was nice, I finished top-10 so that was pretty cool.”
At the Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate held at the Paradise Point Golf Course in mid-April, Gumbinger tied for 23rd with a four-over 220 to help the Red Devils take third in the team standings.
“I started out cold, I’m not great on my first eight-nine holes no matter what tournament it was,” said Gumbinger. “I start behind the eight-ball and then I pick it up. It was like every round I progressively got better. The first round I shot 75 and then the next round I was 2-under through 11 and proceeded to shoot 73. I ended with a 72.”
On April 20 in the Gettysburg Invitational at the Ridge in Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J., Gumbinger excelled on a windy and cold day to card a nine-over 153 to tie for third as Dickinson finished first in the team standings.
“I like those conditions because there are no expectations, you can shoot a high number and still be in the mix,” said Gumbinger. “We did 36 holes on a Monday and I shot 78. Coming into the last round, I started good. I was like two-under through eight holes which was really good. There was a tough stretch of holes on that course that kind of ate me alive and ended up at 75. I eagled my third to last hole. I was in the mix, I was in solo second and then on my last hole I hit it into a fairway bunker and slipped as I hit my shot and made double. I finished T-3 which was still pretty good. That was my best individual finish of the year.”
The spring ended on a bit of a down note for Gumbinger and the Red Devils as they placed second in the Centennial Conference Tournament,
10 strokes behind champion F&M. Gumbinger, for
his part, tied for 15th
individually with a +7 223.
“Going into that event we had won three of our four events as a team, we hadn’t lost to any team in our conference up to that point in all of these tournaments so we were feeling really good,” said Gumbinger.
“That tournament was a heartbreaker for us because we were playing really well. We finished second which was a good season. We thought we could get a bid into the NCAA championship because we had such a good spring. We ended up not getting one so that was a little annoying.”
Reflecting on his freshman campaign, Gumbinger was proud of the way he persevered as adjusted to the rigors of college golf.
“I wasn’t swinging it the best the entire spring so I was very happy that I was able to grind out a lot of good rounds,” said Gumbinger. “I think that my mental strength got a lot better throughout the season. It is very tiring and it is a lot, it is a month and half of not being on campus much and being away golfing and battling. There is only going to be more of that coming up. I was with happy how I didn’t get burned out.”
Gumbinger is not taking it easy this summer as he has been working with Barry and testing himself by playing in such events as the MGA Ike, NJ Amateur, and NJ Open, among others.
Showing his progress, Gumbinger tied for first at a US Amateur local qualifier at at Neshanic Valley in mid-June as he fired a three-under 69.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Gumbinger, who ended up shooting a six-over 77 in the final qualifier on July 20 at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pa., to miss the cut by eight strokes. “I had no expectations going into that one. It is the US Am, there is nothing I could be prepared for because I have never done one before with high stakes like that.”
Looking ahead to his sophomore season, Gumbinger is preparing to do some big things.
“I finished as the No. 2 for scoring average on the team; we all start on the same slate where there is no bias towards it,” said Gumbinger. “I am starting as the No. 1 in our home tournament but that doesn’t really mean anything until we get past that event. I am just looking to solidify myself on the A team and play in as many competitions as I can.”