May 9, 2011
Note: Fellow senior Ben Mounts fills in for regular golf blogger Nick Bigler.......
Last Thursday and Friday our team had the privilege of competing in the American Mideast Confefrence Championship held at Apple Valley Golf Course in Howard, Ohio. The course has hosted several great tournaments since its inception, including the Ohio Publinx Championship. But beyond tournament play, Apple Valley is a favorite stop for many golfers in central Ohio who appreciate smooth greens and a well-manicured, aesthetically pleasing golf course. Our team has always enjoyed playing there irregardless of how narrow, and often nerve wrecking the tee shot off the tenth tee is.
Golf alumni Brett Bigler once described the 10th hole by saying, “You have to turn your bag sideways so you could make it down the fairway between the trees and out of bounds.” This fact may be grander than the gospel truth concerning the tenth at Apple Valley, but over exaggeration is a staple of the CU golf team so his comment is fitting. Before we were able to tell the ‘big fish’ stories of Apple Valley on the van trip there most of the guys were busy finishing exams and turning in end-of-the-semester papers and projects. It is a stressful time of the year if you make the top-five for the conference tournament, but once you’re done with classes a little earlier you can free your spirit to play some great golf.
On Wednesday we arrived for a practice round and last minute preparation for the tournament. But to the best of my recollection the momentous occasion of the day was dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s complete with Chicken Parmesan Pasta and glass upon glass of strawberry lemonade. Good stuff!
That night we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express and went to bed early having weathered several late nights of studying for finals. Well I should say, “some of us,” because I only took 3.5 credits this spring as a senior, but most everyone decided to pack it in pretty early the night before the first day.
Our goal this spring was to win the AMC tournament for HIM by serving HIM. It was a stout goal that was both achievable yet challenging considering the renowned NAIA reputation of the Malone Pioneers (who have won our conference tournament for the last several years) and Justin Lower (aka J Low). Our lineup consisted of Brigham Michaud, myself, Matt Yeiter, Chris Bennington, and most valuable freshman in the tournament; Jacob Nafziger. With each of us having experience and good vibes at Apple Valley and Jacob quickly learning the ropes; we felt poised for something special.
Unfortunately, that something special was not in the numbers as we struggled to fire a 307 in round one and were never to recover in rounds two and three shooting 311 and 312 respectively. Our three-round total was 930 landing us in a frustrating fourth place finishing after two grueling 27-hole days of golf. Although we got some decent rain on and off in the final round the scoring conditions were good as the sun made its seemingly first dramatic entrance for a pair of warm spring days.
Brigham Michaud finished with a three-round total of 225 that was good enough for all-conference honors. It was well deserved. To my chagrin, I missed all-conference by two shots after finishing tied for 11th with a total of 230. But as I mentioned before the tournament cannot be described as special in terms of the scores marked on the scorecards, rather it’s the story behind the scorecards that encapsulate the people and memories not soon forgotten that make it all memorable.
It was an eventful tournament for a host of reasons. The AMC this year marks the final NAIA championship that the Cedarville golf team will participate in. It was the last college golf tournament for Matt Yeiter and I, as well as the closing chapter of a college golf career for beloved seniors Trent Roach and Nick Bigler (aka my twin brother). The tournament was also the last for our Coach Ryan Bowen who for the last decade has poured his time and resources into the lives of young men; having made the culture of Cedarville golf more competitive and deserving of respect. Coach Bowen will be leaving us to spend more time with his family and kids as they push through junior high and high school while he simultaneously holds up the Cedarville computer network electronically in his job as a senior software programmer. Thanks for your diligence and leadership coach!
There was a first however at AMC’s. The tournament marked Jacob Nafziger’s first conference tournament experience. I know he would have loved to score a bit lower, however his presence as a freshman served as a wonderful reminder of how time continues to move on. Time is a resource of which we assume much, yet have so little of.
In closing, I’m forever grateful for the time and the opportunity I was granted to play college golf. It has been a humbling privilege to build relationships with teammates and a coach who have challenged me to grow spiritually in the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget the memories and lessons of honor, integrity, and character that I learned as I have lived life with these men and played this great game. I want to thank my teammates and fellow seniors Matt Yeiter, Nick Bigler, and Trent Roach for a great run. May God’s richest blessings follow you as you go forward in obedience with Him!
Above all else, I’m thankful for the time that God allows and the enumerable blessings he lavishes upon our lives as we go about doing life and trusting Him. He’s so very good to us and has been to me, so exceedingly gracious through college golf at Cedarville!
~Psalm 16:5-6~
May 2, 2011
This past week has been quite uneventful for the golf team, but we had our annual golf team cookout. Everyone (except Ziggy who has been studying like a champ) showed up for a good time at John Bryan State Park. With Yeity on the grill and myself controlling the music, we had a great time, well minus the fact that I had forgotten all of the hot dog buns at my house. As we ate our hamburgers, chips, and bunless brats and hot dogs, we were laughing and talking for several hours as the temperature finally reached 70 degrees (which felt like tropical weather with the Ohio spring we've had).
Along with a great meal, we brought a frisbee, soccer ball, and of course baseballs and mits to show how athletic we truly are as golfers. We had a great time together for the last time since the top five will be heading off to Apple Valley on Wednesday to our AMC tournament. Our top five will consist of Benny, Brig, Chrissy, Yetti, and Ziggy. These players will give Malone and the other competitors a run for their money and will represent our team, our school, and most importantly Jesus Christ no matter what scores they shoot.
I want to thank you all for supporting our team throughout this entire golf season. I'll definitely miss all the memories and golf trips I've experienced over the past four years in my college career. God has definitely blessed all 10 of us golfers on this year's team and I can't wait to see what God has in store for each of us. Hopefully you won’t forget myself, Trent, Yeiter, and Ben as we venture on to graduate this weekend and begin a new chapter of our lives. Please keep us in prayer and hopefully we will be in touch to update you on our lives in the near future.
God Bless you all!
April 26, 2011
Despite having many parents come into town for our own Cedarville Invitational, the tourney was not only rained out for the first time in my college career but in the event’s 30-year history. With the fun visit from Kroggy, a member of the golf team who graduated last year, most of us had a fun time hanging out around Cedarville. This past weekend showed what Ohio's weather is capable of: wet, windy, and difficult conditions for golf.
With no tournament to speak of, there isn't much to fill in the small crowd who reads the blog (but I appreciate those who do). Coach Bowen announced the top five for our conference tournament, which will include: Bmounts, Brig, Chrissy, Yetty, and Ziggy. These five are set to accomplish our goal of winning the American Mideast Conference and serving Christ.
Since our top five will be scrambling to get finals rescheduled and studying done, we have decided to have a nice golf team cookout this coming weekend. Hot dogs, burgers, frisbee, football, and other fun activities will be on the agenda at John Bryan State Park.
Thanks again for all your support and especially for those parents who traveled this past weekend to see absolutely no golf be played. God bless and you'll hear back from me soon.
April 18, 2011
After our tough round a few weeks ago at Purdue's course, we had about a week and a half to recover and work on our swings. We left early Sunday morning for church (except Stonkus who decided to sleep in) to go to Grace Baptist as a team. From there we all took a nice snooze until we arrived at Chapel Hill for our practice round. Surprise surprise, there was once again a wind advisory for our practice round (exactly like at Purdue) with winds between 30-40 mph and gusts getting up to 50 mph.
Once the whirlwind of a practice round was finally over, we all went over to Donato’s and ate a smooth six large pizzas. Watching NBA playoffs, finishing homework, and some of us running over to Mickey D's took up the rest of our night until we were all sound asleep (and of course Chrissy and I were stuck with Brig as he was snoring, moaning, and talking in his sleep).
The next morning was chilly at first, but overall the weather wasn't too bad as the sun was trying to burn the clouds away. With this being said, we all set out to the first tee and the 10 of us ventured out for our first round with the hopes of a trophy in sight. Although the wind began to become a factor toward the end of our round, the top five were able to pull out a 305 and the B Team actually shot 314. Chrissy led the team with a 74, followed by the freshie Jacob who fired a 75. We ended the first round in 1st place and we were very excited for a second round to capture our second win of the spring season.
After the round we decided to do a little celebrating at Fiesta Mexicana (after it took coach 10 minutes to park the trailer a mile away from the restaurant). At dinner we all were tweeting together and having an awesome time. Later that night we all went out (minus Jacob who was of course studying) for ice cream, and a few of us decided to walk across a rickety old bridge that of course said no trespassing on it. Some of us decided on Wendy’s and the others ran down to McDonald’s for our nightly entertainment. As the ice cream and constant tweets were on our mind, we all went to bed knowing it was going to be a wet and windy round the next day.
Once we arrived at the golf course for the second round, it was a complete downpour and the course was flooded. We were all crossing our fingers that we would walk away with a win after only playing 18 holes. The good news finally came: our second round was canceled and we won. Even though we were each ready to play and win the tournament, it was pretty nice having a day off and being able to relax. We took off for school in great moods, and of course the majority of us took naps on the way home.
Thanks for your support and helping us get our second win of the year! We encourage you to come out to Beavercreek Golf Course on Monday or CCN on Tuesday to cheer us on in the Cedarville Invitational this upcoming week.
Have a great Easter and we are looking forward to seeing all the parents who are making the voyage to Cedarville this weekend!
God Bless!
April 11, 2011
After having the week off with no tournaments and just a few practices, our team had a great time of relaxation. This past weekend, however, consisted of watching hours and hours of the Masters. With constant trips to "the Rip" for drinks and some snacks, we had our stomachs full of junk food and our eyes locked on three screens simultaneously. We had live coverage on the TV, one computer showing Amen Corner, and of course another screen with the featured group going. Over the weekend there were several times when there were more than seven people in our house (off campus) glued to the TV.
Even though most of us were screaming with hope after Tiger shot 31 on the front nine on Sunday, we must admit that Charl's finish was one of the best ever.
This coming weekend we are taking off for Chapel Hill in Mount Vernon, Ohio with all ten members of the team which is always a fun time. There are several challenging holes at the course and hopefully the weather will be a bit better than what we experienced at Kampen. We have several qualifiers this week and two spots to fill for our top five lineup which should be very competitive.
Keep us in your prayers this week as we keep up our studies in the classroom and will be missing class two days next week (Monday and Tuesday). Hopefully next week I'll be able to talk about our victory at Chapel Hill!
April 4, 2011
After our great finish last weekend, we had another great week of qualifying and practice to prepare for the toughest course of the year: Kampen (Purdue's home course). Before we headed to Purdue, we had the opportunity to go to Indianapolis and play one of Indiana's most prestigious golf courses. TJ Hotcakes is the son of the head professional at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana, and they invited the entire team to play 18 holes this past Saturday. Along with our golf team, former player (and also my brother) Brett Bigler was able to join us to make an even 12 players to enjoy the gorgeous course. After a challenging round, and watching Brett shoot nearly 100, we raced to the Pancake's home to watch the Butler game. With Papa John's pizza and brownies in our stomachs, we went to bed excited to see Butler win, and of course Kentucky lose.
My brother Brett and his wife Brinnan also hosted myself and Yeity Saturday night, and made us some incredible strawberry cheesecake. After a night of good laughs and catching up with my brother and sister-in-law, Yeit and I of course got stuck sleeping on the same blow-up mattress and went to sleep.
The next morning we joined TJ and his family at their church, Trader's Point. The message and worship was great, and we then parted ways. The top six for the Purdue tournament was all of the upperclassmen: BMounts, Brig, Chrissy, Yeit, Tmoney, and myself. On Sunday we had a great time playing in a wind advisory where the winds gusted at 60 mph. Although the wind was fierce and the course was extremely difficult, we had a great practice round in preparing for the next two days. In the meantime, the freshmen played another course in Indianapolis and drove back to school after having a good day together.
The next two days at Purdue were tough. The wind continued to be a huge factor, along with cold weather that made the course even more difficult. At the end of the first round we shot 319 and found ourselves in fourth place. After the round we joined Becky and Duane Roach at Chili's for some great food and a great time. We also watched the Butler game that night and sadly saw them lose once again in the finals to UConn. The next morning was chilly and of course windy. Our six players grinded out as much as we could, but we ended up shooting 335.
Although our performance at the course did not meet our expectations, it made us come together as a team and has given us motivation to practice hard this coming week and a half before we head off to Chapel Hill. Thanks for tuning in again this week and hopefully I'll have good news at my next update!
As always, we appreciate your prayers and support (Curt Yeiter's cookies, and Mrs. Roach's rice krispies)!
March 28, 2011
After a great week of qualifying and practice in the brutally cold Ohio weather, the top five performed well this past weekend at the Muskingum Invitational. The top five consisted of a new mix of players for our team including: Brig, Chrissy, Yeit, TO, and Stonky. These five fired an impressive 294 in the first round of play, with great efforts including Brig shooting a sub-par round of 69 and Yeiter shooting a career-low 71. The day concluded with pizza and of course watching basketball in the hotel.
Our team made the last wave for the second round, meaning that we had the opportunity to play with two great teams, No. 4 Malone and Otterbein. After a great effort from the boys and a 72 from Chris, we fell one place and received a fourth place finish. Despite the difficult field at this tourney, I believe we showed other teams in the area that we have the potential to play with the toughest teams in both our conference and the NAIA.
This week will involve one last qualifier and practice before we have an awesome weekend in Indianapolis. On Saturday all 10 of us will be heading over to play Crooked Stick and will stay at the Pancakes. The following morning we will be attending church with TJ and his family and the top six will be driving to Purdue, while the other four will have the privilege of playing another course in Indy. This will be an awesome team getaway that we are all excited for. Hopefully we will also be able to see CU golf standout Brett Bigler who lives close to TJ's family.
Thanks for tuning in this week and hopefully we don't do too much damage in Indy. Next week I will update you on our tournament at Purdue and how our weekend in the city turned out!
March 21, 2011
As I posted last week, hopefully I can talk to you about coming home with a victory at Shawnee State...and we came back with our third win in a row at the Elks in Portsmouth.
After a quick few days of preparation and qualifiers before our departure on Thursday, the top five included: Brigs, Chrissy, myself (Diddy), Yeity, and Stonkus. We left Thursday afternoon and enjoyed a practice round playing in gorgeous 70 degree weather. Right after our round we all went to an interesting Mexican restaurant called Toro Loco, and it was quite an experience. With Black Eyed Peas playing extremely loud, half of our team consumed the largest burritos any of us had ever seen. Once we finished eating, we went to the hotel and fell asleep watching all of our brackets implode with March Madness on the TV.
As we began playing at 11 a.m., we were all very excited to conquer the Elks, especially since Stonkus was making his debut as a varsity player. After having eight putts in his first three holes (including a smooth 4-putt), he helped the team by firing a 75. Along with Stonky's success, Brig took the lead at 72 and the rest of us were a few strokes higher, giving us a five-stroke lead and a score of 297. We left the course and enjoyed watching basketball and eating Domino’s. After laying around the hotel for several hours, we then decided to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen. Little did we know that we were about to walk in and find approximately 30 high school students hanging out at Dairy Queen on a Friday Night. With ice cream in our stomachs and more March Madness consuming our thoughts, we fell asleep knowing that we had to wake up at 6 a.m. and win a tourney the next morning.
The van door opened and the 35-40 degree breeze woke us up as we headed to the practice green on Saturday morning. The course conditions were tougher the second day, especially after a half-inch of rain from Friday night that saturated the course. Despite the conditions, our team was able to hold off Point Park and Spring Arbor and shoot 305. We were all very excited to bring home the tournament trophy back to Cedarville for the third consecutive year. Even though we were excited for the win, it was a little disappointing that Brigham's share as the overall "Tournament Leader" (as Chris would say) was lost in a scorecard playoff, resulting in a second place finish.
This upcoming week we are entering a new tournament just outside of Columbus where we will be facing Malone and other schools that will offer a high level of competition. Also, we are still not quite sure about BMounts' shoulder situation and if he will be able to play this week. Keep Ben and the entire team in your prayers this week as we attempt to stay up-to-date in the classroom and also play some good golf.
Thanks for tuning in and hopefully I'll update you on another victory next week!
March 14, 2011
It's great to be back on the course again and our team is very excited to launch the spring season for 2011. We want to thank everyone for your prayers and support while we were down in Naples, FL for Spring Break this past week.
Spring Break this year was a blast. Our team was joined by Joe Poelzer who added even more fun to our usual group of guys. The ride down was long but fun as always, and the warm weather was incredible as soon as we stepped out of the van. We stayed with three families who took great care of us throughout the week: the Penners, the Pigs, and the Kurtz family. The five upperclassmen and myself stayed at the Penners and the house was awesome. We had dinner there twice during the week, along with a lot of ping pong and swimming. The freshmen were split up along with the coaches among the other houses, and I heard great things about both their housing and families.
Throughout the trip we had the privilege of playing six different courses in seven days. We started out playing nine holes at World Woods in Tampa, and every course after that was new to all of us. Among these courses were Raptor Bay, Old Collier, Miromar Lakes, La Playa, and Old Florida. Each of these courses had gorgeous sites and also great golf holes that kept us on our toes on every shot (especially Chris). One of the highlights of our trip was being able to meet Dr. Paul Dixon at Old Collier and playing with him. Old Collier was one of the nicest courses I have ever seen, and we actually had the opportunity to play the course on a day that it was closed, basically making us the only people playing which was great. After we all got the dust off our swings, every person on the trip had satisfactory rounds which is making us all excited to play this spring.
With great food in our stomachs, nice tans, and nice burns (like on Trayton), our Spring Break trip was great and I believe all 12 of us had a good time. It's amazing to see how God worked everything out for us since we went to a new location and didn't know any of the families. We are truly blessed as a team.
Now that Spring Break has wrapped up, we're all heading back on the road on Thursday afternoon for Portsmouth, OH to play in Shawnee State's Invitational. The top five will be decided this week and hopefully I'll give you an update in a week that talks about us bringing home the trophy after a nice win. We also want our fans to keep Ben Mounts in prayer because of shoulder problems. Keep that in mind this weekend and I'll talk to you soon!
Thanks guys and God Bless!
October 18, 2010
The worship service that we led Sunday morning, October 10th, went great and I felt like it touched all who attended. We had Yeit and myself come in and welcome everyone and pray before our speaker, Eric Champion, came up and spoke. His testimony of playing college basketball and living for himself for the first 28 years of his life was a great reminder for all of us to stay focused on God's purpose for all of us.
After the worship service, we ran out to the beach to hang out and throw the football before our tee time. When we got to the course, Trevor joined us once again for our second practice round and walked us through his process and how he focuses in a practice round before a big tournament. Each of us had a great time and of course we had some good jokes and laughs throughout the entire round.
Right after the practice round we went back to change and got ready for the annual NCCAA Championship banquet. During the banquet each team was assigned two adults from a local ministry who are currently in a recovery program from addictions. This was a great opportunity for us to witness to these gentlemen and portray what Christ has done in our lives. We had a great time talking with our guy, Ricky, and we also had the privilege of giving him a bag of random things that we purchased from Target. The dinner was awesome and coach even made a fool of himself on stage when he gave our team a shout out when he said, "Ding!" Our table was dying laughing, and of course BMounts was laughing uncontrollably. Our team rolled out of the banquet stuffed from the big meal and went to bed nice and early in preparation for our 36 hole adventure the next day.
Despite the fog and early tee time, we got through the 36 holes safe and sound, but we still did not live up to our hype that we had going into the rounds. I shot in the low 80's both rounds, Yeity came in a little better, and the other three played a little better and posted decent scores. After we left the parking lot walking like cowboys and with sore feet, it was time to eat some dinner at Red Robin and hit the hay.
My 2010 season came to an end during the middle of the round as I had to withdraw after my seventh hole because of the pain I started experiencing in my back. The other boys toughed it out during the third round and fired great scores, and Yeity came in with a 91. I felt terrible since I wasn't there to pick up Yeit when he was having a rough day on the course, but there was no way I could keep fighting my back pain without hurting myself. The team placed 10th out of 18 teams and we were several strokes from going up 3 or 4 places, so it was a tight squeeze in the middle of the pack. After the awards and brief ceremony we drove to Nashville, TN to stay with coach's family.
We woke up the next day and had a hearty family-style breakfast and I was loving the country music that was in the background. It was sweet since coach's family lived in the same neighborhood as Kenny Chesney, and Brig was fascinated that "KC" was so close to us. After we ate our biscuits, gravy, and bacon, we took off for home and finished the long van ride.
It's sad to see our hard work and fun come to an end since our Florida tournament was the conclusion of our fall season. We've been bouncing around the idea of lifting as a team in the off season so hopefully the next time I'm blogging on the web site I'll be mentioning our newly formed muscles that will help us get to nationals in the spring.
Thanks for being so supportive of us this season and for putting up with my dumb/ridiculous blogs. We appreciate all the prayers and will be looking forward to picking up the sticks in the spring and turning some heads with low scores. Have a great rest of the year and I'll be talking to you before you know it!
Bye bye!
October 2, 2010
Our first round in Kentucky was difficult and getting used to the bermuda greens got the best of us. That night Yeiter made a clutch purchase of buying a football to throw around in the Wal-mart parking lot. Then it was off to bed before we had our second chance to tackle the golf course.
After a tough tournament down in Campbellsville (which is actually where JB Holmes grew up), we came back home ready to get prepare for our own tournament. Once again we had a week of qualifying and practice and of course catching up with our school work. We all knew that we needed to put good rounds in to win our tournament and as Ben Mounts would say...Let's gooooo!
Our tournament started off chilly with weather in the 40's but the rain actually held off. Brig led our team with a smooth round in the low 70's but once again no one else could back up his solid performance. As always it was nice seeing some parents and a few girls (Reesy) to come and support us in spite of the brisk morning. The second round was nearly identical to the first and we came home in third place. Even though the wind picked up in the afternoon, our team score of 318 was extremely disappointing. Brigham received second place in the field and played well over the two days, atta boy Brigs.
Sorry for the late blog this week but it's been busy with school and preparing for Florida. As of right now we are staying on the beach and loving life in Panama City. Our five players include myself, Yeity, Brig, Benny, and Chrissy. We left at 6 a.m. on Friday morning and of course had to go pick up Chris at his house off campus since he decided to sleep in...classic.
It was a long van ride, especially for myself as I was slowly breaking my back since I was sleeping on the floor. After some playtime on the beach we ordered pizza and hit the town. It didn't take long for us to play some football in the parking lots and go to the local hotspot. We found a place that had an arcade, bowling alley, roller skating rink, and billiards that kept us busy for a few hours. After playing plenty of activities, we went back to the hotel and of course got in trouble with a police officer yelling at us on his megaphone to stop throwing the football over the road. The infamous Trevor Bowman joined us at 11 p.m. and our real festivities began.
It felt nice waking up to the crashing waves and sunrise this morning, but that moment quickly faded after seeing Yeiter on the other side of my king size bed. We went to the course for our practice round today at noon and played in gorgeous weather with no clouds to be seen. Once the round was over we rushed back to the beach to catch the last bit of sunlight and some more football. We then came up to the room to get ready for dinner.
Coach and Mrs. B took us to Carrabba’s which took care of our hunger and led to many good laughs. It's now time to catch some sleep and wake up for our worship service at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning and get ready for some more sunshine for our second practice round. Thanks for checking in with us this week and I'm sorry for the long delay. Keep us in your prayers and you'll be hearing from me in a few days to update you on how we are playing at The Hombre.
Stay classy.
September 27, 2010
Last week was full of practicing and qualifying for our team to be prepared for the short and tricky course at Campbellsville. Along with this, we had our weekly team dinner last Tuesday in Chuck's and played at CCN until dark, which is always a good time. After a few days of qualifying we reached a top five that included Brigs, Chris, Benny, myself, and the Yeit. The five of us left with coach yesterday morning (Sunday) and let's just say we all had a nice four hour nap as Coach drove into Kentucky.
During our practice round we had a great time and it became clear to us that this course requires good irons and smart ball placement. After the practice round we all went to Pizza Hut, which Chris gladly pointed out to Coach (with the same tone of voice as Brig telling Coach to give a range finder to every group). After smoking through two large pizzas and a Big Italy, it was back to the hotel and time to relax and have a team meeting. Of course Yeiter and I walked into our room and it smelled terrible, perfect for us both since we had to do homework. By the time bedtime rolled around, Ben did some homework, I wrote a paper, and of course we had some complaints called in on us for putting in the hallway and being too noisy - classic golf team.
B's and G's (biscuits and gravy) tasted good as we ate and left at 8 a.m. this morning to head to the golf course. The chilly weather this morning definitely made it the coldest round of golf so far this season, but luckily the rain held off for the most part and overall it was fairly pleasant outside. The round went well for Benny shooting a 73 but other than that several bad shots for the other four of us led to a 310 for the team. As we go into the last day tomorrow (Tuesday) we are most likely in fourth and are going to need a great round in the 290's to have a respectable finish.
We just got back to the hotel and are about to take some naps, go swimming, do some homework, and eat some dinner and come back for Bible study. It's going to be a great night but keep us in your prayers and wish us luck as we play tomorrow (Tuesday).
Next week is our annual fall Cedarville Invite at Beavercreek and we would love to have as many parents and students come watch us so spread the word. Thanks for following the blog and I'll be sure to have some good stories for next week.
September 20, 2010
Even though we didn't come back with a victory as a team, it was nice knowing that Brigs played well and fired a 72-71 to win the Ohio Dominican tournament as an individual. The wind and frustration kept us from playing to our potential and we were overall disappointed, but after a week of practice and qualifying we will hopefully get it going in Campbellsville next week.
ODU is always a fun tournament for our team since it's the first time we stay in a hotel and have some good times at restaurants. We arrived at Cumberland Trails on Wednesday and played a practice round in almost perfect weather. After we got off the course, we went to Olive Garden and all ate the never-ending pasta bowls and got to see TJ eat like a champ, and of course our waitress was digging us. We have some legendary memories at that Olive Garden and I'm glad Coach took us back to keep the tradition up and running. After our team meeting we were able to finally hit the hay and get some rest for the first round the next day.
For some of us (Yeit and T.O.), it was an early morning since they woke up at 6 a.m. to eat breakfast, and then go back to bed for a few more hours until we had to leave for the course at 9:30 a.m. - classic Yeit. It was a battle on the course for our team to fight the wind and fast greens. Even though we were lead by Brigs with a 72 and Chris with 78, our team still shot 310 as Ben and myself added a pair of 80's. The undulated greens and difficult pin positions made the course extremely difficult. Along with the pins, we had trouble with the weather and some of us had a delayed finish. After eating Qdoba and waiting for the rain and storms to pass, several players had to go out and finish their rounds before darkness became a factor.
One sweet aspect of our team chemistry is to have devotions together after our round and have a spiritual theme throughout the semester. We also challenge each other to ask our playing partners for prayer requests (PR's according to BMounts) during each round we play. Not only does this let the guys we play with know that we care about them, but it also gives us opportunities to stir up conversations and plant seeds within their lives. I had the chance to talk to one player from ODU named Gary who remembered his prayer request from the last time I played with him. Last school year we prayed for Gary's sister who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and he thanked me for our prayers since she is currently in full remission and cancer free. When we go to a tournament, our team is not only looking for success on the golf course, but more importantly we are looking to encourage our competitors and further God's kingdom.
After the second round, Brig took home the trophy and we ended up losing to ODU and finishing second for the tournament. Even though we were disappointed with our performance, it was fun going to 5 Guys and eating some good burgers. We had some good laughs and got to see Chris "Dougie" nonstop (including Coach), and of course we ended our golf trip with Trent, Ben, Chris, and myself all getting parket tickets. Once again, members of our golf team fall guilty of violating campus safety standards.
As always, thanks for reading and supporting our team and keep us in your prayers this week as we keep balancing school and golf and prepare for our next tournament.
Thanks!
Sept. 14, 2010
We started out the season with our annual meeting at Coach's house before classes started and got to meet up and see our new team, which includes the four new freshmen. After we went through all our new guidelines for the season, we heard Treighton's game plan for this year: "Putting is the key to my success."
Our freshmen this year bring a new dynamic to our team and I know we're all very excited to have them join our upperclassmen. After losing two seniors (Krog and Dan) it will be interesting to see how we all find our roles both on the course and also as leaders for our team.
Since our first match isn't until this coming Thursday at Ohio Dominican, we have had plenty of time to grow as a team and grow spiritually. The past two weeks we've had four qualifiers, and as a whole we can see that a lot of improvements need to be made. But at the same time we all had rounds where we saw our teams’ potential and that we have opportunities to all go low this fall.
The great thing about our first tournament is that all 10 of our players will be playing and that will give everyone on the team an opportunity to show how we perform on the same course in the same conditions, which will give us a general idea of how the fall season will pan out as we prepare for NCCAA's in Florida.
The first Saturday we were all here as a team we were able to put on a golf clinic for about 20 local high school golfers. We set up stations and helped them with chipping, putting, wedges, and their swings. Not only were we assisting them in their golf mechanics, but Ben Mounts also spoke to them about making wise decisions and hanging out with the right crowd at high school.
This experience was great for our team and extremely rewarding being able to have a spiritual influence on a great group of young golfers. Trevor Bowman also joined our team to help this group of guys to give us his pre-shot routine and talk about what he has learned mentally since he has been playing professionally for the past year.
One of the best parts of our golf team is how close we are when we are outside of practice and the course. Since Trent and I live off campus, we've had the team over for our weekly Bible study, Mario Kart battles on the Wii, and a nice bonfire in our backyard. We also had a classic experience where Trent had a slight debacle with campus safety and actually sprained his ankle in the process but he has now fully recovered and we're ready for a Trent who can play at 100%.
Overall, we are looking forward to our season kicking off this week and are hoping to bring home a nice trophy from ODU. Our top 5 players will be myself (Nick Bigler), B Mounts, Benny (Chris), Brigs, and the Yeit.
Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!
Nick Bigler is a senior, Dean’s List student majoring in accounting and finance. The Elkhart, Ind. native is an NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete.
