We all may have our "signs" that are meaningful to us and a reminder that spring is here! It may be that the daffodils and tulips are blooming in your garden or that fresh smell of new grass. Most of my memories stem from having lived in State College so many years now and finding the familiar scenes of lawn parties popping up randomly, Penn State's Movin' On week, or in my day "Gentle Thursday". I need not explain, but suffice it to say it was anything but gentle.
More people out on bikes, walking dogs, the smell of grilling and one of my favorites, seeing the dogwood trees pop with their spectacular white and pink flowers. If you play or have played Varsity golf at Penn State spring also means a trip across route 80 to our Big Ten rivals in the mid-west, Ohio State.
Most who travel in golf circles are familiar with the great players that have played the game along with some of the best courses to play. One of those players, Jack Nicklaus, which I may argue even if you aren't a golfer, you know the name, happens to have been a Buckeye. He also happens to have dabbled with golf course design over the years. The Scarlet Course at Ohio State is a recipient of Jack's creativity and signature deep bunkers. Affectionately, the Scarlet Course has been known to be "Jacked up"! If you aren't familiar with playing the game or the course, I can explain. Playing the Scarlet Course after preparing your game on the Penn State Blue Course is like asking our basketball teams to practice using only half the court and then go compete on a full court and raise the hoop another foot. Add in that most of the time we have been at Ohio State in April we have played in not so ideal conditions.
My former players that have taken this trip with me can attest we have seen rain, wind, torrential rain and wind, and even snow. Then why do we continue to go? Because, it is a great tournament filled with a competitive field, on a great golf course, add in, easy to get to, but mention Ohio State to most of my former players, I am pretty certain you will get an earful of unusual stories. After more than one hundred rounds of competitive golf on the Scarlet Course I believe we may have turned the corner to the "sunny side of the street"! It certainly helped that we had some of the nicest spring weather I have ever seen in Columbus.
After the first round of play the Nittany Lions finished at 10-under par, one shot behind the leader Ohio State and several shots ahead of the additional twelve teams in the field. Sarah Willis and Mathilde Delavallade were on fire, respectively, sitting at five and four under par. As if 18 holes is not enough to play on that course in one day, we did it twice! After 36 holes on day one we were in third place at 9-under par! Sarah Willis was 9-under and tied for the lead with her teammate Mathilde not far behind. We finished the tournament having had a great team effort with some gutsy play by Michelle Cox and Isha Dhruva! They played with "grit" and stayed patient which is necessary on this course. At one point Isha said to me after playing six holes, "Coach I haven't had a par yet, but I have had three bogeys and three birdies! 😊 Michelle Cox is that player that wants to know how we stand. I told her we needed her score and to hang in there. She then birdied the very difficult par 3, 17th hole and the par 4 18th, to finish even par on the day! Now that is "grit"!
I believe we prepared well for this tournament which led to some of the success, along with a team that came together as a group. I often remind them they will become what they practice, and it was evident they practiced the shots they needed for this course, while creating a detailed game plan, sprinkled it with some patience along the way and made history. Our third-place finish of 864 with rounds of 279, 286 and 298 was Penn State's best of all the years we have played! So happy spring to all the former Nittany Lions that have experienced the Lady Buckeye over the years. We came, we competed, we made our mark, we will be back! 😊
