Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s golf teams teed off the start of their seasons on Monday, Sept. 9. Both teams participated in the Folds of Honor Collegiate matchup at the Dunes Golf Club, located in Grand Haven. The men’s team finished eleventh, just falling outside of the top 10 after shooting 40 over par. The women weren’t far behind, as they ended up placing fourteenth, shooting 71 over.
The matchup is a major tournament, and competition was tough across the board. Several Division I schools participated in the tournament, such as the University of Alabama, the University of Texas and the University of Arizona.
“For the Folds of Honor, because it’s such a big event, all of our guys put a lot of pressure to perform, (and) a lot of pressure to compete against all those top players,” said the men’s golf head coach Gareth Lappin.
Graduate student Drew Coble took charge for the Lakers on the men’s team. After sinking four birdies and shooting just three over par, he finished in a tie for fourteenth place. Other notable Lakers included juniors Bryce Wheeler and Charlie Cooley. Both had several birdies, and ended up finishing in a tie for forty-fifth place.
“All in all, (we’re) pretty disappointed as to where we finished on the leaderboard, but happy with what we took from it,” said Lappin.
Lappin emphasized the need for his team to be relaxed when playing.
“All of our guys are physically very capable of competing,” said Lappin. “If we can be a little mentally better, that’s when our guys are going to be really good.”
Lappin also noted that being flawless is never a guarantee in golf, like in any sport.
“(It will be good) if we can be a little bit more patient, not feel as if we need to hit every shot perfect, and just know that there will be a lot of ups and downs throughout the course of a tournament,” said Lappin.
For the women’s team, it was senior Olivia Stoll who led the way. With a pair of birdies and shooting 10 over, she finished in a tie for twenty-ninth place.
Women’s head coach Rebecca Mailloux touched on the idea that being in a highly competitive field only helps performance. The GVSU women’s team played their match against the University of Arizona, who ended up winning the tournament.
“Overall (it was) an incredible experience for these ladies to play with the best in Division I, and alongside Arizona for two days,” said Mailloux. “They all took away something that will make them better in our upcoming season.”
After seeing the team’s performance, Mallioux was pleased that her team only got better as the tournament progressed. The first day, the women’s team shot 27 over par, and on the third and final day, they shot 18 over par.
Mallioux described the team’s short game as needing further practice. Arguably the hardest part of golf is chipping approach shots and putting– that is where holes are won or lost.
“The ladies recognized that’s the difference maker between those top players in Division I and us,” Mallioux said.
