Walter Jay Gumbinger '25 Recruiting Profile

I have always loved competing and have played many organized sports. Soccer, basketball, baseball, flag football and tennis to name a few. And no matter what sport season it was, in the background, was golf. I always played golf with my family. It became clear that of all the sports, golf was the most rewarding both as an individual and a team player. The mental and physical challenges offered by golf feed my competitive drive and playing in college feels like a natural progression.

As far as my academics are concerned, the house rule was ‘grades before sports.’ I grew up in the small town of Cranbury, New Jersey where the K through 8 Cranbury School is the pride of the town. My experience at Cranbury School can best be summed up by an award I was honored to receive at my 8^th grade graduation. The Kenneth E. Logan Chief of Police Memorial Award is named after the former Police Chief and is presented by The Cranbury Police Benevolent Association with the recommendation of the teaching staff. It recognizes an eighth-grade student who, “demonstrates academic merit, exhibits leadership, exemplifies good citizenship, has a sense of humor, possesses upstanding character and displays a caring attitude.”

After 8^th grade, Cranbury students move on to neighboring Princeton, New Jersey and attend Princeton High School. PHS is well known for the high quality of its academics and athletics. Now a Junior, I have been able to maintain a strong GPA and have been on the varsity golf team since my freshman year. My sophomore year my teammates and I won our Conference, County Tournament and our State Sectionals. Success with the school team led to me signing up for the New Jersey Junior PGA and playing as many tournaments as I could this past summer. I feel this is only the beginning of my golf journey.