The wind hits, and it hits hard.

It’s everywhere on the University of Massachusetts campus, an unavoidable detractor to all who attempt foot traffic. It’s at its peak surrounding the library, and the only way to seek refuge from blasts of wind is to scurry into one of the surrounding buildings.

But the views from those buildings, most notably the library, are fairly spectacular. There’s rolling hills which give way to farmlands and densely populated woods, all of which encompass and surround campus. It’s a beautiful sight and appreciated by many.

That is, unless you’re trying to golf.

For whatever reason, the golf scene at UMass has remained particularly dormant. It debuted on campus in 1950 as an intramural sport and failed to sustain itself on campus, a mere blip on a fairly broad athletics radar. It’s something that UMass sophomore Sean Sullivan noticed when he arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2012.

A high school golfer, Sullivan wanted to continue to play competitively in college. A quick Google search directed him to what appeared to be the UMass Club Golf website. Only there was one problem – much like the golf scene on campus, the page was also dormant.

“I looked at the Campus Pulse page before I came in and that was kind of part of the reason I came here, because (UMass) had a club golf team,” Sullivan said.

Or so he thought.

“We got here and I was trying to reach the primary contact and he just wasn’t answering me,” Sullivan said. “So I finally called his cell phone and he was like, ‘Yeah, I graduated like two years ago, I don’t know what happened to that thing.’”

Sullivan knew he wanted to continue to play competitively. Luckily, he met fellow sophomore Ryan Reddy, through a mutual friend that semester who lived in the same dorm. With Sullivan taking the lead, the pair began to analyze options on how to move forward and bring club golf back to campus.

“I caddy during the summer and all the older members were like, ‘Oh, what do you mean UMass doesn’t have a team?” Sullivan said.

They settled on beginning the process of becoming one of over 200 registered student organizations, a process both said was fairly easy. Sullivan stayed in contact with the school throughout the registration process and Reddy assumed more responsibility once they were officially recognized. After just a short time, Sullivan became the president of the club while Reddy took over as treasurer.
Growing the club

With the title of an official RSO in hand, the duo was tasked with simply spreading the word about the club. They attended club fairs, spread the news through word of mouth and even tried social media expansion despite mixed results.

“We tried social media but it really didn’t work, surprisingly,” Reddy said. “The main way we spread it was through Campus Pulse and passing it around and talking to people.”

Adding members to the team was a frustratingly slow process and, despite being an official club, the group didn’t play in any tournaments or take serious form until the start of this calendar school year. It entered the year with 19 members, many of whom shared a common goal – to play in a tournament.

While it seems like the next logical step, competing in a tournament is a difficult task for a new club. Club golf is recognized by and competes in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association. Each team is required to pay $300 to enter a tournament and then pay an additional $70 for each participating player. A team enters eight golfers into the field.

Club golf wasn’t eligible for University funding this year, so the responsibility of generating funding fell on the shoulders of the team. The club set a goal of competing in one tournament this year, something they worked toward throughout all of 2013-14.

Competition

The team finally secured enough money to register in the Northern New England Regional tournament held at The Meadow in Peabody, a two-day event on April 5-6. Just having the opportunity to finally play competitively was a resounding moment for the club.

“The goal (for the year) was the tournament, that was the main goal,” Reddy said. “We’ve been working for a year on that now and we finally got into a competitive tournament. … That was the first competitive golf I’ve played since high school.”

Eight players traveled to Peabody and were greeted with gusts of wind that reached as high as 30 miles per hour. After a brutally cold winter in which the team couldn’t practice – their home course, Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown, didn’t open in time for the team to prepare – no one played particularly well. Luke Toomey had the best showing on the team, as he came in a tie for 17th with a score of 174 over 36 holes.

But the experience made it all worth it.

“We have a good time, we have a good group of guys and this weekend was just so fun,” Reddy said. “We really got to know each other and even driving up there was a blast.”

Moving forward

Now, the goal is to get back to a tournament, something the group thinks is attainable for next year. Club golf is scheduled to receive funding from the University next year and hopes to play in multiple tournaments. It may even consider adding a coach.

The goal is to have at least 30 members next year – the team currently has 26 – and to create a more competitive environment while also helping more students play golf. Reddy pointed out that he taught three members how to play golf this year.

“We would like to become more regimented,” he said. “Right now, part of joining the club is a membership to Mill Valley. People just play when they want.”

The team organized inter-club tournaments on their own to continue to play as the school year comes to an end. And while the goal is to play even more competitive golf next season, Sullivan still maintains at the end of the day, it’s about enjoying golf.

“That’s the good thing about the club, we’re open to everybody,” he said. “You don’t have to be good to play or anything, anyone’s welcome.”

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.