NDSU Men’s Golf Heads into Summit League Tournament After Historic Regular Season

Bison set scoring average and tournament victories record

FARGO, N.D — “It’s not as hard as people think it is. It’s like riding a bike in the spring. You get back into it pretty quickly.”

Other than their tournaments, North Dakota State men’s golf has played all but 12 practice holes this spring limited by weather to the turf of the bubble and short game area.

“We hit a lot a lot of chips during our time together. The guys know that,” head coach Steve Kennedy said. “They’ve done it all throughout their careers. They’re all from the Midwest and Minnesota so they all know what it’s like coming out in the spring after being inside all winter.”

“I’ve dealt with it my whole junior career so I’ve learned how to maintain a good swing,” senior Brock Winter said. “Keep off the rust and get a good feel for things when we get down south.”

“Going back to high school we were never able to see the ball especially being from the northern part of Minnesota,” freshman Ian Simonich said. “We can see it in here but when you get down there just taking a couple practice reps and swings just see the ball fly and getting the club interacting with the turf is huge.”

Being stuck indoors might kill the mood, however the Bison make it fun by creating shot targets with nets and garbage cans and earning rewards.

“These guys are so competitive we’ve developed a lot of competitions,” Kennedy said. “We do about three or four of those a day. They just want these bison points and every time they win one, they get a point. The overall winner gets their name on a plaque. You would think that’s just like putting on the green jacket at the masters.“

“It’s just something we play for. Unfortunately I’m at the bottom of the list and not doing to hot,” Simonich said. “I just saw that coach even subtracted some points from me buts its just really fun and something to play for.”

Something to play for indeed. This year NDSU has set a program record with five wins the most since 1990 and have finished top 10 in three of the last four tournaments including a 31-shot victory at the Stampede at the Creek  in Omaha also an historic mark.

“They’re just good. All of them have been in positions before where they’ve won state championships or they’ve done really well in college tournaments,” Kennedy said. “They know what it takes to go low. They’re not afraid to go low anymore. Once they get that 66-67 then it becomes natural for them, if they can get down there, there’s no nerves about shooting those scores anymore.”

“It’s just family. We love to push each other,” Winter said. “Our goal each and every week is to win. Especially this last week in Omaha. It was great win and momentum heading into the summit league championship.“

The Bison head to sand creek station in Kansas for the sixth time. With the majority of the team having played it last year and finishing third familiarity should play a key role.

“Our girls were down there this week and had some days where it was 20-30 miles per hour. Fargo I guess you can say is not much different,” Simonich said. “I talked to brock before practice and asked what I’m a doing off the tee? Am I hitting driver or am I hitting irons? I’ve been implementing that the last couple of days. Lots of low shots to get ready for the wind. Even putting. Putting is underrated when it’s windy. It’s hard to stay balanced over the ball and trust your line. I even widened my stance a little bit last week to prepare for this. I’ve done it all and just want to go play.”

“Expectations change. Standards change and goals significantly change because of last year.” Winter said. “It comes down to trust and belief in yourself which can set a good week from a bad week.”

“Were going back with four of the five guys playing it and telling our fifth guy what it’s like on some of these holes,” Simonich said. “When you get to conference, its just different. You get there and all the summit league teams flags are up. It’s just a lot more pageantry and a lot more fun. It’s a little more intense and it’s my favorite time of the year.”

It all gets underway Sunday morning with first tee times at 8.