Elon, Charleston Make the Most of a Worldwide Game
Miles McQuiggan
The fall schedule provides numerous opportunities for college golf teams to improve their game and grow team chemistry before the spring slate barrels down on championship play.
The Elon men’s team and both Charleston programs made the most of their fall tournament weekends, traveling internationally to play in events and build team bonds between returners and newcomers.
Elon’s trip was a unique experience for a college golf team as the Phoenix crossed the Atlantic to play a tournament in Ireland.
“Elon very much values the student-athlete experience, especially as it relates to study abroad opportunities,” said Elon head coach
Don Hill. “So already, we take the team to Scotland every four years. We take a professor and do a half-semester class. The program has done it at other times of the year, but it’s been a challenge with the weather or returning to take finals as soon as we’re back.
“This was a very different trip because it was based around the competition,” Hill added. “We brought some members of our Board of Trustees; the president and athletic director were there. It was a celebration of Elon, and from an athletics standpoint, it helps us see what horizons we can expand and where we go as an institution.”
For Elon’s veteran group looking to make the jump from back-to-back runner-up finishes at the CAA Championship, the playing experience should prove beneficial in the spring.
“It was an incredible experience,” said Elon’s
Garrett Risner. “Getting to compete in Ireland and on a different type of golf course, with the challenges it presented, was great. I had played in Europe before on our trip to Scotland, but with the different weather, it was like playing a different style of golf again.”
Charleston’s programs went south from the Lowcountry to play weeks apart in the Bahamas in their fall finales, where the Cougars’ men’s program put up stellar performances on their way to a team championship.
“The effort Coach Mitch (Krywulycz) puts into getting us to do things like this, and the belief that he has in us, is something I’m really thankful for,” said Charleston’s
Miles Eubanks. “I’m thankful that he's willing to take us there and put us against some pretty good schools to see if we can compete and win.”
That opportunity to build team camaraderie has been beneficial for all three programs involved.
“We had four people leave and added three new people,” said Charleston’s
Emma Schimpf. “Going on team trips like that, you get closer with everybody on the course but outside of golf and getting to have fun with that. Playing some different types of courses and seeing some of these bigger schools helps prepare us for harder tournaments, including the conference tournament.”
With CAA golfers finding days in the winter break to play a round as weather allows, the fall experiences of the league’s programs will help teams tee off the spring ready for the challenges thrown their way.
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