The Life of a College Golfer

Louisiana State University celebrates their 2015 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship victory at The Concession in Bradenton, Fla.

 

The Road to Becoming a College Golfer

Most college golfers are kids who have been playing the game their entire lives. They've been playing in tournaments since they were little tykes, graduating from the local junior golf associations and on up to regional and state competitions. Some may even play a couple of events on the American Junior Golf Association, considered by many to be the junior golf equivalent to the PGA Tour. Junior golfers use their experience and scores from tournaments at the higher levels of junior golf to prove to college golf coaches that they have the potential to contribute at the college level.

While I was fortunate enough to play in one AJGA event as a junior player, my personal path to playing college golf has been less than traditional. I started playing the game as an eager and pudgy three year-old boy in south Florida but didn't play my first real round of golf until I was six and played my first tournament at seven, in which I finished tied for first place; beginner's luck if you ask me.

However, it wasn't until my family moved out to the San Diego area when I was ten that I picked up golf as my primary interest. I started to move away from football and baseball and started playing in tournaments more frequently, but never played particularly well. I was a timid kid who shied away from competition. Eventually, the self-inflicted toll that the competitive aspect of the game gave me caused me to quit the competitive aspect of golf when I was fifteen years old, playing only for my high school varsity golf team and for my personal enjoyment.

After graduating from high school, I chose to go to Florida State University, where both my mother and my father had attended and graduated in the 1980s. I was in the PGA Golf Management program, which trained students how to teach the game and how to run the golf operations at a country club. Being immersed in the game again, I found that I missed the energy of competitive golf. I made the decision to leave Florida State and go back home for a year to work on my game and find a university to play for, knowing that I had matured over the last few years and could cope better with the adversity that every golfer faces at one time or another. My coach back home suggested I take a look at Oklahoma Christian University and the rest is history.

The College Golf Experience

I'm not entirely sure about the amount of work that student-athletes in other sports have to put into their crafts, but I venture to say that practicing golf is one of the most time demanding mainstream college sports. Playing an 18 hole round of golf takes four hours or more to play, while investing an adequate amount of time to every area of the game on the driving range and on and around the practice greens is likely a two hour time investment at minimum. To add, the practice facilities for most sports are on campus while golf's practice facilities (i.e. the golf course) is normally a bit of a drive off campus. Some larger universities own and run golf courses of their own, but those are never on the university campuses themselves.

With that however, along with playing the tournament schedule, provides an opportunity to play some fantastic golf courses that aren't necessarily accessible otherwise. Just this year, Oklahoma Christian has had the opportunity to play excellent course designs like Flint Hills outside of Wichita and both courses at TPC San Antonio in San Antonio as well as at private country clubs like Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club and Gaillardia Country Club, both in Oklahoma City. We're blessed to be able to play at two private facilities in Oak Tree Country Club and River Oaks Golf Club on a regular basis.

College golfers, like all other student-athletes, must also deal with missing classes and possibly tests for the sake of traveling and playing in events. They must be very diligent to keep up with their classwork and communicate with professors as to how to make up work and tests they've missed. Some don't cope well with the academic rigor being a student-athlete provides, so many student-athletes take the same classes so that they can review missed material and study for tests together, thus keeping each other accountable for their grades and maintaining their athletic eligibility.

The Tournament Experience

The moment (hopefully) all college golfers work towards is tournament play. Most college tournament teams consist of five players, with the possibility of individual competitors in the tournament to round out the rest of the field. Coaches have their players qualify in an intra-squad tournament of sorts in order to determine who plays in the next tournament. Those qualifying tournaments can be any amount of holes at the discretion of the coach. Exemptions into the team's next tournament are earned through strong performances in preceding tournaments. The top finishers in qualifying are given spots into the next tournament. Some coaches also choose to handpick a player or two to play on the tournament team, for reasons including how the player's game fits the golf course the next tournament is played at.

Most college tournaments are played with 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday, with an 18 hole practice round Sunday afternoon. Teams pack up their SUVs or mini-buses and head out for the tournament either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, dependent on how far the university is from the hosting golf course. Teams from far enough away will fly into town on Saturday. Some players sleep on the way to the tournament while others choose to listen to music and/or do homework. Practice rounds are a very slow ordeal, with teams often playing groups of five or more and hitting numerous shots around the greens or putts on the greens. Once the practice rounds are over, the team goes out to dinner, conducts a team meeting, and then its off to bed.

The tournament itself starts early Monday morning. The practice areas are flooded with players warming up before the morning round while coaches get their players' scorecards and load up the coach's cart with snacks and drinks for their players. Some coaches are very hands-on in course management and team strategy, walking with their players during the course of play, while others are laissez-faire and trust the preparation their players put in. After the conclusion of play early Tuesday afternoon, the awards ceremony is given honoring the winning team and top individual performers, with the teams heading home immediately after.




Playing college golf has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me as it is for most college golfers and has greatly enhanced my overall college experience. It is a unique experience in the realm of college athletics in that your fellow students often don't watch tournaments due to the time consuming nature of the game, but is fun nonetheless.


For college tournament schedules as well as team rankings, visit Golfstat.

To learn more about college golf and what it takes to get there, click here.

The Most Exciting Week in Golf: Masters Week

Augusta National's famous Magnolia Lane, the driveway leading to the clubhouse. It is surrounded on both sides by sixty magnolia trees planted by the original owner of the property, Louis Berckmans, in the late 1850s.

This Monday kicks off what many in golf call "The Most Exciting Week in Golf." About a two-hour drive directly east of Atlanta and just outside of South Carolina lies arguably the most hollowed grounds in golf: Augusta National Golf Club, home of The Masters Tournament, one of golf's four major championships.

Masters week holds a very special place in my heart. My uncle, Eric Rebmann, having just graduated from the University of Tennessee, finished as the runner-up in the 1987 U.S. Amateur which gave him an invite to play in the 1988 Masters Tournament. My father took time off of school and caddied for him in both events. While Uncle Eric missed the cut by five strokes that year, the opportunity to play in such esteemed company and on such a historic golf course is the crown jewel of the Rebmann family golf story.

A Brief History

Augusta National Golf Club was founded by two men: Robert Tyre Jones Jr., a 13-time major champion and Atlanta lawyer better known as "Bobby" Jones, and Clifford Roberts, a Wall Street investment banker. The two bought the Fruitland Nursery in 1930 and called on renowned course designer Alister MacKenzie to assist Jones in the architecture of the golf course, which opened for play in 1933.

The first Masters Tournament, originally called the "Augusta National Invitational," was played in 1934, with Horton Smith being crowned champion. The Masters Tournament moniker was first used in 1939. The winner of the tournament has been awarded with the distinct green jacket since 1949.

The Masters event was not played from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II, and Jones gave the U.S. permission to raise livestock on course grounds while serving overseas in the Army Air Forces as a lieutenant colonel working in both intelligence and POW interrogation.

Traditions Abound

The greatest aspect of Augusta National Golf Club is its deep-rooted respect for its history and tradition. Much of this is owed to Bobby Jones, who had a widely-known reputation of being a champion of sportsmanship, etiquette, and the traditions of the game.

Augusta National has great admiration for the people who are a part of its history and helped to develop the lore of The Masters Tournament and the club itself.

The creek which runs in Amen Corner, the southeastern section of the course which houses the par-four 11th green, par-three 12th hole, and par-five 13th tee box, is called Rae's Creek after the name of the owner of the property in the late 1700s.

The Hogan Bridge on the 12th hole which goes over the creek is named after the 1951 and 1953 Masters champion Ben Hogan while the Nelson Bridge on the 13th hole is named after 1937 and 1942 champion Byron Nelson. A third bridge, the Sarazen bridge, crosses the pond in front of the par-five 15th green and is named after 1935 champion Gene Sarazen, who recorded a double eagle (scoring a two) in his famous "Shot Heard Around the World."

Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States, was a member of the club during his presidency and in his later life. The Eisenhower Tree, on the left side of the 17th hole and taken out in 2014 after damage from an ice storm, was named such because Eisenhower hit the tree frequently with his drive when playing the 17th hole. Ike's Pond was named after him when he proposed that the club put in a dam for a fishing pond. The pond is in the exact location that Eisenhower suggested.

Controversy

Augusta National's never-ending defense of history and tradition has generated a great deal of controversy over the years.

The quote "As long as I am alive, all of the golfers will be white and all of the caddies will be black" is often attributed to the club's co-founder Clifford Roberts. Indeed, this has been the case for most of the club's history.

The first white caddies arrived at Augusta National in 1959, although the first African-Americans were not admitted to the club until 1990, after racist comments were made by the founder of Shoal Creek Country Club in Alabama in the same year.

Women were not granted membership at the club either until 2012, although Augusta National defended this stance by saying that female guests and spouses of members were allowed to play. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and businesswoman Darla Moore were invited to join as the first female members.

Augusta National has defended its policies over the years by stating its status as a private club gave it the right to establish its rules and parameters for membership. While their right to do so is undeniable, it is wonderful to see that the club is rectifying the mistakes of its past.



To follow live scoring for this year's Masters Tournament, visit masters.com.

For a list of past Masters Tournament winners, click here.

Match Play in Professional Golf

2nd-ranked Jason Day fist-pumps on No. 18 green after defeating 3rd-ranked Rory McIlroy 1-up Easter Sunday morning at the 2016 WGC Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas

(March 28th, 2016) Having played golf for most of my life, I have played almost every kind of format that can played at one time or another. Some of those formats are quite a bit more fun than others, but the one format that always seems to draw me in every time I play it is match play.

As the PGA Tour plays its one match play event of the year, the 2016 World Golf Championships Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club, the interest from golf fans across the country seems to heighten a bit more than it would for a stroke play tournament with the exceptions of the four major championships and the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The Format of Match Play

The best way to describe the format of match play is to contrast it to that of stroke play (a more thorough explanation is given in the link). To use and expand on an old piece of golf wisdom my father gave me when I first started playing tournament golf, almost all of which is done in a stroke play format at the junior level, which was, "don't worry about the guys you're playing with. It's a battle between you and the golf course." My dad hit the nail on the head as it pertains to stroke play, but in a nutshell, match play is "a battle between you and the other guy."

In other words, the only person you're required to beat when playing match play is the guy you're up against. It doesn't matter whether you shoot two strokes over par on a given hole or two strokes under par as long as you beat the guy you're up against on that particular hole.

This format tends to produce a great deal of one-on-one matchups between heavyweights of the game, a perfect example of this being the matchup between 2nd-ranked Jason Day of Australia and 3rd-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. First-class matchups like the aforementioned generate a lot of interest from golf fans and thus, high television ratings.

The History of Match Play at the Professional Level

Match play was once a highly popular format that was played at both the professional and amateur levels. In fact, it is still quite prevalent in the amateur game, with the U.S. and British Amateurs, the two most prestigious tournaments in amateur golf, both using a match play format, among a host of other high-profile amateur events.

At the professional level however, its popularity has waned. Many of the early tournaments in the infancy of the PGA Tour were held in the match play format. The fourth major of the calendar year, the PGA Championship, played by professionals only unlike the other three majors in which amateurs may qualify or be invited to play, was held in the match play format from its inception in 1916 to 1957, after which the format switched to the traditional stroke play.

Today, the only PGA Tour event which carries on the rich legacy of match play is the World Golf Championships Dell Match Play being played this week. That's one out of forty-seven events on the PGA Tour this year.

The two team competitions, the Ryder Cup (United States vs. Europe every even-numbered year) and the Presidents Cup (United States vs. International (non-Europe) every odd-numbered year) both have match play segments on the final day of play to determine the winners of the cup. Both tournaments, the Ryder Cup moreso than the Presidents Cup, are perennial favorites of golf enthusiasts across the world. But neither are considered official PGA Tour events and are only played by the top twelve players of each respective group.

How Match Play Could Help Golf

I am of the opinion that match play could help the state of the game of golf significantly. And there are a couple of things that could be done.

My first proposal is to revert the PGA Championship back to a match play format. A study done by a writer at Forbes shows that the PGA Championship is considered the least prestigious major of the four major championships and garners the lowest TV ratings of the three majors that are played on this side of the pond. Reverting the tournament back to a match play format would generate greater public intrigue and set the tournament apart from the other three majors.

My second proposal is to promote match play at local courses. The nature of match play doesn't require players to hole out to complete the hole as well as most matches taking less than 18 holes to play. Such would speed up the pace of play, especially at public and municipal golf courses, which would retain a greater number of casual golfers, who often cite the duration of time it takes to play as reason for quitting the game. The PGA Championship becoming a match play event would give the format credibility to the average golfer and make them more willing, if not eager to try the format for themselves.


Match play is a fantastic format that gives a different, more personal twist to the game of golf while still adhering to the traditions that make golf so great. A renaissance in the popularity of the format could in my opinion provide a spark to a game that's growth has been stagnant over the last few years.

The Miami Dolphins Offseason Thus Far

Fortunately for Dolphins fans everywhere, we no longer have to worry about this happening again.

(March 21st, 2016) Coming off a disappointing season after being expected to contend for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, if not for the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins are making a great deal of changes to their roster in an effort to become more competitive within their division and end their postseason woes, having been to the playoffs only three times in the millennium and not once since 2008.

A Change in Leadership 

The Dolphins finished the 2015 season 6-10, and in the process of the season fired head coach Joe Philbin and replaced him with tight ends coach Dan Campbell. While Campbell created an atmosphere of energy which was evident on the field especially in his first two games at the helm, Campbell finished 5-7 as opposed to Philbin's 1-3 record in the first four games of the season and the Dolphins front office chose not to retain him, instead hiring former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase as their new head honcho.

I love the move to hire Gase because he has worked with good NFL quarterbacks in the past, having coached Jay Cutler last year and having worked with all-time great Peyton Manning in his time as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. I believe Gase will bring his wealth of knowledge and experience with Manning and Cutler and use it to greatly improve the play of Ryan Tannehill. who will be in his fifth year as the Dolphins' quarterback having signed a $96 million contract extension in May of last year.

Owner Stephen Ross and VP of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum also hired Chris Grier as the organization's new general manager, another move I love because of Grier's past experience as the Dolphins' Director of College Scouting, which points to the organization improving primarily through the draft and secondarily through free agency.

Before this year's coming NFL Draft in late April however, Tannenbaum and Grier have made some heads turn with their offseason additions.

Trade and Free Agency Extravaganza

Let's start with what has been lost, since then it is easier to understand why certain acquisitions were made.

Departing this year is last year's leading rusher Lamar Miller to the Houston Texans, second-leading receiver Rishard Matthews, who left Miami for the Tennessee Titans, cornerback Brent Grimes (now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer), wide receiver Greg Jennings (still a free agent), offensive lineman Jacob Fox (free agent), defensive end Quinton Coples (Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Brice McCain (Tennessee Titans). The team leader in sacks last season, Olivier Vernon, is now a New York Giant and was given the transition tag March 1st by the Dolphins only to have it taken away March 9th upon the signing of what in my opinion is the team's most pivotal acquisition of the offseason.

This signing of course is the signing of defensive end Mario Williams to a two-year deal. Williams will provide a huge help to the line alongside Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake and adds to an already prolific pass-rushing group. It also reunites him with the 4-3 defense in which Williams has thrived throughout his career.

The Dolphins also added linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Byron Maxwell as well as the 13th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the 8th overall pick in the same draft. Maxwell, a former member of the infamous "Legion of Boom" defensive backfield of the Seattle Seahawks, will start at cornerback while Alonso bolsters an arguably weak linebacker corps.

Former Pro-Bowl offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod was signed to shut what was a revolving door at right offensive tackle last season. If Bushrod can remain healthy, he could be one of the most underrated acquisitions of this entire offseason.

Also signed were defensive end Andre Branch from the Jacksonville Jaguars, who will spell both Suh and Wake off the edge, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa (Oakland Raiders), offensive lineman Sam Young (Jacksonville Jaguars), safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (Detroit Lions), wide receiver Griff Whalen (Indianapolis Colts) and defensive end Cleyon Liang (Toronto Argonauts of the CFL), all of whom will provide quality depth at their respective positions.

Looking Forward to the Draft

In the wake of these offseason additions, the Dolphins still have holes to fill, and this draft should serve to plug most of those holes. Originally slotted to draft 8th overall, the franchise now holds the 13th overall pick after the trade with the Eagles for Maxwell and Alonso.

The primary needs the organization needs to meet are those at cornerback, both the tackle and guard positions along the offensive line, running back and defensive end.

I believe the biggest need out of these three is that of the cornerback position. While my favorite prospect in the entire draft is Jalen Ramsey, the cornerback/safety/nickelback extraordinaire out of Florida State, it is highly unlikely he falls out of the top 5. In fact, it is rumored that Ramsey is the current favorite to be the 1st overall pick in the draft. Rather, a more likely target at that position would be Vernon Hargreaves III out of Florida, Mackensie Alexander out of Clemson, or Eli Apple of Ohio State.

Of course, the Dolphins could also look to shore up the offensive line first, picking up Jack Conklin of Michigan State or Taylor Decker of Ohio State and drafting a corner like Baylor's Xavien Howard in the second round.

Whatever decisions Mike Tannenbaum and Chris Grier decide to make on Draft Day 2016 and beyond, I trust their judgment to do whatever is necessary to bring this team back to the glory days of yesteryear. and get us hoisting the Lombardi Trophy sometime very soon. Having been a Dolphins fan myself since birth and a former resident of South Florida, it would be a fantastic boost to the fanbase and the area to have a perennial winner again in the Miami Dolphins.


You can like the Miami Dolphins on Facebook or follow them on Twitter for updates and more information on the storied franchise.

International Golfers Call Oklahoma Christian Home

The brand-new Junior Lorentz Golf Center at Oklahoma Christian University, the only collegiate indoor practice facility of its kind in the state of Oklahoma.

New Beginnings

(March 7th 2016) On a cold, rainy February afternoon in Edmond, about six months after beginning their new lives in the United States, three young college golfers convene to the newly-christened Junior Lorentz Golf Center on the southeast edge of Oklahoma Christian University’s campus to refine their craft, sheltered from the nasty weather which surrounds them outside the indoor practice facility’s walls. The only sounds to be heard are the click of the golf ball flying off the clubface and the Spanish-spoken banter that ensues.

These three young men are Manuel Hernandez, Juan Carlos Pallach, and Alejandro Valenzuela, each of them freshmen and each in their first year as members of Oklahoma Christian’s storied men’s golf program, winners of NAIA National Championships in 2009 and 2011 and currently in their first year of full membership at the NCAA Division II level.

The three came to the United States in the late part of August, each arriving from their homes abroad. Pallach is from the booming metropolis of Mexico City, while Valenzuela calls the town of Cochabamba in the South American country of Bolivia home. Hernandez, called “Manny” by his teammates, hails from Monforte de Lemos, in the northwestern part of Spain situated right above Portugal.

Competitive Drive

They were eager to make a lasting impression on their head coach, David Lynn, and set themselves apart from the four other incoming members of their recruiting class as well as solidify spots in the starting rotation.

Despite the competition amongst them, their new teammates were quick to lend a helping hand with acclimating them to life in the United States.

“My teammates were so good about helping me get used to life here in America and drove me around to take care of things I needed,” Hernandez said.
Making good on Lynn’s investment, all three have enjoyed success at various times in the year.

Hernandez started the year slowly in the fall, but finished tied for fifth place at Oklahoma Christian’s first spring event, the San Antonio Shoot-Out, played February 15^th and 16^th on both courses at TPC San Antonio.

Valenzuela was the only team member, new or returning, to play in all five of the team’s tournaments in the fall and ended the fall season with a scoring average of 75.71 shots per round, good for third-best on the team.

Pallach, who qualified to play in the 2014 Mexican Open and fired a 59 at his home course in Mexico City just before the new year, has played in three tournaments thus far and registered a top-20 finish at the San Antonio Shoot-Out.

Smart On and Off the Course

Golf, however, is not the only thing that brings this group to Oklahoma Christian. All three are academically driven and very good in the classroom. Valenzuela, who scored a 780 on the Mathematics section of the SAT, is majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Pallach in Medical Laboratory Science, and Hernandez in International Business.

Both Valenzuela and Pallach were named on the President’s List of the Heartland Conference’s academic honor roll. Members of the President’s List earned a 3.5 grade point average or higher in the fall semester.

Pallach in particular is very thankful for his opportunity to play college golf while also working towards his degree, in spite of the hardship he, as well as his two other international teammates, face.

"Not being with my family back home has been the hardest part of coming here,” Pallach said. “But having the opportunity to play golf in college and also get my degree was something I couldn’t pass up because that kind of opportunity is not very common at all in Mexico.”

Brotherhood

The three have all assisted each other in getting better and getting used to their new lives in the United States. All three of them are roommates together on campus and provide each other a sense of familiarity and a taste of what they are missing back home.

“When I came here, it was so hard; I had to really think about what I was going to say (in English) before I said it. The speech of the people speaking English has become slower because I have grown used to it,” Hernandez said. “Having Juan Carlos and Alejandro here with me has really helped ease that transition from home to America. Being able to room with and speak Spanish with them makes life easier.”

Valenzuela couldn’t agree more.

“My American teammates helped me very much to get comfortable and adjust to life when I was first here,” said Valenzuela. “But having Juan Carlos and Manny here just makes me feel a little bit like I am still at home.”



As the men’s golf program strives to improve on their 70^th place Division II ranking on golfstat.com after the fall portion of the season and make a move towards the postseason, look for Hernandez, Pallach, and Valenzuela to be chief contributors to the program’s successes both this season and in the years to follow.

You can check on Oklahoma Christian's progress through the rest of the 2015-2016 golf season here.