Nicholls men’s golf tees of on spring season after long break

The Nicholls State University men’s golf team will officially tee off on the 2018 season when they travel to Mobile, Alabama to participate in the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate tournament next Monday.

This will be the team’s first action since the Pinetree Intercollegiate tournament back in October.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Colonels will look to come out strong in their first tournament of the year, the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate tournament. The tournament, held at Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course, will consist of nine different teams, including larger schools such as Florida State University and Notre Dame University. Par will be set at 72.

Senior golfer Albert Badosa-Soler talked about the importance of coming out strong in the first tournament.

“This will be a really important tournament. The five guys that will be going are very prepared to play; they’re all playing really great golf,” Badosa-Soler said. “Coach has been helping us a lot. We’ve been playing in bad weather and have been doing alright, so I feel that we should do well and put a good score up.”

When looking ahead at the season as a whole, head golf coach James Schilling said the team will look to cut down on mistakes and go into each tournament with confidence.

“We’re going to go into each tournament with a positive attitude and control what we can control, try to play smart golf and as mistake-free as we can,” Schilling said. “If we can minimize our mistakes, that’s kind of the difference in the teams that are upper-half of the field.”

NEW FACES
The golf team has added a new player to its roster for the spring season. Edouard Cholet, a sophomore from Saint-Cloud, France, who previously played for the Newberry College golf team.

The new Colonel will be part of the starting five players that travel for the tournament, in his first match with the team. Schilling pointed out that Cholet has played well so far.

“He’s stepped right in and he’s been able to qualify based upon score for the first tournament, so that’s always good. It gives you more depth in your lineup, and that’s what you ultimately need,” Schilling said. “It’s fine if you have one or two players win tournaments, but ultimately you want the team to progress and move forward.”

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE?
With the team having such a large span of time without scheduled play, getting back into rhythm and getting properly prepared to play by practicing hard has been very important. Players kept practicing over the break, although it was hard for some due to weather, according to Badosa-Soler.

“We had like month off. I went back to Mexico and I played a lot of golf there. The weather was fantastic and I had my coach there, my personal golf coach,” Badosa-Soler said. “It was pretty great out there. I know there were a couple guys who didn’t have the chance to play as much, guys from up north, Canada and Michigan and places like that. We got all our practice in this month and we’ve been playing for almost a month, so I feel like a lot of guys are prepared.”