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Senior Ben Weyland of the University of Idaho men’s golf team is anticipating his graduation as he makes plans to intern at a Florida golf academy this summer.
Weyland will be playing his last round of collegiate golf at the Western Athletic Conference Championship in one week, but has no intentions of leaving golf behind.
“I was seven or eight when I began playing, so I was pretty young,” Weyland said. “My dad played golf in college. My brother played until he was 16, so it was just kind of a family thing.”
He said his childhood memories consisted of a lot of practice time with his dad so that he could continue to get better.
“We would go to the golf course and practice — sometimes for eight hours at a time,” Weyland said. “We didn’t really play rounds together, just practiced.”
Weyland’s childhood preparation has paid off because he has had solid performances over his four years. He started playing at the junior college level at Eastern Arizona College and transfered to UI.
The Vandal golf team is a close-knit team with all the traveling and bonding they do together.
“We are pretty close as a team,” he said. “We always hang out on the weekends. We always have a good time at tournaments.”
The Turtle Bay Golf Resort in Hawaii is Weyland’s favorite course he has played on, thus far.
“We played there in November. It was my favorite basically because it was in Hawaii,” Weyland said. “That was a good bonding experience as well because we all could hang out and lay on the beach.”
During this spring season, Weyland’s strengths have been in his “iron play,” or his driving skills. Weyland said he continues to work on his putting.
“I am pretty pleased with my play this spring,” he said. “I feel like my putting was better last fall, though.”
Weyland has played in many tournaments over his golf career, helping him ease his nerves before every round.
“I just go out there and play golf,” he said. “I think I down play it, so in a way that’s a way that I prepare for each tournament.”
Weyland believes the strengths in his team can carry them to a win at the WAC Championship. He said they have been improving on their ball striking all spring season.
“We have been hitting the ball much better, considering we couldn’t practice all winter long,” he said.
According to assistant coach Jon Reehoorn, the Vandals will have solid recruits joining the team. Weyland hopes the 2008-09 team will win the WAC next year.
Weyland is a professional golf management major who plans to be a part of golf the rest of his life.
“It’s a rather broad major, you can do anything from coaching to managing a golf course,” Weyland said . “It’s a good stepping stone to all those areas in the golf industry.”
This summer, Weyland is traveling to Bradenton, Fla. to intern at the the David Leadbetter Golf Academy where his father works.
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