Snake Bit!

Hello Stanford Golf Fans!

A quick note to check in and update you on our recent trip this past week to the Callaway Collegiate Match Play event at the Dove Mountain Resort in Tucson. The team was coming off their winter quarter finals but still hoping for the best as we went down to experience the same course the WGA Accenture Match play was held on a month earlier. What a venue! Very demanding and beautiful! We won our first match against Indiana but it was a battle from there losing the next three matches in tight competition. Here is a picture of the guys during the practice round ...



There were some highlights that should be mentioned ... Freshman Steven Kearney played like a champ all week. He was one bad swing away from going 4-0 in his matches and he really did well considering it was only his second event of the year. Senior captain Joseph Bramlett also played well and was impressive in his final match, winning strongly.

All in all, it was one of those weeks that we will chalk up to experience and learn from. It is clear that Match Play is a very different format, and one that we will need to improve in, to have a chance to win another title. The picture below is how we felt all week ... Snake Bit! However, the beauty about this game is that you never know what you are going to get ... maybe next week at ASU we will return to the winners circle. Go Cardinal!

Winter Quarter Update ....

Greetings from the Farm! It has been a while since I last updated my blog. There have been a lot of things going on and great news to report!

The biggest story is our first big win of the year at Mauni Lani on the Big Island of Hawaii in the Hawaii Hilo Invitational. Coach Earl Tamiya, aka Big Earl, put on another great show. The event celebrated it's 20th year and 11 of the top 20 teams in the country were there to compete. With our victory we have won the tournament three of the last four years and each one seems to be more exciting and enjoyable. This year we had a complete team effort with each guy contributing in some important way. Sihwan Kim continues to show that he is in good form with 4th place finish and when we can have 4 guys in the top 30 in the individual rankings we usually will be OK.

Our amazing experience in Hawaii over the last few years has been made possible by our hosts for the week, Sukey and Irv Grousbeck. They make us all feel like we are playing in a "home event". Great food, comfortable accommodations, and loads of encouragement and support from the Grousbeck's really make the week one of a kind. Thank you!

Here is a picture of the team after one of our practice rounds early in the week at Nanea.



More good news is that our Senior Captain Joseph Bramlett is healthy again and back competing 100%. Joe has really gone through a lot with the rehabbing of his wrist and it is great to finally have him back in the mix. He has been a wonderful leader of the team and his return is a great shot in the arm to an already deep team. Joe has been a real professional through all he has gone through.

Finally, looking ahead, we are competing again in the USC Invitational at North Ranch C.C. in Westlake Village in a few weeks. We all look forward to the trip as we are defending champs and this is where Steve Ziegler picked up his first collegiate win last year. There will be many of the West Coast's top schools there so we are eager to get down there again and continue to gain valuable experience on the path the the post season.

We hope you will follow us and thanks for all of your support along the way!

Go Cardinal!

Fall Season Closes ....

The fall season has wrapped up for Stanford Men's Golf and we are already looking forward to the spring! With a #2 ranking and some very solid play I believe we are poised for some exciting golf this spring.

The guys are in Dead Week this week and Finals week the next and everyone is catching their breath after a whirlwind fall season. We miss the most class time of any team on campus so this time of year the guys are really hitting the books. We will be in the "off season" until the middle of January and the team will use this time of fewer events to focus more on strength building in the weight room, mechanical work on the Siebel Complex, and catching up on all the things that need attention after the fall season.

Although we everyone around here felt like our fall campaign was a successful one it is very evident that we need to keep working hard and improving if we want to be in the best position to win a Championship this spring. We are excited to potentially have All-American and senior captain Joseph Bramlett back in the line-up in the new year. His rehab on his wrist has been going well and if healthy he can be a major part of our success this spring.

Focusing on the process not the product will be our goal moving forward and we appreciate all of the support that we have gotten along the way this fall. Our win at CordeValle in our final event of the fall was a special one against a very skilled OK State team and something to build upon.

I wish you all a very healthy and happy Holiday Season and Go Cardinal!

Off to Isleworth!!

Hello Everybody!

A few quick lines between The Prestige at PGA West and the Isleworth Intercollegiate to let you know all is well. The guys are fired up to get their first win ... hopefully coming this weekend in Florida.

The Prestige was a great week of golf on the heralded Stadium Course at PGA West. TCU had the hot hand as we mustered up a strong 2nd place finish. Congrats to David Chung and Sihwan Kim on their top-10's. One of many highlights from the Prestige was listening to "The Little Pro" Eddie Merrins address tournament banquet attendees on life, golf, and winning attitude. A very memorable speech for everyone that was present.

Isleworth will be the toughest field and golf course we have seen thus far. A great test of golf is in store and maybe some time with Tiger. Tiger was gracious enough to spend the morning with the team on the Monday of the President's Cup. A few fun pictures above. He was fantastic and exciting to see how proud he is of our program and Stanford. Inspirational to say the least. He wasn't to bad later in the week as well ... I later joked with him saying "Y.E. Yang might now be called Y. Me Yang!"

Go Cardinal!

Back from the East Coast and Looking Ahead!

Hi Everyone!

The team has returned from a great trip back East and we are now a few days into the first week of school. Our first trip was fantastic! The golf we were able to play on the front end of the trip in New Jersey and on Long Island was incredible.

We started out the trip playing the #1 course in the world, Pine Valley. All of the things you look for in a golf course were there ... layout, difficulty, vistas, ambiance, and unique design just to name a few. The guys are still talking about Pine Valley and we are thankful to have the opportunity. We had very gracious hosts and what a memorable experience for the guys .... the first course of the year was the best course they might ever play!

After pine Valley we made our way up to Long Island where we unpacked our bags for a few days and had the chance to continue our special trip. We were able to see Sebonack, Friars Head, Shinnecock Hills, and National Golf Links. All were incredible and all very unique. A special thanks to one of our great golf alums, Ken Bakst for hosting a fundraising day at his course, Friars Head. His passion for the game and attention to detail have made Friars Head one of the best course any of us have ever played. At Shinnecock Hills we were able to get some rust off with a dual match against the Princeton Tigers. Coach Will Green has done a very good job with his program there and the match was very competetitive. The Cardinal ended up on top 3 1/2 to 1 1/2.

From Long Island we headed to Chicago and Olympia Fields for our first full field event. We played some very solid golf over three days and ended up alone in 4th place. We seemed to also get a little bit better each day and were within two shots of the lead with nine holes to play so we were close to accomplishing our goals. What a treat for the team to play the same course set up and hole locations as were used for the 2003 US Open. As I told the guys ... if you cannot figure out what you need to work on after these three rounds then you better start over.

So that brings us to this week, the first week of school, and what lies ahead. We have started our workouts- three days per week which includes strength training, stretching, cardio conditioning, and yoga. Our goal is to be the most fit team in the country as we move into the spring. A fresh body makes for good decisions and good golf. Just ask Tiger. Our next event is the Prestige at PGA West held on the Pete Dye Stadium Course. As you can see the challenging course don't let up. We are all excited to see how it goes and I know the freshman are eager to make their mark. I will be sure to continue the updates.

Thanks for all your support and Go Cardinal!

Conrad

Stanford Golf Day at Friars Head on September 14th

Dear Friends of Stanford Men's Golf:

We hope you have enjoyed reading all of the information we have been sending you recently with the new season on the horizon. I wanted to make special note of an opportunity that has presented itself on Long Island in September.

When Ken Bakst, class of 1980, heard that the Stanford Golf Team was going to be on the east coast to play a team match against Princeton at Shinnecock and in the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields in Chicago, he kindly offered to host a fundraising outing for the Stanford Men’s Golf Team on Monday, September 14th at Friar’s Head on Long Island, NY. As I’m sure you can all appreciate this was a most welcome offer. On the trip will be our current starting six, my Assistant Coach Matt Tight, and myself. We are all very much looking forward to spending the day with a small number of Stanford supporters who would like to support our program and enjoy a great day of golf at Friar’s Head. For those of you who may not know, Friar’s Head is one of the world’s great new golf courses (currently ranked 22nd in the USA and 33rd in the World by Golf Magazine and 6th best course built in the USA in the last 50 years by Golfweek Magazine), and Ken is its Founding and Managing Member.



If you would like to participate in this event, details for which are included below, please let me know via reply email (conrad.ray@stanford.edu) as soon as possible because participation will be limited to not more than 72 golfers.



I look forward to seeing many of you in New York in September!

Stanford Men’s Golf Fundraiser



Location:     Friar’s Head, 3000 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, New York 11901

Date: Monday, September 14th

Time:                       1:30 p.m. shotgun start (luncheon available beginning at 11:30 a.m.)

Cocktails, Hors D’ouerves & Live Auction after the conclusion of play.

Price:                        $1,500.00 per person (includes all costs for the day, including caddie fees)

RSVP:                       Conrad Ray, conrad.ray@stanford.edu, 650-323-0939 or

Ken Bakst, kenbakst@aol.com, 631-722-6050

Important Dates to Support Stanford Men's Golf!

Dear Friends of Stanford Men's Golf:

The 2009-10 schedule has been set --- you can find the full schedule on our home page at www.stanfordmensgolf.org. One of the new highlights will be the kick-off match against Princeton played at world famous Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey. We're looking forward to a great season!

There are several special events where you can participate so please mark your calendars! We hope you can participate on the following dates:

The Cardinal Golf Classic .... October 2nd, 2009

Join us for our annual golf team fundraiser on the Stanford Golf Course. October 2nd is the Friday before the Stanford / UCLA Football Game. The afternoon will include golf, live auction, food and prizes. We will also have a Stanford Golf Tailgater the next day before the bashing of the Bruins. The President's Cup is the following week at Harding Park. Come and make a long weekend out of it! Event is organized primarily through captains fielding a foursome but we also have room for singles. I will be reaching out shortly to past captains with information and if you are interested in playing please email me at conrad.ray@stanford.edu.

The Big Game Cup vs. The CAL Bears ... November 19, 2009

Please wear your Cardinal Red as 25 two-man teams from Stanford take on 25 two-man teams from CAL on the Stanford Golf Course. The day promises to bring some spirited match play against the Bears as we all warm up for the football game a few days later. We have the Cup from our great win last year and I hope we can keep it on this side of the Bay. Please email me at conrad.ray@stanford.edu if you want to beat the Bears.

The U.S. Intercollegiate at Stanford ... April 11-13, 2010

The 2010 US Intercollegiate will play host to 20 of the nations premier college golf teams for three beautiful days in April at the Stanford Golf Course. The majority of the Pac-10 Conference will be here and the golf will be fantastic to watch. Admission is free so we hope you can make it out to cheer on the team during it's only competition on campus during the entire upcoming golf season.

Thanks for all of your support. Go Cardinal!

Sincerely,
Conrad