Golf wraps up fall season

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Hurricane Patricia left the Hillsdale College golf team with an unplayable course on the second day of its final tournament of the fall season, hosted by Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.
As a result, the 36-hole tournament was cut short, and the Chargers finished in the middle of the pack – fourth out of seven teams – with an 18-hole team score of 300.
The Chargers finished only seven shots back from the winner, Trevecca Nazarene, and a single shot behind Bellarmine University.
Freshman Peter Beneteau carded the low round for the team and the low round of his college career with a 73. He was followed by freshmen Henry Hitt, Joel Pietila, and Liam Purslowe, with scores of 75, 76, and 76, respectively. Sophomore Logan Kauffman rounded out the team’s scores with a 79.
This put all five players within six shots of each other.
“This shows the depth that we have on our team and their growth as players. They are getting better week after week,” head coach Nathan Gilchrist said.
“It shows how well we push each other. We have such a competitive nature to the team and freshmen who are so solid, that it pushes me to be the best I can be,” Kauffman said.
The Chargers drove to Nashville on Saturday morning to make sure they arrived early enough to walk the course and gain familiarity. Interestingly, they walked it backwards.
“It was a different approach and one that we had not done before. I think it really benefited us,” Kauffman said. “Most courses design the greens first and work backwards.”
“It gives you a better look, hole by hole, of how you want to play each shot and helps to know where to hit your drives,” Hitt said.
That paid off for Pietila, who holed out for a two-shot eagle on the second hole.
Because one of the registered teams couldn’t attend, a few Chargers ended up playing together. Hitt was paired with a player from the Trevecca team as well as teammate Purslowe.
“Usually you don’t know anyone so it was nice to have a connection with your teammates on the course, pushing each other,” Hitt said.
The second day cancellation, while welcomed as a relief to escape play in bad weather, was also disappointing for the team.
“Everyone wanted to play, because we didn’t play great on the first day and were only a few shots behind the leader. We wanted the chance to make a charge,” Hitt said.
That charge will have to wait until February as the men have entered the offseason, where they will focus primarily on strength and conditioning.
“I’ve never done golf-specific workouts before,” Hitt said. “I’m excited to get in the gym and focus on golf muscles and see how much it helps.”
Beyond daily workouts, each player will be assigned individual time in the golf simulator.
“I’m going to work on becoming more consistent,” Kauffman said. “Golf isn’t about having the best swing, but about knowing where the ball is going to land after you hit it.”
The long ride home gave team members a chance to reflect on the season.
“When I look to the beginning of the season and see how far we’ve progressed, I’m really looking forward to the chance to make a similar jump next season,” Kauffman said. “A lot of that is thanks to coach. It would be really easy to not believe in a second-year team, and he has believed since day one that we have the ability to break course records and win tournaments.”