Ball State University Athletics
2006 Fall Golf Recap
November 13, 2006 | Men's Golf
Coach Mike Fleck hopes this will be motivation for the team in preparing for the spring, especially for the five seniors who will be graduating.
"I was pretty disappointed from a performance standpoint," Fleck said. "A lack of consistency was the main factor. We had some good rounds both team-wise and individually, but we had some poor rounds as well."
However, Fleck was pleased he was able to get some younger guys experience during the fall.
"We were able to get some sophomores in there and they did a respectable job."
The sophomores he is referring to are Chris Hanson and Ben Lakoff. Several individuals also impressed Fleck with their fall play and really showed some promise for the spring.
"Freshman Travis Smith transitioned well early on and had a couple decent tournaments and played really well at Xavier."
Smith fired a three round score of 209 at the Xavier Invitational and finished tied for ninth individually. Smith played in all 18 rounds of the fall season and had an 18-hole average of 75.2.
"Senior Wayne Denger was our most consistent player individually and had a really good finish at Charlotte," Fleck said. "With three top 15 finishes this fall, hopefully that is something he can build on in the spring."
Denger placed fourth individually at the 49er Classic in North Carolina with a three round score of 218. Denger's 18-hole average of 73.5 for 18 rounds of golf was the low for the team. His consistent fall play also included an individual low round of 66 at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational.
Fleck also was pleased with the play of senior Austin Steele. Steele had an 18-hole average of 75.8.
"Austin played well at home (Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational) with a one-under par finish. He also played in all six tournaments for us."
Fleck said there are several areas that need to be addressed this winter in preparation for the spring. The mental aspect of the game is what stands out to him the most, but the short game is the area that needs to be addressed from a technical standpoint.
"Most of our scoring problems can be attributed to the fact that we were not very good around the greens. We are going to work very hard in addressing the issue by doing some drill work and setting up some practice exercises that will improve our performance in that area. The main thing is we need to continue to have effort and passion during the winter while we work to improve and prepare for the spring."
The Cardinals top finish during the fall was at their home tournament, the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational. They placed third out of 16 teams and shot a team score of 851 during the three-round event. Steele finished tied for third individually, which was also the low finish on the season for the Cardinals.
--By Dave Neff
BSU Athletics Communications & Marketing
