By Dave Malchak
Staff Writer
In terms of scheduling, St. Bonaventure NCAA Golf is in a position that makes them unlike most other sports.
It plays in invitationals and also travel long distances to play. The Bonnies did not have any home matches last fall, and won’t have any this spring.
Other sports have similar circumstances, but golfers face many changing elements at every course they play.
Many individual sports compete in invitationals. Tennis, swimming and diving, track, and cross country all partake in such events at the Division I level. However, swimmers and sprinters do not face the unpredictability of a new golf course.
Also, few other sports have such dynamic conditions. Track sprinters know that if they run the 100-meter dash, then there will not be too many surprises. Likewise, tennis players know that there will always be the same size court.
Other sports have home court or home field advantages, including some golf programs.
Golf courses fluctuate between yardages and par, whether the terrain is flat or there are hills, whether the greens are fast or slow, whether there are blind shots, whether there are bunkers or ponds that may affect the approach that a player takes.
The Bonnies used to hold an invitational locally at Bartlett Country Club in Olean, called the Leo Keenan Invitational. They did not this year.
Junior Corey Long spoke about what it was like to hold tournaments at home in previous years.
“If you play in a home tournament, you expect to win every time,” he said. “You’re the only team that plays there every day, which gives you an advantage. I remember when I was an underclassman, it was a big disappointment to lose at home.”
But he said with the team they have this year, they have the potential to win anywhere if everyone is doing his best.
Other teams travel a long way as well. The golf team has been to Florida twice since the end of last month. The softball team has been to North Carolina and Florida in that time period as well. Also, the baseball team has been to Florida twice. Each of these sports demand the warm weather, so there is nothing that can be done about the nature of the schedule.
Long said, in terms of traveling far distances, he is fortunate enough to love and get along with all of his teammates. He said the travel can make giving attention to his game difficult.
“A lot of the time we’ll play, and then we’ll have a chance to go back to the hotel and do homework, which is obviously the most important thing,” Long said.
But playing several days in row also provides a challenge on far away trips.
“At any time, golf is pretty tough. If you’re playing a few days in a row, sometimes it can get to you,” he said. “But when you’re playing well it’s great, because you can ride your momentum.”
The golf team will continue to play away tournaments for the remainder of the year. They will also continue to make long trips, as their next stop is the Kingsmill Intercollegiate, at Kingsmill Resort River Course in Williamsburg, Virginia. Their next trip to Florida, and their last, will be for the A10 Championships starting on April 28, at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando.
malchada16@bonaventure.edu
