Although Seton Hall has both men’s and women’s NCAA Division I golf teams, the school is now introducing a new club golf team this spring.
Two years ago as a sophomore, Brendan Davis attempted to start a club team, but with minimal success. The team did not garner much, if any, interest from students, leaving Davis to play on his own. He has since competed in multiple National Collegiate Club Golf Association events.
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Half of the Big East schools already have club golf teams, including Marquette, Villanova, Xavier, DePaul and Providence. Photo via Pixabay.[/caption]
“I’ve played in about 10 events, one being a national championship,” Davis said. “I just used Seton Hall’s name and played as an individual.”
The NCCGA, collegiate club golf’s governing body, hosts a small amount of tournaments in each of its regions every year. Seton Hall competes in the metro region, meaning the team will play at courses in New Jersey as well as its surrounding states.
Because he is now a senior, Davis lost interest in attempting to start a club golf team again. However, another student, Jonathan Guinto, reached out to Davis this past fall.
“He reached out to the NCCGA who put him in contact with me,” Davis said. “I was listed as club president because I was the only one playing.”
This time Davis and Guinto found considerably more success, largely due to student interest in the new team. Fifteen students have already signed up to play, a pleasant surprise for Davis.
“Jonathan put up a ton of flyers and did a great job spreading the word so props to him,” Davis said.
Despite the excitement, the duo could not convince the University to fund the team. Instead, players will have to pay dues and tournament fees, the same way Davis did the last two years. Team dues are $150 and tournament fees are $120 for the season.
However, the team does not have a course to practice at yet. Davis has reached out to some nearby courses, but made it clear that the team is still findng its way and that many of the logistics like finding a practice course have yet to be addressed.
“I have contacted a few courses,” Davis said. “I am hoping that because we are a group of college students, we can get a discount of some kind so we can get out and practice.”
The team will compete in two tournaments this spring. The first will take place April 1-2 at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens, Conn. The second tournament is just a week later at Winterberry Hills golf course in Connecticut. If the team plays well, some could find themselves at the national championship.
Davis hopes that team success will help its case for funding next semester.
“Hopefully we can perform well enough to show we deserve funding,” Davis said. “I think we definitely have a shot to win the metro region.”
Andrew Lombardo can be reached at andrew.lombardo@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Anlombardo8.
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