BY JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF
PHOTOS COURTESY FHSU ATHLETICS
The Fort Hays State Men’s Golf Team had an erratic Fall season with team placings ranging anywhere from 6th at the Hardrocker Invitational in Rapid City, SD all the way to 18th at the Tulsa Cup in Tusla, OK. As for the current spring season, team placings look to be on the more positive side of things.
Head Coach of Men’s Golf and Assistant Sports Information Director Seth Kincaid comments on the success of the season and the ever-changing performances of last season.
“We’ve played pretty well this spring. The fall season was a little up and down, and we lost a player to injury during winter break, so we weren’t sure how things would shake out this spring,” Kincaid said. “But the guys have finished second, fifth and fifth at our first three events of the spring.”
As for the individual side of things, Kincaid has seen a variety of notable performances made by the players on his team with a couple of specific standout remarks.
“It feels like on any given week any of our guys can really perform well and help out our team score,” he said. “Bryce Cowan is a veteran on our team and he is always a consistent in our lineup, and two true freshman in Parker Krob and Jackson Rader have been solid additions so far.”
Cowan has had a solid start to the season. He finished in a tie for 10th at the Crestview Invitational in Wichita, tied for eighth at the Hillcat Classic in Owasso, OK, and once again tied for 15th at the NSIC Conference Preview Invitational Blue Springs, MO.
Cowan speaks highly of the improvement the team has seen between seasons and notes how impressive this particular group of young men is.
“I have played better golf, but have also gained confidence and experience that has helped out tremendously. As a team we started with three top five finishes, which was great to see some results from the hard work we have put in,” Cowan said. “Everyone on the team has contributed, including the younger guys stepping up. I am a senior this year and this has been the best semester that I have played, along with the best team I have been on here at FHSU.”
Along with this semester being the senior’s star season, Cowan goes on to mention that his greatest achievement this year was accomplished at the Hillcat Classic.
“Getting a top 10 finish in a solid field at the Hillcat Classic was probably one of the most impressive feats that I have attained throughout this current year,” he said.
Cowan then gives insight into what it took to reach that finish and how much of his tournament preparation is mental, saying you have to believe you can win and beat the guys you are playing against.
“If there is any doubt about that, you’ve already lost. I feel like I trick my subconscious mind by the repetition of good thoughts and self-confidence,” he said. “It is all a mental game. By controlling what you can control, and not letting your emotions take over, you will give yourself an edge over many other golfers.
Cowan says his approach is to try and forget about his last shot and focus on the next saying too many times one bad shot leads to bad thoughts and bad golf swings.
He continues by talking about the pressure that comes with such an individualized and statistically measured sport.
“There is definitely some pressure that goes along with it. In the end, what you shoot is all that matters. It [your score] will place you in tournaments and people will use that score to compare you to current and former players,” Cowan said. “Some people can look at my results and can use that to judge what kind of player and legacy I left on the program, but I don’t get too caught up in that. I continue to focus on making my teammates better and making sure the program is better than when I got here.”
Although Cowan is having a great season, he is not completely satisfied with his performance. He is looking to shoot for the stars with a tournament win, conference honors, and post-season play.
“My individual goal is to win a golf tournament and earn a spot on the all-conference team. As a team, our goal is always to focus on post-season and advance to regionals, which hasn’t been done at FHSU in a long long time. Our ultimate goal is to win a conference championship.”
As for the overall team side of things, Kincaid points out the perpetual goal set by the team and touches on a few obstacles that are out of the golfers hands, but that they still have to face.
“Qualifying for NCAA regionals as a team is always the goal. Ten teams out of 29 in the region make it to the postseason, so to be one of those top 10 would be a big accomplishment. With our championships being in the spring, it’s always tough getting in enough practice outdoors,” Kincaid said. “Never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you in February and March. We are lucky enough to have a few options for getting in swings indoors, so that definitely helps, but it still pales in comparison to actually playing on a course.”
From there, Cowan jumps in with what he has seen as the team’s biggest obstacles so far this season as well as his own, saying injuries have been a problem for the team.
“We have two guys that have traveled in the past that had to sit out this semester. Usually, we play qualifying rounds to select the top five guys to travel for the week, but since we are down to such a small number, we have missed out on those competitive rounds that would make us better as a team,” Cowan said. “Individually, along with many other golfers, my own mind is usually my biggest obstacle. Golf is such a mind game, getting over the doubt and being self-confident is something I have been working on.”
As for what the team needs to work on in order to combat those obstacles, Cowan states the obvious – practice.
“Obviously practice, but we can also improve by learning from our own experiences and limiting ourselves from making the same mistake twice,” he said. “Yes, we can improve our game by practicing all the time, but we can also improve by being students of the game from continuing to learn and seek advice. We can all improve by believing in ourselves and trusting what we have.”
Kincaid wraps up his statements with an overview of the grueling conditions that golfers go through to compete in the sport they love.
“When the guys play 36 holes in a tournament on Mondays, it is without question the most grueling thing that any athlete at FHSU has to withstand in competition. They start warming up at 7 am, then walk 20-25 miles carrying 40+ pounds on their back while staying mentally locked in for 11 or more hours. They grab a quick bite and get some sleep before playing one final round the following morning. Unlike other sports, there’s no timeouts, no substitutions.”
Cowan concludes with a similar take, but expands on the lack of coverage-to-production ratio that golfers receive.
“It’s normal for a non-revenue sport like golf to not receive as much coverage as other sports. It is nice to get some attention because there is a lot of work we put in behind the scenes. Being a golf athlete is awesome, everyone sees that we get to travel around and play sweet new golf courses. It is really cool, but it isn’t fun if you don’t play well. That means it is all on us individuals to go out and practice for countless hours.
“Going to the normal 3-hour practice and weights every day isn’t going to show results or win tournaments. The fun part about being a golf athlete is getting to see those extra hours pay off by shooting lower scores. There is no excuse in golf to not be as good as the guy next to you, which isn’t the same case in some other sports. Hard work truly pays off in golf and it pays immediate as well as longer-term dividends.”
The Tigers will be back out on the course as they turn their attention to the MIAA Championships next week. The tournament will take place at the Winterstone Golf Course in Independence, MO Monday through Wednesday next week.