Depth, chemistry are strengths
Men’s golf coach Steve Kennedy, in his ninth season at North Dakota State University, feels his team has great depth and chemistry in their favor heading into the spring segment of the 2021-22 golf season. “We have 9 players, and they are all interchangeable. I mean we can put any five [players] of them in and they’re pretty much even,” Kennedy said. “Our depth is really key.” The Bison, who finished with a 43-12-1 record over the fall campaign, are picked to finish second in the Summit League behind the Denver Pioneers.
“We had a great fall,” Kennedy continued. “Besides our record, we had seven guys shoot 69 or less. This team drives the ball so well. They hit it in the fairway, and they hit it long. For us to play well this spring, it’s our wedges.” Kennedy said for the Bison to score, they will have to “get in the proximity of the hole. That’s where the scoring will come from.”
If the Bison have any weakness, Kennedy said, it would be long par threes. “A lot of times, when we get to tournaments, we try to be too perfect. Try to make the perfect shot…even at times when we shouldn’t be,” Kennedy said. “We take chances and get ourselves into trouble…we get on the wrong side of the hole and take a double bogey rather than par. It is OK on a long par three. We talk about that a lot before we play. It’s OK to take par on a long par three.”
Moving on to the team’s lineup, Kennedy talked about the teams’ depth. “We’ve got Nate (Adams) and Brock (Winter) who are great players,” Kennedy said. “I am really happy with the strides that sophomores Jack Johnson and Gavin Cronkhite have made. They have developed so much from last year.” Kennedy felt that while this team could compete in the Summit League right now, the return of captain Nate Deziel from injury would be a big help. “One of the things we went through this past fall was our captain, and one of our seniors, got hurt,” said Kennedy. “He (Nate Deziel) was an all-conference player last year and he hurt his knee in a freak accident. If Nate comes back to his form, we are going to be in great shape.”
Adams and Winter also felt that the team’s chemistry was key. Adams, from Maple Grove, Minn., said the team has really gelled well. “We’re close as a group. We spend a lot of time together and we all get along well,” Adams said. “I think that is important and really helps to be friends off the course for success on the course.” Winter, from Stillwater, Minn., said he is happy with this group. “I am very happy with this squad, we are like family,” Winter said. “I mentioned to coach (Kennedy) earlier that I feel more comfortable with this group than any other in my time here. We are all motivated and we all push each other because we all hate to lose so that is why we are so close, we push each other.”
Kennedy likes the chemistry too. “They all live together. Even the freshmen in the dorms are together. It’s a real tight-knit group,” Kennedy said. “It is important to back each other up. We really focus on the positive. You know the old saying, ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything’ is a rule with us. I really preach that.”
The men start their season this weekend at the Thunderbird Invitational at Sunbrook Golf Club in Saint George, Utah. Coach Kennedy is looking forward to it. “There is a little bit of a transition from hitting off of indoor turf to hitting off of grass, but we’ll be fine,” Kennedy said. “Our younger classmen will have to perform well. I think our performance in the Grand Canyon University Invitational and the Golfweek “Any Given Tuesday” Intercollegiate will weigh heavily on how we are sizing up.”