Freshman Jonathan Randolph takes a swing during the two-team conference against Covenant on Saturday/Triangle photo by Lana Douglas.
by Lana Douglas
Photo Editor
It seems to be the year for new sports at Bryan. In addition to softball and cheerleading, Bryan now has a golf team.
The sports program has added both men’s and women’s golf teams to Bryan campus. Already the teams include 12 men and six women, with more recruits on the way for the spring season.
“We were looking to expand our school’s sports program, and I think one of the things that we had to include was more women’s sports,” said Head Golf Coach Peter Bollant.
Freshman Alicen Wendall originally planned on playing soccer in college, but when she heard about Bryan’s new golf program and scholarship her plans changed.
“I think that there’s plenty of options [at Bryan],” said Wendall. “A lot of the colleges I visited didn’t even have golf.”
Golf is different from every other sport, according to Bollant. It doesn’t require the stamina and the same level of physical fitness as other sports. Golf is all about concentration and playing for the whole match, not just one hole.
Right now, the golf team does not have a place to practice on campus. Instead, they drive about 30 minutes to different golf courses in the area to practice several times a week.
“It’s a problem not having facilities on campus, but we are only in the first year of the program and we are patient,” said Bollant.
“If it was right here on campus I feel like it would be easier,” said Wendall. “It’s a little hard to drive and then want to practice.”
Even though the golf team has to travel to practice, soon they will have three new golf holes by the water tower on campus, and Fort Bluff Sports Camp on Dayton Mountain has donated a synthetic putting green. The synthetic green at Fort Bluff should be up sometime this week and the holes by the water tower will be ready to use as soon as the grass grows in.
The golf teams have already started playing in conferences, even though their main season is in the spring. The men’s team just competed in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament in Elizabethton, Tenn. and the women’s team will be competing in the AAC Fall Conference Tournament in Marietta, Ga., on Sunday.
Bollant feels both teams can be “decently competitive” this season in spite of being a first-year program.
“I think that we can do reasonable,” said Bollant. “But I think within a couple years, we can be big-time competitors within our conference.”
For more information on the golf teams visit www.bryanlions.com
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