Hillsdale College men’s golf coach Mike Harner described team play at the GLIAC Golf Championship as “flashes of brilliance.”
The Hillsdale College golf team traveled to Georgetown, Kentucky for their final tournament of the fall season, held at Cherry Blossom Golf Course.
The Chargers carded a three-round score of 940 (307-325-308). The team finished in 14th place, beating out Lake Erie College. Tiffin won the fifteen-team tournament.
Senior co-captain Matt Chalberg finished out the fall season once again as the team tournament low-scorer. Chalberg has earned that distinction in each event he played in this season.
This past weekend, he finished tied for 30th out of 74. His total tournament score of 222 included a first round 70.
Junior Cole Benzing shot a 242 tournament score while being the 2nd day low-scorer for the Chargers.
Freshman Steve Sartore took second for the team with a total score of 238. Freshman Ben Meola and senior co-captain Brad Mitzner shot tournament scores of 243 and 248, respectively.
Bad weather did not plague the team in Kentucky as it has all season. Though there was scattered rain, players described it as comfortable overall.
Benzing said playing in the Conference Championships was “a really good learning experience.”
“Its good to be playing competitively again.” Benzing said. “There’s nothing like that adrenaline rush on the first tee. As Michael Allen joked, where else can you have that same feeling and not be chased after or shot at? It’s just fun.”
Michael Allen, a Champions Tour player, visited Hillsdale last week to assist the golf team in preparation for the Conference Championship.
Coach Harner said that the best part of the weekend was a good last day of play after a “miserable” second round. “Golf is unforgiving when you make mistakes, but it’s about how well you rebound. I thought our guys rebounded well,” he said.
“I’m happy overall with the performance of the team. We have talented players, but talented and tournament tested are two different things,” Coach Harner said.
With the offseason upon them, the team will play the First Annual Charger Cup – an inter-squad-coaches Ryder Cup format match to “settle matters of pride,” according to Harner.
Captains Chalberg and Mitzner will pick the teams for this event.
“It is going to be 27 holes, first nine is best ball, next is alternate shot with two-man teams, and the final nine is match play. It’s going to be sweet,” Mitzner explained.
In November, workouts will emphasize strength and conditioning, as well as flexibility. The golf simulator is up and running inside the Dawn Potter Arena, which allows the team to tweak their swings. Mitzner recently played his first 18 holes in the simulator, which can tape swings to be analyzed.
An oft-repeated slogan this season is “the future is bright.”
Coach Harner admits that “we have a ways to go and we have people committed to that process.”
“We’re going to be a great program and we’ve got a good start,” Harner added. “[The players] have put a lot of work in and they’ve shown lots of improvement. Everyone at the school can be proud of these guys.”
Mitzner echoed Harner’s sentiment. “Spring season we plan on not just competing, but winning. That’s our goal. Watch out for us in the spring,” he said.
