Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Why hasn't BC ever produced a great golfer?
The Masters is on my mind this week and a running story will be the play of amateur champion Peter Uihlein. Uihlein was born in Massachusetts and lived in the area until he moved to Florida at the age of 13 to train at IMG. There have been other New England golfers who have had varied levels of success, but no golfer with BC ties has ever made an impact on the PGA Tour. Obviously weather has a huge role in this, but now that we play in the ACC, that should be somewhat mitigated. We play top schools and top courses. There are enough facilities in the area for BC golfers to practice year round. Plus the demographics surrounding golf overlay well with the typical BC student. We've improved recruiting but still aren't there yet. I know college golf talent tends to cluster around certain programs. I also know that there are plenty of more obvious golf schools that have never generated PGA talent. But these things are cyclical. With the right recruiting and continued focus on selling other aspects of BC while ignoring the weather, maybe one day we will see a PGA Tour winner with an eagle head cover.
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The best golfers go to the warm weather and those universities which have their own courses, period. Of those that stay north they go to college's that still have their own golf courses. Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, etc. We have neither. I knew alot of people that played golf at BC in the 90's. The program basically got nothing but free buckets of balls at McGolf in Dedham. They will get better recruits in the ACC, but this is like asking why Florida State does not produce NHL players. Could it happen that we produce a pro golfer, sure, but the odds are tiny. I know alot about college golf and I can tell you we don't have anything to offer recruits who want to make it to the tour. This is kind of a silly post in general.
does anyone have gene d's email address? this would be good to email to him.
thanks in advance.
I lived with a golfer freshman year...by the end of his four years here he is totally demoralized...In the winter they have to practice in the bubble...enough said with that. They have little place to practice their short game in the winter, and they ALWAYS finish last in the ACC, he posted the lowest score in BC history his first couple years, but slowly realized it made no difference playing against other ACC schools.
It's all about the weather!! Another example: Billy Andrade. Rhode Island native. College: Wake Forest. Now lives in Atlanta. His son also a good golfer goes to school HS in Atlanta. Think he's going to a northern school for golf?!?!
Don't think so.
How about some press on our BC alum soccer pros?!?!
How's the weather near Ohio State?
I'd rather worry about increasing our football and basketball profile than our collegiate golfing one.
We can sure tell that it's the off-season for just about everything we care about if we're talking golf...
It's difficult but not impossible for a northern school to produce a good golfer. Steve Stricker is from Wisconsin and attended Illinois. Jerry Kelly is also from Wisconsin and attended Hartford. Unfortunately, these cases are usually the exception. Golf requires consistent practice under course conditions. Hitting balls in an indoor facility is not good enough to compete with people who are able to hit the course year-round.
Northwestern. Luke Donald. Gleacher Center. No course.
BC would need an indoor facility and a local country club to be their "home course" for practicing in the fall and late spring.
But realistically, we use all our mens scholarships on hockey that other schools can use for golf etc.
I'd be very surprised if there is more than a dozen PGA Tour professionals under the age of 30 who did not spend the bulk of their teenage years in areas where they can play and practice on world class courses with world-class instructors year-round. As the son of the CEO of Titleist/Footjoy, Uihlein grew up on the best golf courses and in the company of the best players and instructors in the world. His path is the now the norm for a professional playing career, I suspect. No one who aspires to be a successful PGA player would choose to spend four years in a climate so unconducive to golf, and who could blame them?
Eagles Football Team a BCS Title Contender?
Luke Kuechly for Heisman?
I'm just asking questions, man.
Don't tase me EaglesBro
I played for four years at BC and can tell you that weather and all that is super important but I think the numero uno reason is that golf at BC is not a scholarship sport. There are private grants that can help a few of those on the team but these pail in comparison to the size of scholarships at big time programs. Also, there are a lot of courses in the area, but none of them want the BC golf team practicing at their course and ripping up their facilities.
Men's lax scholarships before GOLF!
From the Big East ESPN Blog:
"Villanova is scheduled to vote on whether to make the move to FBS football and join the Big East on Tuesday when its trustees meet. The blog VUHoops.com, which has covered this story well, reports that Villanova has the votes to approve the jump up from FCS and that the Wildcats are likely to say yes. I've spoken to some Big East administrators lately, and the general feeling is that Villanova will make the move."
A new opponent for BC?
I just picture Morty Seinfeld and Jack Klumpus arguing, "You don't have the votes!"
I played golf at BC and I agree, the lack of scholarships is probably the main problem, but there is a lot of money in the program now for grants so I'm not sure of the overall impact. As everyone else said, the weather is pretty critical too. Obviously hitting balls in a bubble and not working on your short game all winter is going to hurt your progression. The facilities/course issues are not an issue though, we practiced at TPC Boston when I was there. I would say another HUUUGE issue is the coach. Trevor Drum, while he may have improved recruiting, is blatently dishonest and disrespectful so many players don't want to play for him once they get there. A bunch of guys quit by their senior yr when I was there primarily because of him.
Does anyone remember the random diatribe on eagleaction a couple years ago about how the BC golf coach was a drunk? Priceless.
If I remember correctly, the local clubs were not going to let BC on them. I wasn't even on the team and I got more free swag getting sponsored to play in local tournaments (with a chance to win prize money). There is no draw to golf for BC; even if you go to school there, you have a better chance of improving your game and making the next level by foregoing amateur status. Plus, the weather from October 10th until April 20th blows.
The McGolf comment was so true...
Golf....who cares? Most boring sport, correct that, game, ever invented. I would rather watch paint dry.
This article was idiotic. Saying that BC has facilities nearby that would make up for playing year-round isn't true. And playing in the ACC doesn't mean all that much either. Ask any golfer who is looking to go pro if they'd ever go to college where they can't play from November-March
No, it's a fair post. Luke Donald is a great example that I was going to raise, but someone beat me to it. As much as the weather favors the south, the same could be said about baseball, football, tennis, and just about every outdoor sport--and yet there are examples of individuals and team in all those sports INCLUDING GOLF that defy those odds.
If you put stock in the weather argument, how is crew so big in New England? The river freezes. Shouldn't all those rowing recruits be headed south? Yet BC does invest in crew. Have you seen their boathouse?!?
Like with crew, BC has the student demographics, has the wealthy alumni base, and so on, that would support having a good golf team. The tie to TPC Boston is good, I didn't know that. I figured it'd take some BC powerbroker to get them on to his club, or even Brookline CC, and that the only reason that hadn't happened yet is GDF's myopia.
The sport may be boring to some or even many, but not to everyone--and certainly not to many of the wealthier alums associated with BC.
It would not cost that much to improve BC golf by the same measure that GDF has improved BC baseball. It would just take a bit of effort on his part. Right now, we're not even competitive with the Ivies, or with other New England teams like URI and UConn, let alone with the ACC. That's a shame.
Tell me more about the coaching situation--the drunk and the dishonest/disrespectful: are they one and the same?
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