Being a college golfer has its perks, especially at a high-profile Division I school.
The experience afforded to those who are good enough to compete at the highest level leaves the average golfer living vicariously through teenagers and 20-somethings alike.
For example, the Notre Dame men’s golf team.
It’s not uncommon for college teams to play some of the best courses in the country. It becomes uncommon when those courses are Augusta National, Michael Jordan’s exclusive Grove XXIII and Jack Nickalus’ Bears Club, to name a few.
“We take a lot of practice trips down south to get ready for this first event,” said head coach John Handrigan before the Fighting Irish’s first event of the spring in Puerto Rico. “We’re lucky to have such a great alumni base and network. People have some great memberships at nice places across the country and they’re huge in supporting our program, so we’re fortunate to be able to play some of these great courses for practice trips to prepare for the spring.”
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Practice trips to Augusta National, Seminole, MJ’s XXIII, Bears Club, McArthur, Old Palm…We are ready to start the spring season in Puerto Rico! Go Irish! pic.twitter.com/X0QV1EZnJ8
— John Handrigan (@JHandrigan) February 21, 2020
“It never gets old,” Handigran said of the team’s trip to Augusta National. “To me, it’s the elite place to play so I love it every time I get to go, and it’s really fun to take the guys and especially the freshmen that saw it for first time. There’s no better place in the world.”
“I played Augusta with the guys because I couldn’t let that one slip. All the other courses I’m just out there with the guys trying to help out a little bit and get them ready for the spring,” added Handigran, who shot even-par on the last day.
The other course that stood out from the pre-spring swing was Michael Jordan’s exclusive Grove XXIII in South Florida.
“It’s not a course you typically see in Florida and to get out there, I think there’s 75 members and Mr. Jordan was helpful,” Handigran said of the trip, noting the course had the best practice facility he’s ever seen.
While the practice trip wasn’t anything new, this spring will be different than most for the Notre Dame men. After a historic fall that featured four wins in five events, all eyes will be on the Irish in 2020.
That’s quite alright with them.
“We’ve been building up for the last two and a half years and you can see the trajectory the team was going on,” explained Handigran. “Obviously winning four out of five is spectacular and I’m not sure we expected that, but we expected to perform at the highest level.”
Perform at the highest level, they did. The Irish lineup features upper-classmen leaders Hunter Ostrom, Davis Lamb and Davis Chattfield alongside sophomore Andrew O’Leary and star freshman Palmer Jackson. Ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2019 by Golfweek, Jackson is Notre Dame’s lone individual champion this season, claiming the individual title at their fall finale, the Quail Valley Collegiate.
What does it say about the Irish’s depth that they were able to win four events and only have one individual winner? Bad news for the rest of the nation.
“One of our concerns was if there was going to be anybody content with what we did in the fall,” said a candid Handigran, “but I have a great team of guys that are hungry and they’re dedicated to continue improving and to win more tournaments.”
“We strive to win everything we play in. These guys aren’t content with what they did in the fall,” he added. “They’re really hungry to get back after it this spring and I could tell during these practice trips it just wasn’t like they’re playing fun golf. It was extremely competitive and they’re hungry for more.
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