Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

April 20, 2016

Hello Friends,

Brace yourself readers, this is a long one. As the great coach, Jim Valvano, put it, in his ESPY speech, "I’m going to speak longer than anybody else has spoken, I don’t have much time left and I have some things I would like to say."

This week the team played in our final tournament of the year, the G-MAC Championship in Mason, Ohio. The team would leave Saturday night to have a short practice session at the course where we were reunited with course expert and local legend, the one they call "GB" (Coach Brown’s Dad). After practice we had dinner at coach’s favorite burger joint in town, Quatman’s Café, and then headed to his parents’ house, where we would spend the week. Sunday, Coach and his family took us to his home church in Mason where we heard a great sermon, and further learned about the legendary status of "GB." After church, the team stopped at Raising Canes for lunch, where Taylor "Jenny" Holt would choose to pick plain old Honey Mustard as his dipping sauce, over the liquid gold that is Canes Sauce. For those of you that have been lucky enough to have Canes, you understand the atrocity of Jenny’s decision, and for those of you who haven’t, please find your nearest Raising Canes establishment and you too can truly understand what I’m talking about. The team would then play their official practice round, and attend the G-MAC golf banquet, where we got to meet our competitors for the week.

The team would wake up early, Monday morning, to an amazing breakfast made by Coach’s Mom, Mrs. Brown. After breakfast, the team was ready to compete in the first day of the conference championship, a 36-hole golf marathon. In the first round, the team would put up a very impressive 298, led by Jenny Holt and JReeseJReese who would shoot an even par 72, and a one over 73. I would come in with a 75, and Thong Sandlas with a 78. Round two the team would again play well. JReeseJReese would once again shoot a 73 followed by Crash Ehms with a season-low 76, Thong Sandlas with a 77, and myself and Jenny with a pair of 78’s. We would finish day 1 in 2nd place. After the long day, Coach would take us to another local favorite, Marion’s, where we had circle shaped pizza cut in squares. For some players, they never experienced pizza like this until they came to Ohio. I guess we do things different here in Ohio. At night, the team would hang out in Coach’s basement where JReeseJReese and Crash would take me to school on the pool table. Crash took great pride in beating me, because this was the first time he could ever make fun of me. It’s ok though, because whenever you see Crash ask him if he knows if Ohio and Tennessee are border states, or if he can say the word "Aphorisms," and that will be enough to knock him off his high horse.

Day 2 the team would continue to play some great golf. We would come in with another great round led by JReeseJReese again with a 74. Jenny would follow with a 76, Thong with a 77, Crash with 78, and I would end my career with a 78. Our final score of 907 would end up breaking the school record for lowest G-MAC Championship score. JReeseJReese would end up tying for 1st with his play and go into a three-man playoff. The playoff ended up going three holes long until, unfortunately, Reese would get beat by Senior Aaron Burnett from Trevecca Nazarene. Reese would end up in second place overall, and the team would also end up being runner-up to TNU. It was not the story book ending the team wanted to go out with, but we are very proud of Reese’s fight, and I can’t wait to see what Reese and the rest of this team have in store for next year.

I now am going to be a little selfish and use the rest of this blog to say thank you. First I want to thank my coach for my first two years, Joe Poelzer, for bringing me in and taking that chance on a guy that had no rhyme or reason to be playing Division II golf. Without you, Joe, there would have never been a Cedarville. I also want to thank my current Coach, Zach Brown, for continually pushing me on the course and in the gym, and giving me the opportunity to be both a golf team captain and men’s basketball student assistant. I want to thank my professors, specifically Dr. Tim Heaton, for helping me when I was at a low point in my college career, and for pushing me in the classroom. You have been an amazing mentor and someone I look up to. I want to thank all of the fans, parents especially, of the golf team, who invested their time and interests into myself and the rest of this team. Finally, I want to thank all of my teammates. Thanks to the upperclassmen who came before me like, Jacob Nafziger and Jacob Forsythe, who inspired me to become the leader that they were, and kept a young BK in check, when I thought I already knew it all. I also want to thank the underclassmen, like Taylor Holt and Jordan Reese, who always pushed me on the course to improve or else they would take my spot away from me.

Thanks for reading my blogs throughout the year. Well, I’m not really good at this whole goodbye thing, so I’ll leave you with the chorus from Jason Aldean’s song "See You When I See You." You can imagine me singing it to you, if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend that.

"See you when I see you, Another place some other time, If I ever get down your way, Or you're ever up around mine, We'll laugh about the old days, And catch up on the new, Yeah I'll see you when I see you, Till then my prayers are with you, And I hope it's some day soon."

Thanks for all the memories,

Jordan Glick A.K.A "Big Kountry"


April 12, 2016

Hello Friends,

Whoever said that golf is a recreational sport was obviously not from the Midwest. If you have been reading the golf blog since the beginning of the year, first off thanks for reading, but secondly you have learned that almost every tournament we have played in has been in inclement weather. Whether it’s been rain in Canton, wind in Chicago, sleet in Kentucky, and now snow in Indianapolis, we’ve played in it. We’re like mailmean; no matter what the weather, we are out there, and we ALWAYS deliver. This week the Cedarville Yellow Mailmen were in Indianapolis trying to escape Purgatory…..the golf club.

The team was welcomed early Saturday morning by a surprise snowfall. After bobbing and weaving through all of the accidents, from the unexpected snowfall, we made it to the course for our frigid practice round. While the practice was needed and worth our time, the team came to a consensus vote, that since we wouldn’t be playing in snow during the tournament, to just cut our losses and get out of the cold and watch the Master’s. After Master’s coverage was over the team went to Applebee’s for dinner. This would be my second night going to Applebee’s for dinner, which is something I have never done in my life. After a great dinner, the majority of the team hit the Euchre table, where Taylor introduced the team to the "Euchre Defense." As Pepper Brooks put it in Dodgeball, "It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him." It didn’t pay off for him that night.

The wind was howling in the first round, testing the Yellow Jackets early. The team would fight the wind and eventually the rain in the final six holes, and put together a final score of 312. Jenny Holt and JReeseJReese would lead the way for the team with a solid 74 and 75. The team would be tied for 10th going into the final round. After the round, the team would, once again, go back to Applebee’s for dinner. This would be my third trip in three nights, a feat that I think no man has ever surpassed. The team got more than a great dinner that night though. Our waiter, Hugo, was not only a great waiter, but gave great insights on the game of basketball. For example, it turns out that Steph Curry is a better shooter than Hugo because Steph doesn’t hit the "rail" (we’re guessing he meant rim) as much as Hugo does. All joking aside, overall, he was a great guy, and probably one of my favorite people. Afterwards, the team would once again hit the Euchre table. Thong Sandlas and Jenny Holt would mount a comeback, round two, and cut the deficit. Unfortunately, for them, Jenny’s patented Euchre defense dug them too deep of a hole to mount the full comeback. Going into the final week of the season your Euchre standings goes as follows: 1st / Coach - +11, 2nd / BK - +4, 3rd / Thong -7, 4th / Jenny -12.

The final day forecast called for rain, and a lot of it. The forecast did not disappoint. It rained……all day. To add insult to injury, we also had to break a record for the longest 18-hole round in NCAA history - 7 1/2 hours. While some players were able to weather the storm fairly well, the course would not let Carter "Crash" Ehms leave without a fight. Crash would break his umbrella after the 13th hole in the round. This is the second umbrella casualty for Crash this season, the first being in Chicago after only eight holes. Crash would also leave the course that day still questioning whether his foreign playing partner was from Ecuador, or Ontario, Canada. We would finish 18th out of 30 for the tournament. Not a bad showing for the Jackets going into the conference championship. Next week, the Yellow Jackets will be playing for all the marbles, in the G-MAC Championship. With that in mind, I’ll leave with an inspirational quote from our boy Hugo, from Applebee’s:

"Trying does not equal success….."

BK


April 6, 2016

Last week, the Jackets made the short trip down to Batavia, Ohio to play in the third, of four, Midwest Regional events. We were welcomed to Elks Run with a beautiful Friday morning. Unfortunately, the weather report called for wind, and a lot of it, during the weekend. While we enjoyed the nice weather, we all knew that we were going to be ‘playing’ against the wind Saturday.

Look, I could go into a long-winded story of how we played and what we shot this week, but no one wants to hear that. To be completely honest, we struggled this week, and did not play our best. None of us really want to relive the scores we put up, so I won’t harp on them. All those scores are just dust in the wind, at this point. Instead, let me just talk about our experience on the 8th hole.

Saturday morning the team woke up, and was blown away by the weather conditions. While some of you were seeking shelter, we called Elks Run, and made a tee time for 2 p.m. The longer the round went on, the stronger the wind got. After seven holes, the whole team approached the 8th hole, a 150-yard par 3. On the scorecard, this hole seems pretty innocent. You quickly find out that your tee shot is from the top of a mountain, and you have to land the ball on about a 30-yard diameter green, carved in the middle of the mountain. If you go long, there’s another 50 yard drop off to the bottom, and if you go short there’s a deep gully you will fall in. A well-executed shot is necessary on this hole, which can be difficult to do in regular conditions. When you are hitting into gusts of 40 mph and more, this shot can seem impossible. Here are some notable numbers that came out of the 8th hole during our time there.

6: The number of trees that fell down on the course while on the 8th hole. One of them being a massive Sycamore on the 7th hole right next to us, that no one heard fall. As one of my playing partners put it, "I guess we found out that the answer to ‘when a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make a sound,’ is no…." Another tree, that fell, landed just a few feet from my Dad, who was searching for one of the many lost balls from the tee box. Thankfully, no one was hurt from these fallen trees.

45: The number of minutes each of us had to wait to play that hole.

7: The number of balls lost from our tee shots, not counting the dozens of others lost from our opponents.

1: The number of pairs of pants ruined from walking above the tee box. I went to use the restroom, and as I walked down the hill, I slipped on a pile of leaves covering a mud slide staining the back of my pants. This provided brief comic relief for those who were trembling in fear to hit their next tee shot.

10: The estimation of seconds of applause each person received after landing their tee shot on or around the green. This type of behavior doesn’t normally happen for a college tournament, but everyone realized how difficult of a shot this was, and gave credit where credit was due.

I was reminded in class this week, by Coach Clark, that April 3rd was the anniversary of the F5 tornado that tore through the Xenia/Cedarville area. While this was nowhere near as serious as that day, I like to think that Saturday is another example that history repeats itself. Luckily, the only thing that was destroyed from Saturday were just some players’ golf games. Next week, the team will be in Indianapolis, playing in the final Midwest Regional at Purgatory Golf Club.

4: The number of times I was able to fit cheesy wind jokes into this blog.

BK


March 29, 2016

Hello Friends,

The team had a week off from playing in any tournaments. As I mentioned in my last blog, we played in back-to-back tournaments, in Kentucky, the week before. One of the main reasons why we played that grueling five-day stretch was that, by doing this, we would be able to spend Easter weekend with our families. I’m pretty sure that I can speak for the whole team that, if we were given that choice again, we would do the same thing again. While playing golf and being with the team is great, there is something special about being together with your family to celebrate the day that Christ had risen.

We’re now back on campus, and those that played in the Kentucky Marathon have fully recovered from our leg soreness. With the schedule coming up, the team needs to be at 100%, if we want to achieve the goals we had for this year. Next weekend we will be a "Jenny" Holt tee shot away from Cedarville, in Batavia, Ohio, to compete in a Midwest Regional. After that, we will be a few more Jenny tee shots away, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to compete in another Midwest Regional. Both of these tournaments will be very important, because we will be playing against every team in the G-MAC, GLIAC, and GLVC. If we want to show that we are going to be one of the top teams in the region this season and for years to come, we will need to bring our "A" game.

But, probably, the tournament that matters the most is the G-MAC Championship at Four Bridges Country Club - Coach Brown’s old stomping grounds. This year’s tournament is more important than any other in my four years, because the winner of this tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Midwest Super Regional (the March Madness of D2 Golf). Our goal since day one, has been to win this title, but if we want to take this title away from the three-time champs and our rivals, but friends in Christ, Trevecca Nazarene, we will need to play great golf. These next three weeks are the most important weeks in my golf career and I will do everything in my power to help bring the G-MAC championship home with my teammates.

I’ll leave you with an inspirational quote from a legendary coach, so legendary, in fact, that when Coach Brown grows up he wants to be this guy; Coach Eric Taylor, from Friday Night Lights.

"Clear Eyes, Full Hearts….CAN’T LOSE!!!"

BK


March 23, 2016

It takes a special person to play golf. Golf may be a one of the most frustrating sports a person can ever play, yet we still get excited to love getting out on the course every day. A great way to describe golf is how Anthony Anderson describes having kids in the movie The Back-Up Plan; "It’s awful, awful, awful, awful…..but then there’s a moment where something incredible happens…then it’s awful, awful, awful, but then there’s another moment." Another activity that I, personally, find to be like this is running, especially running a marathon. I respect all runners for running for fun for 26.2 miles, but it takes a really special person to do this. So what happens when you put both of these activities together? You get the last weekend for the CU Men’s Golf Team. The Yellow Jackets were in golf’s version of a marathon, traveling around the state of Kentucky, playing two tournaments in five straight days. Here’s a recap of our extra special weekend.

Hole Marker 1: The team made their way down to Georgetown, Kentucky to prepare for the SVSU Spring Invitational. After a quick pit stop, where the team was introduced to the strange but delicious combination of chicken and waffles, we played our practice round at Cherry Blossom. Fun Fact: Cherry Blossom was actually where I played my first collegiate tournament, and where after my first round I called my Dad, almost in tears, complaining how this course is impossible and people should not be allowed to play this course.

Hole Marker 18: After the round was over, the team came to the conclusion that Cherry Blossom was not an impossible course, and that freshman BK was not a very good golfer. Crazy how everything in life comes around full circle like this. The team would go to bed that night mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead of them.

Hole Marker 19: We would wake up to less than ideal playing conditions. The team would fight through the cold, wind, and freezing rain early in the round. When the round was over, at Hole Marker 36, JReeseJReese and "Jenny" Holt would both fire 75, followed by myself with a 76, "Thong" Sandlas with an 80, and "JRo" Royer with an 84. The team would make a stop at the water station (Fairfield Inn Hot Tub) that night and hope for better weather tomorrow.

Hole Marker 37: While the temperature was still cold, and the wind was howling, at least the sun shined on Sunday for the Jackets. The team would improve from our scores after Hole Marker 36. Jenny would warm up the day for the Jackets by shooting a red hot three under par 69, tying him for 6th individually. JReeseJReese, and myself would come in shooting a pair of 78’s, JRo would shoot an 80, and Thong would come in with an 81. After we passed the 54 Hole Mark, the team packed their bags and headed down to Corbin, Kentucky for the second tournament.

Hole Marker 55: Once again the team would be welcomed to cold conditions, and frosty greens. After a slow start the team started their 36-hole trek. After the team signed their cards after Hole Marker 72, the team forged ahead, and just finished our rounds at Hole Marker 90 before sunset. Thong would bounce back from Cherry Blossom shooting 77-73. I would shoot a pair of 78’s, JReeseJReese came in with 80-75, Jenny had a pair of 80’s, and JRo shot 84-83. After the round we had a great dinner provided by our friends at David’s Buffet where us and our favorite waiter came to the conclusion that the best way to die would be falling down a 40-foot waterfall in a kayak, when there is a "Moon-bow" in the air, that night. Search "Moonbow Cumberland Falls" on Google and you will agree with all us that this is definitely the way to kick the can. The team would rest their weary legs, hoping to fully recover for the final stretch of the 2016 Kentucky Golf Marathon.

Hole Marker 91: At this point, it was not much of a surprise that the golf team woke up to another cold March morning. I’ve been told that the first 26 miles of a marathon is easy; the last .2 miles is the hardest part. In this case, the last 18 holes posed a challenge for us. The team would pass the 108th Hole Marker finish line physically and mentally drained. I would come in with a 78 (if you’re counting at home that’s four 78’s in three days), JReeseJReese finished with a 79, Thong and Jenny would score 81’s, and JRo with an 83.

After the marathon, JReeseJreese, and JRo would travel back home with their parents, and the captains would ride home with coach, reflecting on the weekend, and how each of us can improve from this experience. The reoccurring theme to the discussion was that Jenny Holt needs to play golf the same way Kayla Linkous played basketball; like a *insert Sean Blackburn’s voice* TECHNICIAN!!! The Jackets will be back in action, in April, at Elks Run in Batavia, Ohio to play in a NCAA II Midwest Regional hoping to improve, after going through this tough week. Until then, you could probably find the golf team on or near the closest couch with or without ice on our legs.

BK


March 15, 2015

Greetings Golf Fans,

We’re back! Last time we talked, the team was in sunny Panama City enjoying the sun and golf. Last week the team was back in the Sunshine State, in Orlando, for our Spring Break trip. Now, in my opinion, it would have been much more cost efficient to stay in Florida, between last fall to now, avoiding all travel costs, but I digress. Since we had to come back to Ohio, after a long winter hibernation, the CU men’s golf team has awakened from our slumber and ready to get back into the "swing" of things! Here are some daily highlights from #SB2K16.

#SolSunday - The team packed our bags and hit the road Sunday for Atlanta, Georgia. The team was split up into two vans where Van 1 engaged in a wide array of conversation topics. Van 2, on the other hand, brought the audio book version of "The Martian" for the trip. While John "Thong" Sandlas, and Jeremy "JRo" Royer were deep in outer space, Carter "Crash" Ehms and Jordan "JReeseJReese" Reese, were struggling to keep up with all the algorithms and Sol’s. Crash and JReese made it to Atlanta tired and slightly confused.

#MargheritaMonday - After an early start to the day, where the team was treated to Denny’s Grand Slams and Thong getting to watch a crane pick up a Starbucks sign up close and personal, the team made it down to Florida. After a quick range session, the team hit the Legends Walk course where we got to play golf at primetime, under the lights. After the round, the team stayed in the for night and ordered pizzas including, for some players, the discovery of the Margherita style pizza. We ended the night with a team euchre session, where Crash and Derek "DRock" Truninger learned for the first time, and myself and Coach Brown sent Taylor and Thong to school. Little did we know, there was a strong competitor waiting under the wings for us the next day.

#TrophyTuesday - Unfortunately there is no photographic evidence to prove this, but I may or may not have worn shorts with little Wannamaker trophies on them, and #TrophyTuesday was born. The team had a full day of practice, and our first 18 hole round of the year. After the round the team went out to dinner at Millers Orlando Ale House, and had an amazing meal. At night, the team enjoyed the hot tub, and as mentioned earlier, JRo made his way to the team euchre table for the first time, and used his Jedi mind tricks to stump both myself and Coach Brown. JRo went undefeated that night. You could say he was the one that won the trophy on Tuesday.

Team Euchre Leaderboard after Break: 1st) Coach: +9, 2nd) BK: +2, 3rd) Thong: -5, 4th) Taylor: -10

#WaterShotWednesday - Similar to Tuesday, the team had a full day of practice and play. During the round, I would hit an errant second shot leaving me in the water, but only on the shoreline. In an effort to save bogey, I did what I had to do, I took the water shot. Here is a picture (right) to prove it. After the round the team would go out to eat at Joes Crab Shack for a "long" but eventful dinner.


#TropicalThursday - The team had a shorter practice session in the morning, where JRo had a #WaterShotWednesday experience of his own (see photo on left). Some could say it was a #TBT moment. Afterwards the team, and our terrible golf tans, hit the pool for the day. The team participated in rolling down the lazy river, sliding down the waterslides, except for Crash who got stuck and had to crawl out, and playing our yearly water volleyball match. I can proudly announce that the seniors ended their careers with their first and last water volleyball victories. Later the team would walk around Disney Springs and go out to dinner and Bahama Breeze with Thong’s sister and her boyfriend.


#FrownyFriday - On Friday the team travelled down to PGA Village to play in a match play event against Marian University. Unfortunately, we did not play very well and would lose 5-1 to the Knights. This left the team a little disappointed but one person in particular struggled to get over his bad play but we won’t say his name *cough *cough Jenny *cough *cough. After the match the team was treated to dinner by Thong’s parents at Duffy’s.

#StoryTellerSaturday - Unfortunately we had to leave the Florida Sunshine and come back home to Ohio. That day on the road consisted mostly of story-telling from myself and my fellow senior DRock. I think I can speak for Derek when I say our time here has been a blast, and we both are going to miss experiencing moments, like Spring Break, whenever we graduate in May.

#SuperSoakerSunday - The team would make a brief stop in Corbin, Kentucky, where we played Crooked Creek Golf Club. Unfortunately, we were only able to play nine holes of the course we will be playing again next week in a tournament. The team decided to drive around the back nine and leave the course before the big rain came in, soaking all of us and ending Spring Break on a bad note.

Next week, the team will be playing in golf’s version of a double-header in Kentucky. We’re playing in back-to-back 36 and 54 hole events, so pray for us to have safe travels, and our sore bodies after five straight days of golf.

Big Kountry


Oct. 22, 2015

Hey y’all,

This week our teams’ performance, over the past spring and this season, took us somewhere sunny and 75, to beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida. We participated in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Golf National Championship at The Hombre Golf Club. The course has 27 holes, and they separate the three nines by calling them "The Good," "The Bad," and "The Ugly." As you could probably the guess, the names of the courses fit the difficulty of each nine. Since we were in Florida, for a total of five days (you’re jealous I know), I’ll just give you the good, the bad, and the ugly of everyday.

Before we get to Florida though, the five that went down south were not the only ones playing this week. Four other Yellow Jackets played this week, in our home tournament. I’ll give a quick summary to that tournament. Four Yellow Jackets came in, but only two came out. Crash Ehms and Jeremy "Rabbit" Royer were able to survive the carnage. Onto Florida now.


Saturday:

The Good: The team arrived in Florida around 10 a.m., where we were welcomed to plenty of sun, and a great breakfast from the IHOP. "Thong" Sandlas was introduced to Chicken and Waffles for the first time. The team was also able to finish our night off with a 30 minute hot tub session.

The Bad: Spence was introduced to the struggle of reading Bermuda greens. "Hippy" Hackert also started off the trip on a good note, when he assumed that he was just going to be given a travel bag for his golf clubs. We all know what happens when you assume….

The Ugly: Though the team did make it down all safe and sound, it didn’t come without its speed bumps. The team van, to the airport, had a dead battery before we even started it. We had to call a last second audible, so Coach Brown, CReese, and I had to drive the team to the airport.

Sunday:

The Good: First thing in the morning, all of the teams participating in the tournament attended a church service, held by the tournament committee. It was a great start to the day listening to Bethel College’s Assistant Women’s Coach Dr. Bob Laurent inspire us for the coming days of intense golf.

The Bad: The Browns lost, as only the Browns know how, in flames. The worst part about that was I had to watch them lose in a CiCi’s Pizza on a TV that kept flickering in and out of the cable. It’s tough to be a Browns fan, but someone’s gotta do it.

The Ugly: Taylor struggled a bit on the second nine of the practice round. "Jenny" would proceed to lose seven golf balls, dwindling him down to just two balls. Coach would restock Jenny. Luckily he did not run out by day three.

Monday:

The Good: Per the recommendation from former coach Bowen, the team treated themselves to a great dinner at Dee’s Hangout. We enjoyed Oysters (except for Spencer), Fish Tacos, Tuna Dip, Hush Puppies, Catfish Po’ Boys, relationship advice from coach, and making fun of "Jenny" with his Dad and Uncle Bill.

The Bad: Scores for the day: Hippy- 81, JRJReese- 82, BK- 83, Jenny- 83, Thong-85 Coach’s look on his face- Priceless

The Ugly: Taylors’s Euchre Skills. Between four Euchres in one game, to trumping my ace, when he had off suits to give, Taylor’s valiant effort put him and me in a five game deficit to Coach and Spencer.

Tuesday:

The Good: Spencer would lead the charge for the team on Tuesday firing a 76. This, along with JReeseJReese going two-under on his last three holes, would help lift the team over the cut line securing us a spot in the final day of nationals. The team had about a five-hour break, between golf and dinner, so knowing we were in for Day 3, helped us rest easy on the beach soaking in the sun. To celebrate, we all went out to Runaway Island Bar and Grill, where we had a great dinner on the Oceanside patio.

The Bad: Team Chemistry seemed to had hit a rough patch on hole 17 that day. Reese hit a bomb off the tee, leaving him only 220. With his chest pumped up he was ready to play hero, and go for it, until Coach Brown literally ran onto the green, and refused to leave, until he laid up. Reese would shank his next ball, but still get par. Taylor, the group after, would also have a shot at going for it in two, but like Reese, Coach stopped that from happening, leaving Taylor with broken dreams, and a coward’s par.

The Ugly: Thong would struggle in Day 2, shooting a 91, from racking up a couple of high numbers. Though battered and bruised, he came out with a lot of experience (positive twist), and was eager to come back the next day.

Wednesday:

The Good: Taylor would bounce back to his old ways, on the final day. Jenny would shoot a 73 with a solid 1-under, on the Ugly side. Spencer would also bring more good news, from the day, cracking into the Top 25 with a T24 finish. Finally an interesting fact of the week, JReeseJReese collected the most birdies of any golfer, in the tournament, this week.

The Bad: The service at the airport Popeye’s Chicken. Apparently all they serve is spicy tenders, and regular style chicken legs, limited time biscuits, and no honey mustard. Times are tough.

The Ugly: Spencer’s bunker play. Spencer was putting together a solid round for the day until trouble struck on the 16th. Spencer went after the getable par 4 on his drive leaving him with a tricky pitch. Spence would make a costly mistake hitting his second into a bunker. He would then hit his third, fourth, fifth, six, and seventh shots into a bunker of some kind until finally leaving the hole with a nine, and a lot of sand in his shoes. Coach was there to watch the whole thing unfold, to make matters worse.

Overall Good: Parent Support. A lot of proud parents made the trip down to Florida, to watch their boys play. I know they appreciated us giving them an excuse to go to Florida, but we appreciate them more for coming out, and supporting us, both on the course and off. I’ll say it again, y’all are the really MVP’s.

The team would finish in 8th overall for the week. It was a great way to end our Fall season. The team will now take a brief hiatus, but we’ll be back next spring, so don’t worry. See y’all in the spring.

Final Euchre tallies, going into break, for those of you keeping track.

1st Spencer +7, 2nd Coach +5 *only plays with Spencer, 3rd Thong -2, 4th BK -3, 5th Jenny -7


Oct. 14, 2015

Sports Fans,

In this week’s edition of the CU Mens Golf Blog, the team, of myself, "Jenny" Holt, JReeseJReese, John "Thong" Sandlas, and Spencer "Hippy" Hackert, packed up the wagon, and headed west. St. Louis played host to the second, of four, NCAA Midwest Regionals. The team came in with high hopes, after we found out halfway through the week that the team received an at-large bid for the NCCAA National Championship. All of the guys wanted to play well this week to build some momentum going into the national championship. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Quick disclaimer: Things are about to get depressing, so if you’re looking for a pick me up this may not be the blog for you. I’m going to channel my inner Edgar Allan Poe in writing this blog. Quick disclaimer to the disclaimer: This blogger got a C in composition, and a C+ in Intro to Literature, so if you are expecting an American classic, this blog isn’t for you, and if I bring a disgrace to the Poe name, well I warned you.
 
Once upon a midnight dreary Sunday, a group of Yellow Jackets pondered, weak and weary, questioning how they were going to conquer Fox Run Golf Club. After a slow as molasses practice round thanks to our friends at Trevecca, the Jackets were ready to fly back to the hotel for dinner. Just before the round was over, I hit a poor shot into the water that crushed my spirits. "While nodded, nearly napping, suddenly I heard a snapping." My bag strap broke, forcing me to one-strap it, like all the cool kids did in high school, all week. In the background, I hear Spencer "Hippy" Hackert, and Coach Brown laughing at my demise. I heard "Only this and nothing more."

"Ah, distinctly I remember that first day of the tournament." It was a bright and shining October day, but the day turned bleak when the officials called for an hour delay for a lightning storm (there was no lightning during that hour, only like five minutes of rain really). The team had a good start to the day, before the delay, but that could not be said after. "And as each separate dying golf shot wrought," the scores of the team grew larger. With only one good score from the day from Taylor "Jenny" Holt with a 76, out of respect of all the others I will leave you without scores. "Scoreless here for evermore."

"Deep into that darkness peering, long the Yellow Jackets stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dreamed before about golf. But the silence was then broken, by the horn to start the shotgun 18 hole start. And the only words spoken during the grueling six hour round the only words spoken were ‘pace of play, focus on pace of play!’ Merely this and nothing more."

The scores of day two were not much better. The lucky number was 79, scored by "Jenny" Holt, Hippy Hackert, and JReeseJReese. After the round, Coach mentioned that he plans to not come back to this tournament in the future. Quote the Coach "Nevermore"

And the performance and results from this tournament shall never be mentioned---Nevermore!


Now was the tournament as bad I made it sound? Probably not. There were plenty of high scores from everyone in the tournament. This Yellow Jacket team, we believe, is a very good team though, and we did not play up to our standards. Next week we will be in sunny and 75 country, Panama City Beach, Florida competing in the NCCAA National Championship. As one of my favorite country artists, David Nail, put it, we are going to leave the pain of our poor golf games this week "here in Missouri (Miss-er-y)"

NEVERMORE!


Oct. 1, 2015

Sweet Home Chicago! Home of Brats, Da Bears, and Harborside International. This week the team loaded up the van and headed up to Chicago for the first of four NCAA Midwest Regional Previews. After solid performances from the first two tournaments of the fall, the team was very excited to see what Chicago had in store for us.

The Jackets hit the road Sunday morning. After a quick stop at the Cracker Barrel, for breakfast and a checkers game - between myself and "Jenny" Holt - which based on the freshmen’s standards, was an abomination and a disgrace to the game of checkers, the team made their way to the course. Upon arrival at the course, even though the course was made on the landfill, the freshmen started to realize that this place ain’t no dump. After the round was over the upper classmen were re-acquainted with the course while the freshmen got their first taste of the "Harborside Experience." After practice we headed downtown to fulfill our tourist duties by walking (at a fast pace I might add) on the river walk, and visiting the Chicago Kidney Bean. My Dad, Jeff "Old Kountry" Glick, would meet us in town, and took care of the team for dinner at Bub City Barbeque, where the waitress questioned the manhood of "JReeseJReese" and Spence in completing a Mac and Cheese platter. Reese, the "krafty" veteran, would finish his plate while Spence, would leave the restaurant with Mac and Cheese still left on his plate. Just another lesson learned in the freshman’s short time here at Cedarville, don’t ever challenge an upperclassmen.

Day one promised to be a good day for the Jackets. The sun was shining and the wind was at a minimal level. Solid scoring conditions for field were expected with these Conditions. "Crash" would start off the team with an 80. "Hippy" Hackert would then come in with a 74, a solid score on the difficult course. I would match Crash’s score and put up an 80 in the first round where there was a putt where my ball would hit the bottom of the cup but would bounce back out to its original position. My ball, quite literally, did not want to go in the hole it felt like that day. Reese would follow me in shooting a 78, and Taylor would conclude the team’s scores for today with a 74. This would put us T24 for the first day. After the round, we went back to the hotel, where we were welcomed with multiple Chicago deep dish pizzas, provided by JReese’s parents, Chris and Cheryl. This would boost the morale and prepare the team for the daunting day ahead of themselves.

The weather conditions on day two were garbage. The team was welcomed to the course with 25 mph winds and piercing rain (and they say golf is a recreational sport). I guess that’s why they call it the Windy City, am I right? Before you read the scores please take into effect that the low score of the day was a 73 so the course was playing extremely difficult. Both of the freshmen were fully introduced to the "Harborside Experience" day two. Crash would lead the way for us but not without his troubles. His score was high and he was left with a dead umbrella on number 7 and questioning "how can wind be so strong that it moves my club head in my swing?" Spence would also come in with a high number but would come out with a lot of good experience going forward. I would come in with an 82. JReese and "Jenny" Holt would play like some "Junkyard Dawgs," just grinding through the wind, rain, and landfill to shoot two scores in the 70’s when scores in the 70’s were hard to come by that day. The team would move up in the standings and sneak into the Top 20. The team will be back out on the course in a few weeks at Fox Run in St. Louis for the 2nd Midwest Regional Preview.

CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN *insert Harry Caray voice!!!


Sept. 23, 2015

"If you ain’t first, you’re last," "Second place is just the first loser," "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." Well maybe that last one doesn’t really apply to us since we are all guys, but you readers are catching my drift. Being in second can really stink sometimes. All of these sayings would definitely apply for this week’s NCCAA Midwest Regional tournament. This week five teams made the trip to Country Club of the North to fight for the automatic bid to the NCCAA National Championship in Panama City, Florida. All of the players in the field were dreaming of being somewhere sunny and 75.

Day 1 started and the team was very excited and ready to go. After a lot of stories from players who competed in the Championship two years ago, the new players realized that winning this tournament was going to lead to being a part of something really special. The team’s individuals, Carter "Crash" Ehms, Cory "Pete Daddy" Peterson, and John "Thong" Sandlas, started off the tournament. Crash would shoot a 77, followed by Thong’s 78, and Pete Daddy’s 87. The rest of the team would then tee off with Oakland City University and Roberts Wesleyan. Jeremy "J-Ro" Royer would shoot an 80 to start off the scores for the team. After J-Ro came in Spencer "insert nickname here" Hackert would come in with a 79. Sorry for the delay on Spencer’s nickname. It has turned out to be more of a struggle than we ever imagined to find a name for him. Anyways back to golf, I would shoot a 74 putting me tied for second as an individual. Taylor "Jenny" Holt would shoot a 75 that would tie Jenny for fourth as an individual. Jordan "JReeseJReese" Reese was a part of the final group coming in and would shoot a 78. The team tallied up a score of 306, putting us two shots back from RWC. Some of the players after the round would go to Chipotle, courtesy of coach, to go over the good, the bad and the ugly of their rounds. Since it is a home tournament the team had the benefit (or, for some, the displeasure) of sleeping in their own bed, dreaming about being able to put their toes in the Florida water and sand.

Once again, on Day 2, the individuals would blaze the trail for the rest of the team. Crash would come back day 2 with a 79. Pete Daddy was flexin’ day 2 coming back with a 75. Thong would also improve from his day 2 score, also racking up a 75. The team would then follow, chomping at the bit, to "Capture the Dream." J-Ro would start with an 83. Spence would then come in second, scoring an even par 72, tying for the lowest day 2 round. JReeseJReese would shoot a solid 74. Jenny came in with another solid score of a 73, tying him for third individually. I would then be a part of the final group to come in, shooting a 78. Unfortunately this valiant effort was not enough to overcome RWC’s lead. We, once again this season, played the bridesmaid in this tournament, coming in second to Roberts Wesleyan by three shots.

Every time we play, we go out there to win, but I remember a time back when the golf team would be satisfied with a second place finish, but that’s not the case anymore. This team is the best team I have been a part of in my time at Cedarville and we no longer want to just be near the top, we want to be on top! As the team keeps improving every day, both on the course and spiritually as a team off the course, I feel like our wedding day will come where we will be the bride and not the bridesmaid. The bright side behind this is that there are also at-large bids for the NCCAA National Championship. If we continue to play well, and shoot low scores there is a chance we can make the Championship. We can still see the bright Florida sun at the end of the tunnel, we just hope we get the chance to get through the tunnel.

Next week we will be in Chicago for our first NCAA Midwest Regional preview at the massive landfill called Harborside International (not an insult to Harborside, the course was literally made on a landfill).

Who knows, maybe this bridesmaid will finally become a bride next week.

BK


Sept. 16, 2015

Jacket Fans,

Rev that engine and burn out them tires Coach we’re heading to "Big Kountry" Country yeet yeet. This past week, the team came up to my neck of the woods to play in the Malone Invitational. The tournament was held at Tannehauf Golf Club in Alliance, Ohio but the team stayed at my house in Malvern, Ohio. Let me set the stage so you readers can get a good visual of Malvern, Ohio. Think of Malvern as a younger brother of Cedarville; Malvern has half the population than Cedarville, there’s only one stoplight to Cedarville’s three, and Malvern has a drive-thru Dairy Queen compared to Cedarville’s Subway. It’s not much but it’s enough for this blogger.

Thursday, the team left Cedarville for our practice round up at the course. During practice the team starting to get a good feel of the course, so much so that after a couple of holes Spencer declared himself "king of the course". After the round, the team went to Buffalo Wild Wings where Carter got himself involved in some "spirited" debates on strength of schedule in college football and other broad topics with the entire team. The freshman gave it his all but was not able to sway the opinion of anyone that night. After a delicious and nutritious dinner the team moved into my house on Lake Mohawk. Like any other guest we have at my house we quickly got the team out on the water. The guys were very intrigued with the stand-up Jet Ski. If any of you have driven a stand up ski you know it is very difficult to pick up, but after some practice it’s like riding a bike. In their curious nature Reese and Spencer gave the stand up ski a try. Both struggled but showed a lot of potential when they would be given a second chance the next day. Carter, on the other hand, did not exactly show that same potential but came out of the experience with the best gift of all, a nickname! After many high speed crashes and nasty falls, Carter was given the nickname "Crash."

We woke up the next morning to a great pancake breakfast from my parents, Jeff and Meredith. During breakfast the team was starting to second guess the newly minted nickname of Crash for Carter. We decided to name him that on an interim basis to see if it truly fits him. After breakfast, the team loaded up and headed to the course, excited to get the season started. Reese started off the season for the Jackets with a 77 to get our first score on the board. After Reese, Spencer came in with a 75, a solid start to his college career. Taylor "Jenny" Holt came in with a red hot 69, putting him tied for first. BK came with a 71, the second under par score of the day for the Jackets, which put myself in fourth. Carter may not have played as well as he wanted in the first round but he would solidify his nickname "Crash" in his first round. In the first hole of his first collegiate tournament of his career Carter would hit Reese’s ball on the opposite fairway, leading to a two stroke penalty. An un-ideal start that, in golf terms, could be considered a Crash & Burn making Thomas Rhetts new country single "Crash & Burn" a great theme song to Carters’ new nickname. It’s alright Crash we still love ya brother!!! The team would finish with a 292 tying them with the fourth-best one day score in school history and putting them in second for the tournament. After the round the team got to spend some good quality down by the lake. Some highlights of the night included Spencer and Reese conquering the stand-up ski, hot tub talk with Carter involving a moving cloud on the golf course and the spilling of Spencer’s college crush, and a very competitive, sometimes controversial, euchre game with "Jenny" and BK (The winners I might add) vs. Coach and Spencer.

The next morning the team was eager to get back out there. The forecast called for rain and like always the parents of the golfers had to take care of us before the round. Reese did not bring his rain gear so his mom came from Cedarville to get it to him, and Crash’s dad had to give Spencer a pair of rain pants and an umbrella. Thanks for all the help and support this weekend parents, y’all are the real MVP’s. Crash would start the team off strong with a 77, a good comeback for his "accident" the day before. Reese would also bounce back shooting a team- low 74. Spencer started off strong with an even par front nine but would trip up on the back once again. Hackert would go 14 over for the two days on the back. When asked about his struggles on the back he would say "That was SOOOOOO bad." I shot a 76 that would put myself in a tie for third but after a scorecard playoff that used my worst nine hole score of the tournament (just my luck) I would be considered sixth and would not receive a trophy, but I’m not real salty about it…Anyways on a good note Taylor shot a solid 75, putting in him second individually. The team finished with 303 Saturday leaving them with a final tally of 595 placing us in second as a team behind Malone. It was not the win we were looking for but a good start to the year and overall a great weekend both on and off the course. Next week we will be competing at home in the NCCAA Midwest Region qualifier. You know what would be a great idea? If all you beautiful readers could come out and support us on the course next Monday and Tuesday. Hope to see you out there!

Until next time.


Sept. 9, 2015

Jacket Fans,

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your blogger speaking. On behalf of Coach Brown and the entire Men’s Golf team, we welcome you to the CU Men’s Golf, Blog 2015-16. This blog will be taking you through the journey of the Cedarville golf team from now until October, readers will experience about a four-month layover until we will re-connect in spring from March to May.

Anyways enough with the cheesy flight attendant intro, let’s get down to business. The team is back and better than ever! Coach Brown added two freshmean to the team this year, Carter Ehms and Spencer Hackert (nicknames are still in the works for the new additions). Jordan Reese, the LeBron James of the Cedarville University Men’s Golf, has come back home and made his "Return" to the team.

The team has been hard at work already this year. Coach raised the bar for all of the golfers this pre-season by having all of us complete a 6:30 mile to be eligible to qualify for tournaments this year. While most of the golfers were able to complete this in their first try, a couple struggled to reach this goal. Now, out of respect, I won’t give up any names of who had to re-attempt the run (Taylor "Jenny" Holt, and myself), but after a couple of second, third, and fourth chances I can proudly announce that the whole team has completed what was considered, by some, a "lofty" goal set by coach. As Kelly Clarkson put it, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

It has been a long summer and preseason, and with the bitter taste left in our mouths from the "controversial" finish of last season, we are all ready to get back out on the course and take care of some unfinished business. Our first tournament is this Friday and Saturday in our rival (in Christ) Malone’s home tournament. Now fasten your seat belts, as this blog may experience some turbulence from cheesy country music lyrics, and corny movie quotes.

Thank you for choosing to read the CU Men’s Golf Blog, and enjoy the ride.


Jordan Glick is a senior at Cedarville University from Malvern, Ohio and a sports business management major.