Men’s golf takes swing at competition

After delivering their strongest performance yet this season at the St. Martin's Invitational, the men's golf team is looking forward to the rest of the season. However, the five players who participated, Chris Holway, Rob Seibly, Ian Dahl, Preston Matchett and Kris Jackson, say the season will only get more difficult.

Four of the five players from the St. Martin's tournament will test their technical and interpersonal skills at the Cal Poly Invitational next week. For Chris Holway, Rob Seibly, Ian Dahl and Preston Matchett the season begins in earnest with the Cal Poly tournament where they will face their first significant D-1 challenge.

"The Cal Poly tournament will give us a good barometer of where we're really at," said head coach Don Rasmussen. "They played so well as a team [at St. Martin's and] now we've just got to be able to show that we can compete on that same level against the Division One competition."

However, playing as a team is a new dynamic for the Seattle U golfers.

Younger golfers often play individually, the group explained, and forgo the team experience that other athletes have. As college golfers, however, they have the opportunity to be part of a team for the first time.

"Its unique playing as a team but still playing by yourself," said Jackson.

While golf will always be something of an individual sport—as Matchett put it, "If you screw up you can't blame it on anyone else"—they are still a team.

"We hang out a lot and do things together so we have that kind of brotherhood like other teams," said Seibly.

Head coach Don Rasmussen thinks team mentality is crucial to success, even in this individualized sport.

"People skills, personal relationships, you know all those things, at least here in our program they are sometimes more important than how well you play," he said.

However the season turns out for these athletes, one things is certain: their games won't resemble any other athletic events; they will be longer—the team will spend up to 10 hours playing a 32-hole course—and they will be quieter.

In some essential ways, though, these guys are not unlike any other team. All the guys say they count of friends and family to come out and support them.

"The key is being able to trust your teammate," said Rasmussen.

And that seems to be the glue that holds this foursome together.

"[It will be] really hard to break into that nuclei of guys that are traveling," Rasmussen said. "I think this unit is probably as close as I've seen so far."

Emma may be reached at mcaleavy@seattleu.edu