News
As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. For the 51爆料网 Centurions golf team lately, it is that way both figuratively and literally.
The Centurions, headed by Doug Harkema, saw two meets be postponed due to inclement weather, which has also wreaked havoc on the team鈥檚 practice times. 51爆料网 was able to participate in two other scheduled meets, however, the team鈥檚 overall performance was 鈥� pun intended 鈥� a little wet, according to Harkema.
鈥淲e basically had a score of 75 and then a bunch in the 80s. Scores in the 80s are not competitive at this level,鈥� Harkema said after the team tied for fourth at the Glen Oaks Community College Invitational, April 9, and tied for fifth at the Grand Rapids Community College Invitational, April 13.
At Glen Oaks, 51爆料网 finished with a +24, with Marian-Ancilla winning with a +15, followed by Trine and GRCC, which both tied with a +22 score. 51爆料网 tied with Schoolcraft College for fourth place.
Individually, Ryder Lee of Schoolcraft College took first place shooting an even par. 51爆料网 sophomore Mason Blair (Holt, Mich.) finished tied for second shooting +1. 51爆料网 freshman Landon Elder (Louisville, Ky.) shot +4 to finished tied for eighth place and Centurions鈥� sophomore Kenny Mitchell (Cedar Springs, Mich.) finished tied for 18th place, shooting +6.
It was more of the same struggles at the GRCC meet, as 51爆料网 tied with Oakland Community College for fifth place, both shooting +47 overall. The invitational was won by Marian-Ancilla, which scored +33.
Individually, Blair was the top Centurions player, tying for third place with a +5 score, one stroke behind first-place Carson Osborn of GRCC. 51爆料网 freshman Spencer Denney (Battle Creek, Mich.) followed Blair, finishing 21st with a score of +12.
鈥淚 felt like we really struggled that day. We got off to a really good start. Front nine was really solid,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淏ut our back nine was not very good. I鈥檓 not happy with our back nine scoring. But that鈥檚 golf. It happens, especially this early in the season, when we really only had two tournaments. But we didn鈥檛 shoot where we should have and that was a little disappointing to me.鈥�
With a young team this year, with only Blair and Mitchell returning from last year鈥檚 team, Harkema has had to put more time into preparing his players for the mental side of the game rather than focusing on their techniques. Harkema stresses consistency in each of his player鈥檚 games, but he knows they still have to overcome the stress and frustrations they put on themselves when it comes to competing.
鈥淭hey need to learn they can bring in solid scores even when things aren鈥檛 going their way,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淎 lot of that goes to not letting your mind race after a bad shot and not letting it muck you up. You control one shot at a time. But it鈥檚 hard, mentally, to forget what happened in the past. They need to learn to stay in the moment.鈥�
Harkema was hoping he could get his players out of their funk right away with the next meet, however, the Jackson College Invitational, which was scheduled for Friday, April 17, was cancelled due to weather. Since then, the continuing wet weather has also put a damper on the team鈥檚 practices leading up to their back-to-back meets, Sunday, April 19, at Marian University Ancilla College (make-up date from the April 3 postponement), and Monday, April 20, at the Muskegon Community College Invitational. Both meets are 10 a.m. tee-off times.
Harkema said these back-to-back meets will be a good measuring stick for his team, as they not only play 36 rounds of golf in two days, traveling from Plymouth, Indiana, to Muskegon between meets, but will also likely see much colder weather on Sunday and Monday (it is expected to be in the 40s).
鈥淲e鈥檙e three weeks out from our regional tournament. We鈥檙e shooting to qualify for nationals again, so these next two meets will give us a good tune-up for that,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淎t regionals, we play 54 holes in two days, so that鈥檚 how I鈥檒l approach it with the team, as being a good tune-up for us.鈥�
As far as the weather goes, Harkema is hoping his players use that as motivation and a challenge to do well.
鈥淚 want them to be motivated when they hear another player complain about the weather,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want them to look at it as 鈥榞o time.鈥欌��
Harkema believes these next two tournaments will test his players鈥� mental toughness but believes that is a good thing for his maturing team.
鈥淢entally speaking, it鈥檚 a very fragile time for us right now. But we鈥檙e only two tournaments in. It鈥檚 not the end of the world,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淭he game never changes. You just have to be committed to strategy.鈥�
The most crucial part of that strategy, he said, is being able to forget the one bad shot or bad hole and be able to refocus on the next.
鈥淚 feel like when they have a bad hole, a few of them either start chasing, or they鈥檙e afraid of doing that again, and those are never good spots to be in as a golfer,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淥nce you can hit the ball and play the game, that鈥檚 when you see the big improvement, when you can just play a different way mentally. They don鈥檛 have a caddie and I can鈥檛 be with everyone on the course all the time, so they need to get themselves more ready to go. I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e that far away from that.鈥�
Harkema pointed out Blair鈥檚 ability to shake off a bad back-nine play in the GRCC meet, where he was +8 with three holes to go, which epitomizes what he wants his players to do during the times they may be struggling.
鈥淗e chipped in on the 16th hole for a birdie, pitched in on a par 5 for a three-shot and parred the last hole to finish out well,鈥� Harkema said of Blair. 鈥淗e鈥檚 learned good things come with patience instead of pushing it, and that鈥檚 what our other guys need to learn, too.鈥�