The Eagle freshmen helped GS win two tournaments in the fall.
Men’s Golf Looks to Capitalize on Record-Setting Fall
10/29/2018 2:19:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Eagles shot under par in their last nine rounds.
STATESBORO – Georgia Southern men's golf coach Carter Collins knew he had a talented team and thought the Eagles would have success this season.
He just didn't expect it this quickly.
Georgia Southern capped the fall portion of their season by winning their second team title and shot a combined 99-under in their final three tournaments. The Eagles shot under par in the last nine rounds of the fall and recorded seven rounds that rank in the top-15 in school history, including a school record 18-under-par 266 at the Fighting Irish Classic.
The lineup in those events consisted of a senior, a sophomore who was in the lineup for one event last season, and three freshmen. The senior, Steven Fisk, has been on a tear, racking up a school record four straight individual wins, but four individual scores are used in determining a team score and in winning team titles.
The young Eagles are contributing in a big way.
Sophomore Avery Price fired a 62, which tied for the course and tournament record, in the Fighting Irish Classic and tied for 10th. Freshmen Ben Carr and Wilson Andress each posted two top-10 finishes and classmate Mason Williams tied for fifth at The Hummingbird Intercollegiate. As a matter of fact, the Eagles currently have the top-ranked freshmen class in the country with a combined scoring average of 71.55, according to Golfstat.
Grit, determination and competitiveness are some of the intangibles Collins looks for on the recruiting trail along with talent so he knew his young guys had those traits. Sometimes it takes a while for them to manifest themselves on the golf course and lead to success.
"I'm impressed at the rate of progress by the newer guys and how quickly they hit the ground running and were not afraid to compete," he said. "I'm not surprised by the results, but I'm impressed by the timeline."
Fisk and Crawford Simmons have embraced their roles as seniors and captains in giving the young guys on the team advice and guidance. Fisk played in all five events, and Simmons played in three, including the first two of the season.
"I really have enjoyed helping the young guys as much as I can with the differences between college golf and junior golf or if I know some information about a course, trying to set them up with a good game plan so they can be as successful as possible," said Fisk. "It's a role that I really like and something I was really looking forward to being able to do."
The fearless factor for the freshmen, the fact that they don't know what they don't know, can be a blessing or a hindrance and sometimes both. It's a blessing when they trust their preparation and then just go out and play like they did in the fall. It could be a detriment if they lose humility, perspective and sight of the hard work it takes to be successful.
"They do have perspective on how hard it is, and they also appreciate what they have accomplished," said Collins. "As deep as college golf is nowadays getting a team win is more difficult than it has ever been so for them to get two out of three weeks and be fighting for the other one in between says a lot. I want them to take the confidence from it, but I want them to realize doing it is very difficult so we have to work hard."
Though this fall has been record-setting for the Eagles, they don't give out the Sun Belt trophy or NCAA Regional bids until late April and early May. It's only the halfway point of the season, and the challenge for the Eagles is to pick up where they left off in the spring.
"There's no magic fairy dust," said Collins. "Our magic is in the process and the work and the small details throughout the week that add up to be big deals when it's time to win a tournament. So we go through the same process in the early spring that we went through in the fall. We have talent, we have work ethic and we have good attitudes and when you mix those three things together, you are going to get good results."
The spring season opens with the GS Individual Collegiate at the University Course Feb. 3-4. The Eagles start team tournament play at the Gator Invitational Feb. 16-17 and host their home event, the Schenkel Invitational, March 15-17 at Forest Heights Country Club.
He just didn't expect it this quickly.
Georgia Southern capped the fall portion of their season by winning their second team title and shot a combined 99-under in their final three tournaments. The Eagles shot under par in the last nine rounds of the fall and recorded seven rounds that rank in the top-15 in school history, including a school record 18-under-par 266 at the Fighting Irish Classic.
The lineup in those events consisted of a senior, a sophomore who was in the lineup for one event last season, and three freshmen. The senior, Steven Fisk, has been on a tear, racking up a school record four straight individual wins, but four individual scores are used in determining a team score and in winning team titles.
The young Eagles are contributing in a big way.
Sophomore Avery Price fired a 62, which tied for the course and tournament record, in the Fighting Irish Classic and tied for 10th. Freshmen Ben Carr and Wilson Andress each posted two top-10 finishes and classmate Mason Williams tied for fifth at The Hummingbird Intercollegiate. As a matter of fact, the Eagles currently have the top-ranked freshmen class in the country with a combined scoring average of 71.55, according to Golfstat.
Grit, determination and competitiveness are some of the intangibles Collins looks for on the recruiting trail along with talent so he knew his young guys had those traits. Sometimes it takes a while for them to manifest themselves on the golf course and lead to success.
"I'm impressed at the rate of progress by the newer guys and how quickly they hit the ground running and were not afraid to compete," he said. "I'm not surprised by the results, but I'm impressed by the timeline."
Fisk and Crawford Simmons have embraced their roles as seniors and captains in giving the young guys on the team advice and guidance. Fisk played in all five events, and Simmons played in three, including the first two of the season.
"I really have enjoyed helping the young guys as much as I can with the differences between college golf and junior golf or if I know some information about a course, trying to set them up with a good game plan so they can be as successful as possible," said Fisk. "It's a role that I really like and something I was really looking forward to being able to do."
The fearless factor for the freshmen, the fact that they don't know what they don't know, can be a blessing or a hindrance and sometimes both. It's a blessing when they trust their preparation and then just go out and play like they did in the fall. It could be a detriment if they lose humility, perspective and sight of the hard work it takes to be successful.
"They do have perspective on how hard it is, and they also appreciate what they have accomplished," said Collins. "As deep as college golf is nowadays getting a team win is more difficult than it has ever been so for them to get two out of three weeks and be fighting for the other one in between says a lot. I want them to take the confidence from it, but I want them to realize doing it is very difficult so we have to work hard."
Though this fall has been record-setting for the Eagles, they don't give out the Sun Belt trophy or NCAA Regional bids until late April and early May. It's only the halfway point of the season, and the challenge for the Eagles is to pick up where they left off in the spring.
"There's no magic fairy dust," said Collins. "Our magic is in the process and the work and the small details throughout the week that add up to be big deals when it's time to win a tournament. So we go through the same process in the early spring that we went through in the fall. We have talent, we have work ethic and we have good attitudes and when you mix those three things together, you are going to get good results."
The spring season opens with the GS Individual Collegiate at the University Course Feb. 3-4. The Eagles start team tournament play at the Gator Invitational Feb. 16-17 and host their home event, the Schenkel Invitational, March 15-17 at Forest Heights Country Club.
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