RUMFORD, R.I. – In another era, what might have been used at Wannamoisett’s first tee Monday was Tennessee-based “Welcome Wagon.”

But even that staple of Americana has taken on a different look in the 21st century, which is quite all right with Scott Limbaugh. He’s blessed to have another Tennessee-based enterprise at his disposal; it’s called the Vanderbilt golf culture and it was personified by William Moll during the first day of practice rounds for Northeast Amateur participants.

Minutes after registering for what is arguably one of the country’s best summer amateur golf tournaments, Moll made his way to the first tee and greeted three young men who are like brothers to him.

True, he barely knows the trio of golfers he shook hands with – Jackson Van Paris, Gordon Sargent, and John Broderick – but Moll embraces the mantra that they are all family. “It’s the culture Coach Limbaugh has built; that it’s a brotherhood,” said Moll, who is from Houston and recently completed his sophomore year.

“At Vandy, everyone plays for their teammates, really.”

Moll, who would be playing his practice round later, conceded that he had already met Van Paris and Sargent, so he was anxious to finally get face-to-face with Broderick. It was a short chat, but warm-hearted. Smiles, handshakes, and pleasantries were exchanged – until, that is, it was time for Broderick to play away, at which time silence blanketed the first tee and the 17-year-old lefthander from Wellesley launched a piercing drive that settled into the fairway, miles down there and right where Van Paris and Sargent had hit theirs.

Moll nodded his approval, then smiled.

Broderick acknowledged the respect from an older peer, then settled under the straps and joined Van Paris and Sargent for the walk down the first fairway. If Broderick, who has one year left at Belmont Hill, but has verbally committed to Vanderbilt for the fall of 2022, looked comfortable, it’s because he is.

“I loved the location,” he said of his visit to Nashville, Tenn., to see the Vanderbilt campus, “and I got great vibes from the coaches and the team setting. I just know the setting will offer a chance to continue to get better.”

To study John Broderick is to appreciate how quickly he has taken his golf to the next level and how there appears to be no limit to his potential.

In an era where young golfers are doing extraordinary things at all levels, the soft-spoken and well-mannered Broderick is keeping pace. If it wasn’t enough what he did last summer as a 16-year-old – after winning the New England Junior Amateur, he went out and won a bigger prize, the New England Amateur against players more than twice his age – then perhaps what happened in the spring should convince you of his marvelous skill set.

Playing alongside another 17-year-old, Weston Jones of Sudbury (he’ll enter Rutgers in the fall), Broderick helped rewrite the Mass Golf record books – the teens were the youngest team to win the Massachusetts Four-ball Championship.

Great talent. No fear. They expect to contend.

All of that is true when you try to rationalize how so many young golfers have become so good so fast, but to hear Broderick express his admiration for what he saw in Vanderbilt is encouraging. The young man surely “gets it,” and when it was mentioned how he could continue a nice little pipeline of golfers to Vanderbilt, he smiled.

Years ago, Ken Lewis took his wonderful golf game from Cape Cod to Vanderbilt. Few years later, it was Jon Curran who went from Hopkinton to the Vandy campus. Broderick smiled at the mention of Curran’s name, familiar with a route that led him onto the PGA Tour after a stellar junior career.

Van Paris, who will join Sargent as incoming freshmen at Vanderbilt this year, said it was a bonus to be among so many “brothers” at this week’s 59th annual Northeast Amateur. In addition to the three future Commodores – Van Paris, Sargent, Broderick – there are three who played for Limbaugh’s team in 2020-21: Moll, who was picked to play on the Palmer Cup; Harrison Ott, a senior; and Matthew Riedel, a sophomore.

Limbaugh is adamant that from September to May “Vanderbilt is team golf” and Moll and his teammates preach that. But this trip to cozy Wannamoisett and the upcoming summer schedule for the premier amateurs, “this is their time to see where the growth of their game is,” said Limbaugh.

Thus far, Broderick has acquitted himself nicely, the win in State Four-ball Championship followed by a T-10 in the Hornblower (69-70) and a T-33 in the Massachusetts Open (74-71-72).

You don’t have to look too long at those numbers to sense that the young man who honed his game at the Dedham Country & Polo Club is certainly seeing the growth in his game.

The Vanderbilt golf culture appears to have enriched itself even further.