Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Fall Wrap-Up

Hello Cardinal Faithful,

It is hard to believe that we have five tournaments behind us, a trip to Scotland,and the fall season winding down! Thanks to everyone for checking out my blog!

On the team front, the guys are home this week for the Thanksgiving holiday and enjoying some time off. Time off is all relative, some guys are competing, and most are working out and practicing a bunch in anticipation of the events that lie ahead in our schedule. I wish we had more of an off season but nowadays with top level D1 athletics, there really isn't time off for the successful guys. Maybe a week or two here and there but that is it! I am impressed everyday by our team and the workload they tackle with their academic and athletic pursuits.

We finished the fall ranked #13 in Golfstat, and #15 in Golfweek ... not bad for this time of year considering the strength of schedule we played as well as the fact we were without Cameron Wilson for a few events and Andrew Yun who was away at Q-School. I was really proud of how our guys came to play every tournament. Lasting memories and positive vibes were had by all. It was neat to see the younger guys really contributing as well which is key to our depth and prospects as we get closer to the NCAA's. I cant wait to see where this group can go this spring. We will be focusing on our short game with our extra work this winter for sure! There were a ton of highlights to rember but Patrick Rodgers' two wins and Cameron Wilson's 61 will be hard to overlook.

We are really excited about the recruiting class we have put together as well for next year with our NLI announcement last week. If you want three guys that can make a difference for any program and make their mark ...I think you can find them coming to the Farm.

We are really lucky to have a tremendous amount of support for what we do as a team. From the support within Athletics to the people that do things for our program that go unnoticed everyday ... we are very fortunate. One example is this very website that was built, is run, and updated everyday by Bob Stevens. Bob won't take a dime, is always on the ball, and knows more Stanford Golf History than anyone. We are so lucky to have Bob's help! Another example is the volunteer crew that we have here at the course that works all of our events. A tremendous groups of people ... the chairs, Jeff, Dan, Sue, and Anne put in countless hours of organization to make Stanford Golf events all that they are and we are tremendously thankful. All of it is done on their own time and founded in their passion to help! A special kudos to Sue Epstein for being recognized as the Chauvel Cup recipient this year which goes to the Stanford Golf Volunteer who goes above and beyond the call of duty! Many are qualified but only one can win....

As I sign off I wish everyone a safe and healthy Holiday Season and want to say thanks for the support you give our program. We are training amazing leaders here and I feel fortunate to play a small role in the process!

Fairways and Greens and Go Cardinal!








Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012-13 Season Fall Arrival Tournament

Return from Scotland...


The Team have now returned from their tour to the Home of Golf (see picture above taken near the famous Swilken Burn at St.Andrews).


Round 1 Begins...

With typically fine weather and the Stanford Golf Course in perfect condition, there were certainly a few birdies to cheer about today as the Cardinal squad commenced their first round of a 54 hole 2012-12 Season Fall Arrival Tournament.

Here are the scores posted:

[Click here or on the picture above to link to the GameBook leaderboard and view hole by hole scores of all players by clicking on their name]

Highlights of the day were:

four birdie 2s in the same group on hole 8
- Three out of those four players then went on to birdie hole 9 as well
- With a birdie on holes 7 and 10, Patrick Rodgers completed four consecutive birdies in that hole 7-10 stretch
- Steve Kearney's towering iron tee shot within 2 feet of the 14th hole converted for a birdie two... here are all participating players' tee shots on that hole:


All credit to the Freshmen in their first competitive round over the Stanford Golf Course as they negotiated it in 71 strokes with maturity that augurs for many sub 70 rounds in the future.


Rounds 2 and 3...

One key training principle that applies to sports globally is that "practice should be more difficult than the game itself". Certainly this principle was being applied by a Stanford basketball player in training simultaneously catching tennis balls whilst dribbling close by in the gymnasium during our early morning workouts last week. Our equivalent in golf is to find the most challenging courses and conditions in the Bay Area and mix them in to our practice play.

On Wednesday September 19th we played TPC Stonebrae across the San Mateo Bridge up in the hills next to Hayward. On a big course from the back plates, Steven Kearney and Shane Lebow ground out very respectable rounds. Here are the complete scores (click picture to open the leaderboard page):



On Friday September 21st we hopped across to the Pacific coast for a fresh and early 7am start at Half Moon Bay Old Course. Here are the complete scores from the 3rd Round (click picture to open the leaderboard page):


4th and Final Round Scores...

Click here for scores from the final round held at Stanford Golf Course yesterday (Wednesday September 26th, 2012)

Cumulative scores after 4 rounds...

1. Steven Kearney 69 - 72 - 76 - 72 = 289
2. Shane Lebow 72 - 74 - 77 - 72 = 295
3. Andre De Decker 71 - 79 - 75 - 71 = 296
4=. David Boote 71 - 81 - 78 - 71 = 301
4=. Wilson Bowen 75 - 79 - 77 - 70 = 301
6. Dominick Francks 71 - 84 - 75 - 76 = 306

DNF. Patrick Rodgers 69 - dnp - 74 - 72
DNF. Patrick Grimes 81 - NR - 84 - 73

A note upon live scoring for our intra-squad tournaments...

In the future, if you would like to follow scoring from our intra-team rounds and have a smartphone you may be able to download the Golf GameBook App. then register and "friend" Stanford Men's Golf in order to follow live from wherever you may be.

Chicago...

The following team order has been submitted to compete in the Olympia Fields Country Club / Fighting Illinis Invitational, September 30th - October 2nd, 2012.

1. Rodgers
2. Kearney
3. Lebow
4. DeDecker
5. Boote

The team departs tomorrow and will be fortunate enough to be present at Medinah (venue of the 2012 Ryder Cup matches) on Saturday afternoon following a practice round over the South Course at Olympia Fields.

Go Cardinal!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Fall Season Coming Soon!

Hello Stanford Golf Fans,

My blog is in some dire need of some TLC so here I am to share a few tid bits from the coaches desk as we approach the fall season and reflect on the past year as well.

We have just finished up the Stanford Golf Camp and are all taking a deep breath after a busy summer of good shots, bad shots, and a ton of fun. The Stanford Golf Camps were nearly filled to capacity this summer with over 350 campers in attendance. Needless to say a ton of work, organization, and effort but the neat thing about the camps is that it really is a great introduction to this University that means so much to me as well as a great introduction to the Stanford Golf Programs. In fact there have been many current and past players on the teams that were once campers back in the day. So ... one never knows what will happen!

A lot of our time this summer has been spent on the recruiting trail too. Believe it or not we have completed our recruiting efforts already for the rising seniors, "The '13's" in recruiting lingo that is ... and are already working on the rising junior class "The 14's". It is amazing the level of golf that is being played right now at the highest levels of junior golf ... the trick for us is to find the kids that have the academic horsepower as well! Many of the top prospects are making very early decisions on their school choice so it is imperative that we are on the ball. The good news is that the high achievers in both areas are out there somewhere and we feel really good about the direction we are heading with our newly recruited players.

Finally, I wanted to take a minute to wish my good friend and peer on the women's side, Caroline O'Connnor, all the best in her new endeavors. Caroline is moving on after 17 years on The Farm and her dedication to Stanford Women's Golf and all she has done for Stanford over the years is truly commendable. Our new coach, Anne Walker, now has the reigns of the program and I believe Anne will do an excellent job as well. Anne has been making birdies everywhere she as been, as a player on the Cal team, an assistant coach at Cal, and most recently as the 3-time Conference Coach of the Year in The Big West Conference at UC Davis. Welcome Anne!

Next up is fall arrival for the team and we will quickly be on the road for our much anticipated foreign tour of Scotland with the team and small group of supporters. We have eight courses in seven days on tap and as much history and culture as we can absorb! It should be an epic experience and I know the guys can't wait. We will be sure to be posting pictures to our Facebook page.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our team and I am excited with where our path could lead this year with the group we have returning. We still have to play out of the short grass and drain the putts but I am confident the guys are up for the challenge!

Go Cardinal.

Coach Ray

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

2012 US INTERCOLLEGIATE line-ups finalized

The past two days have seen some rather damp and breezy conditions for a team roster/line-up order qualifying shoot-out.

Here are the results:

Round 1 - 3/27/12



Round 2 - 3/28/12



Cumulative scores:

1. Cameron Wilson 73 + 68 = 141
2= David Chung 69 + 73 = 142
2= Andrew Yun 69 + 73 = 142
4. Patrick Rodgers 74 + 70 = 144
5. Steven Kearney 74 + 71 = 145
6. Shane Lebow 80 + 69 = 149
7. Patrick Grimes 80 + 71 = 151
8. Marcel Puyat 81 + 72 = 153
9. Wilson Bowen 80 + 80 = 160
10. Andre De Decker DNP + 75

Stanford will therefore field the following teams

Stanford Red (A team)
1. Cameron Wilson
2. David Chung
3. Andrew Yun
4. Patrick Rodgers
5. Steven Kearney

Stanford Black (B team)
1. Shane Lebow
2. Patrick Grimes
3. Marcel Puyat
4. Wilson Bowen
5. Andre De Decker

Including these two teams from Stanford there will be 17 teams competing and 5 individuals. A field of 90 players.

Those teams are:

Stanford Red
Stanford Black
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Utah
Colorado
UCLA
USC
San Francisco
San Jose State
San Diego State
Nevada
Pepperdine
UC Davis
Fresno State

View teetimes for round 1 on 3/30/12 (it is a 3 day, 3 round event through 4/1/12) and eventually tournament live scoring by clicking here >>>

Visiting teams arrive tonight and the practice rounds begin tomorrow.

Many thanks to all Stanford Golf Course staff and volunteers that make this tournament possible!

(NOTE: there may still be volunteer opportunities for you. If interested, please contact Dan Wagner at DanWagner@AOL.COM)


GO CARDINAL !

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Qualifying - UNLV Southern Highlands Tournament

Round 3 - 3/3/12

The final scores from today's round at Half Moon Bay - Old Course:


Cumulative final scores and Tournament Traveling Team Qualifiers (*) and Coaches' Picks (^) are therefore as follows:

*1= Andrew Yun 69 + 59 + 74 = 202 (+1)
*1= Steven Kearney 69 + 59 +74 = 202 (+1)
*1= Cameron Wilson 72 + 56 + 74 = 202 (+1)
^4 Patrick Rodgers 73 + 61 + 69 = 203 (+2)
5 Patrick Grimes 72 + 56 + 76 = 204 (+3)
^6 David Chung 70 + 59 + 76 = 205 (+4)
7 Wilson Bowen 73 + 57 + 81 = 211 (+10)
8 Marcel Puyat 76 + 62 + 74 = 212 (+11)
9 Shane Lebow 75 + 61 + 80 = 216 (+15)

--
--

Watch live scores from todays round at Half Moon Bay - Old Course by:

1. clicking on the GameBook image below


2. copy and paste the following link into your web browser

http://www.golfgamebook.com/club/leaderboard0211/2up-mu1f

3. register to GameBook Clubhouse (www.golfgamebook.com). If you have an iPhone, go and download the FREE Golf GameBook app. Register and search STANFORD Men's Golf to friend with. Accepting the notifications settings in your profile, you will get a message when the team starts playing.


Round 2 - 3/4/12

Here are the scores from the second round held at Stanford Golf Course during a Friendly Match versus the Penn Quakers (15 holes due to sunset):

1= Cameron wilson 56 (-2)
1= Patrick Grimes 56 (-2)
3 Wilson Bowen 57 (-1)
4= David Chung 59 (+1)
4= Andrew Yun 59 (+1)
4= Steven Kearney 59 (+1)
7= Shane Lebow 61 (+3)
7= Patrick Rodgers 61 (+3)
9 Marcel Puyat 62 (+4)

Cumulative totals are therefore:

1= Andrew Yun 69 + 59 = 128 (-1)
1= Steven Kearney 69 + 59 = 128 (-1)
1= Cameron Wilson 72 + 56 = 128 (-1)
1= Patrick Grimes 72 + 56 = 128 (-1)
5 David Chung 70 + 59 = 129 (E)
6 Wilson Bowen 73 + 57 = 130 (+1)
7 Patrick Rodgers 73 + 61 = 134 (+5)
8 Shane Lebow 75 + 61 = 136 (+7)
9 Marcel Puyat 76 + 62 = 138 (+9)


Round 1 - 2/29/12

Here are the scores from the first round held at San Francisco Golf:

1= Andrew Yun 69 (-2)
1= Steven Kearney 69 (-2)
3 David Chung 70 (-1)
4= Cameron Wilson 72 (+1)
4= Patrick Grimes 72 (+1)
6= Patrick Rodgers 73 (+2)
6= Wilson Bowen 73 (+2)
8 Shane Lebow 75 (+4)
9 Marcel Puyat 76 (+5)

The next round will be on Sunday 2/4/12 at Stanford Golf Course and the final round will be on Monday 2/5/12 at a location TBC. There will be 3 open spots and 2 coaches' picks.

Go Cardinal!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

2012 "Race to Hawaii" Qualifying - Round 4 Final standings

The traveling roster for Hawaii has been finalized and is as follows:

Patrick Rodgers
Andrew Yun
Steven Kearney
David Chung
Cameron Wilson
Patrick Grimes (will compete as an individual)


Round 4 -1/23/12

There were breezy conditions today on the Stanford Golf course which was playing much softer and therefore longer after a couple of rain storms this week.

It was Patrick Grimes who won the day...



Patrick had worked hard on his game over the winter break and in particular on his short game, green reading and putting speed. Finally, when everything was on the line, he reaped the rewards by firing a superb 3-under-par 67. In the battle for second place on the day, Andrew Yun claimed a little vengeance by making back-to-back birdies on his final two holes (4 and 5) to clip Patrick Rodgers by a shot. Patrick R. nonetheless earned an emphatic 11 shot victory in the "2012 Race to Hawaii" Qualifying Tournament with his -10 cumulative total. It is the first double-digit qualifying tournament win in Stanford Men's Golf history recorded under Coach Ray!

Here are the final 4 round totals:

1. Patrick Rodgers : 67(-3) + 66(-6) + 72 (E) + 69(-1) = 274(-10)
2. Andrew Yun : 68(-2) + 76(+4) + 73(+1) + 68(-2) = 285(+1)
3. Steven Kearney : 69(-1) + 74(+2) +76(+4) + 71(+1) = 290(+6)
4. David Chung : 68(-2) + 76(+4) + 74(+2) + 73(+3) = 291(+7)
5. Patrick Grimes : 70(E) + 78(+6) + 77(+5) + 67(-3) = 292(+8)
6. Cameron Wilson : 74(+4) + 73(+1) + 76(+4) + 73(+3) = 296(+12)
7. Shane Lebow : 69(-1) +79(+7) + 74(+2) + 77(+7) = 299(+15)
8. Andre Dedecker : 75(+5) + 81(+9) + 77(+5) + 74(+4) = 307(+23)
RTD. Marcel Puyat : 71(+1) + 77(+5) + RTD + RTD
RTD. Wilson Bowen : 77(+7) + 80(+8) + RTD + 76

The Hawaii (UH Hilo Invitational) 6-man traveling roster will be announced to the squad tomorrow morning. 5 players will form the team and one player will compete individually.



Round 3 - 1/21/12

Again, challenging conditions greeted the Cardinal Qualifiers today at the Cal Club. It was a cold and blustery afternoon with showers rolling through from the Pacific.

All things considered, players ground out their scores very well. Here is the leaderboard for round 3 scores only...


...18 birdies today!

If you are looking for the scores of Marcel Puyat and Wilson Bowen, unfortunately both players were forced to retire from the tournament due to sickness (flu) and injury respectively. Both players are hopeful to play in Monday's final round at Stanford Golf Course.

The cumulative scores are as follows...

1. Patrick Rodgers : 67(-3) + 66(-6) + 72 (E) = 205(-9)
2. Andrew Yun : 68(-2) + 76(+4) + 73(+1) = 217(+3)
3. David Chung : 68(-2) + 76(+4) + 74(+2) = 218(+4)
4. Steven Kearney : 69(-1) + 74(+2) +76(+4) = 219(+5)
5. Shane Lebow : 69(-1) +79(+7) + 74(+2) = 222(+8)
6. Cameron Wilson : 74(+4) + 73(+1) + 76(+4) = 223(+9)
7. Patrick Grimes : 70(E) + 78(+6) + 77(+5) = 225(+11)
8. Andre Dedecker : 75(+5) + 81(+9) + 77(+5) = 233(+19)
RTD. Marcel Puyat : 71(+1) + 77(+5) + RTD +
RTD. Wilson Bowen : 77(+7) + 80(+8) + RTD +


Here is a selection of wedge and short iron shots from the round...


And click here, or on the image below, to see some great photos from the 3rd round courtesy of Cal Golf Club and Ash's camera!




Round 2 - 1/20/12

It was a cool, damp and windy round at Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course and Patrick Rodgers was a man on a mission. After finishing with 3 birdies in a row to earn pole position in round one at Stanford, Patrick had this putt to start with 3 consecutive birdies today...


...which he made and amounted to this terrific scorecard...


The 66 was clearly outstanding on the day but Cameron Wilson also had and admirable 73 (+1) which featured 3 birdies and an eagle. Steven Kearney's round of 74 (+2) included 6 birdies and was good for 3rd best score of the day. Perhaps and indication of how tricky things were on the greens, Andrew Yun, 1st team all American and top of the golfstat putting rankings for the past two years 5-putted the 3rd green and was +8 after just 6 holes. Andrew's round of 76 (+4) was therefore a phenomenal comeback!

Here is the final leaderboard for round 2 scores only...


...34 birdies and 2 eagles today!!!

The cumulative totals are therefore...

1. Patrick Rodgers : 67(-3) + 66(-6) = 133(-9)
2. Steven Kearney : 69(-1) + 74(+2) = 143(+1)
3= Andrew Yun : 68(-2) + 76(+4) = 144(+2)
3= David Chung : 68(-2) + 76(+4) = 144(+2)
5. Cameron Wilson : 74(+4) + 73(+1) = 147(+5)
6= Patrick Grimes : 70(E) + 78(+6) = 148(+6)
6= Marcel Puyat : 71(+1) + 77(+5) = 148(+6)
6= Shane Lebow : 69(-1) +79(+7) = 148(+6)
9. Andre Dedecker : 75(+5) + 81(+9) = 156(+14)
10. Wilson Bowen : 77(+7) + 80(+8) = 157(+15)

Playlist of ironshots....




Round 1 - 1/18/12

The Cardinal are back after Winter Break and raring to go in this new year!

Today was the first round of our annual "Race to Hawaii" Qualifying. This event is a seriously competitive 72 hole tournament in itself, but then when you factor in how a strong showing could earn players a spot on the traveling team to compete in the UH-Hilo Intercollegiate at Waikaloa on the Big Island of Hawaii, the consequence stakes are ramped up!

Round 1 was played over The Stanford Golf Course which, due to very little rain this winter, is currently in pristine condition with firm, fast rolling greens and fairways. As you can see from the picture (left) looking over toward the pro shop and first tee from the clubhouse, it was a beautiful crisp day. Set aside difficult pin placements, these somewhat benign conditions are not necessarily how conditions will remain for the next three rounds set out for Friday January 20th at Palo Alto Municipal, Saturday January 21st at The Cal Club and Monday January 23rd at Stanford Golf Course.








































Teeing off...

top: Andrew Yun (hitting) playing with Cameron Wilson, Andre Dedecker and Wilson Bowen.

middle: Patrick Rodgers (hitting) playing with Marcel Puyat and Shane Lebow.

bottom: Steven Kearney (hitting) playing with David Chung and Patrick Grimes.



Without any further ado, here you can check out the scores from Round 1 of the "2012 Race to Hawaii":


This fantastic leaderboard was made possible by GameBook who enabled us to be the very first collegiate team with live scoring during a team qualifying event. It certainly added a great deal to the fun of the day, especially when birdies were flying on the back nine and the low round title came down to the last hole. Three birdies in a row on holes 16, 17 and 18 from Patrick Rodgers finally clinched it!

Live scoring of this event will continue for each and every day of this qualifying tournament.

Should you wish to follow the hole-by-hole scores from your home or office, please look out for a link to the live leaderboard via our www.facebook.com/stanfordmensgolf and www.twitter.com/stanfordmgolf message streams. Friends of Stanford Golf can also keep mobile and follow scores by downloading the GolfGameBook iphone app.


Here are some composite screenshots and hole by hole scores that you would then be able to see on your phone...

...35 birdies and 1 eagle!


Finally, here is a video playlist of tee shots from each player:

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Big Plans for 2012!

Hello Friends of Stanford Men's Golf!

It has been a while since I have recorded a blog post but the time is right to share with you a lot of exciting things that lie ahead for our team in the new year. The guys started winter quarter on Monday and the vibe has been great. We have hit the weight room for winter training right away and the team continues to make improvements in the important elements of their training. We spend time focusing on dynamic flexibility, core strength, and endurance. The cardio portion is very demanding and it not only helps our team be as fit as possible but it also builds mental strength which is a a key component to good golf. I believe the harder you can make your practice and preparation the easier the performance will be! Good college golf teams are mentally tough and get better a the conditions are more demanding. We strive for this ability.

We also will start qualifying for our first event in the new year next week. We are planning on playing 72 holes and with our destination being Hawaii the guys really bear down and grind out good scores. A week away from school to a beautiful place do wonders for ones focus! The event in Hawaii will be hosted by UH-Hilo and held at the Waikoloa Kings Course. The wind can blow and the field is top notch so we will need to have our best stuff right out of the blocks. I think with 2.5 weeks of good training and prep our team will be up for the challenge no doubt! The rest of the spring will offer some great opportunities to compete with quality events at San Diego CC and TPC Southern Highlands in Las Vegas. I really believe that winter quarter sets up a great run in the spring so looking forward to the results.

In other news ....I have officially named seniors David Chung and Wilson Bowen our Captains for this season. Both guys have taken on nice leadership roles already but we wanted to make the formal announcement as well. As a coach it is good to know you can rely on your leaders to guide the team from within and let success and hard work grow through both example and support. I am confident that both these guys are up for the responsibility and will carry our torch well.

Finally, we hope you will all mark you calenders to come out and support The US Intercollegiate at Stanford, March 30,31 and April 1 as well as the NCAA Regional at Stanford, May 17-19. Both events will be great opportunities for spectators to see very high level golf up close and personal on the beautiful Stanford Golf Course. We are honored to have the chance to host both events and they both will not disappoint in terms of long drives, crafty putts, and overall competition.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and please stop in and say hi if you are up for a tee time! Go Stanford Golf and Go Cardinal!

Coach Ray