Summer has come to an end and that means the fall golf season will be starting soon. Men’s golf starts Monday and Tuesday in Pullman. The team is looking forward to this season after a disappointing 2012-13 campaign.
“We had a team with a lot of talent, and the longer we went along, the less I got out of the guys,” Idaho coach John Means said. “We also were very poor in the classroom, and I think that had an effect on the way they played getting up towards the end of the season, when finals were coming up.”
Looking to grow on last year’s disappointing season is junior Sean McMullen.
“I think we took a lot away from the season, we didn’t play as well as we could of, but if anything you know, failure is feedback,” McMullen said.
McMullen enjoyed a busy summer competing in numerous tournaments with his team. Most notably, he got a taste of what it was like to be on top in the Oregon State Open.
“I had a really good Oregon State Open, I was leading for 45 holes, and that was a professional event, so that was pretty cool,” McMullen said.
Looking to turn a new leaf, Means has made some changes. He has removed the players with troubled grades, and is looking for a couple of new players to step up in their place.
“We have got two great players returning in Aaron Cockerill and Sean McMullen,” Means said. “We have got a great freshman in Jared du Toit, so we have three really, really strong players at the top of our line up.The strongest three since I’ve been here.”
Despite the previous poor season, expectations have not diminished for the upcoming season. Senior Alex Pounds is looking forward to a successful 2013-14 campaign.
“Obviously the goal is to win the conference and go to the NCAA championship and make a good run there, hopefully win it,” he said.
“I don’t really have any expectations,” Pounds said. “I just want to go out there and play well, and see where it puts me. Just got to work hard and get ready.”
The Vandals will play at Palouse Ridge, Washington State’s home golf course, in the Itani Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
Palouse Ridge is a fairly young course at five-years-old, but despite being so young, it is already getting good reviews.
“It is a great college course,” McMullen said. “I think it’s like top five in the nation for college courses, it really is a great golf course.”
Along with being so prestigious, it is also very difficult at times.
“It is very forgiving off the tee, the fairways are really very large, and the greens are undulating and will be very fast,” Means said. “What makes this golf course hard or easy, is the wind. If there is no wind, you will see a lot of low scores, if the wind picks up, and you will see a lot of high scores.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached