2007 Men’s Golf Preview: Expect the Unexpected
February 14, 2007

In college golf, the fall season usually serves as an indicator of what a team will do in the spring. But for the Cal State San Marcos men’s golf team, last fall left a lot of questions to be answered in the coming months.

“With the injuries and ineligibilities, it was disjointed,” remarks Head Coach Fred Hanover. “We did get a lot of good experience.”

Indeed, the fact that some key members of the team weren’t able to compete in every fall event may actually strengthen the group in the long run. It allowed other golfers on the roster, especially freshmen, to get tournament experience that they otherwise may not have received. The squad’s talent pool is now deeper, which should create healthy competition for spots on the traveling team (the top-5 golfers on the roster).

And even without the full roster, Cougar men’s golf provided some big highlights in the fall. They were excellent in taking third at Sonoma State – a performance Coach Hanover calls “a good preview of what we’re capable of doing.”

In that tournament, senior Scott Conway turned in the best performance of the fall for any Cougar, tying for 2nd place. Conway will lead the squad this spring, and Coach Hanover expects big things from him.

“Scott’s an excellent player,” says Hanover. “He works very hard on his game, and he’s performed well for us the last couple years.”

Joining Conway at the top of the squad is fellow junior Matt Determan. The highly talented golfer missed the first couple tournaments in the fall, but showed his ability with some great individual rounds. Hanover believes that Determan “has seen his potential,” and now it’s just a matter of reaching it this season.

After the top two golfers, the remaining spots on the traveling team will be dictated by who plays the best and works the hardest. Junior Robby Davies was hurt in the fall, but has bounced back nicely and is looking very good so far in the spring. Kyle Anderson shot an eye-popping 65 in a round at Concordia, which is an indication of the kind of talent he possesses.

But it will be up to the golfers themselves to earn their way into the ‘starting lineup,’ so to speak. This intra-squad competition – which will be stronger than it was last season – should drive them to step up their games.

Coach Hanover has set lofty goals for the season: to win the very competitive Region II Championship, and to finish in the top-10 at Nationals. Last year the squad took 5th at Regionals and 14th at Nationals, so Hanover is challenging his squad to take its game to the next level – and is confident that they can do it.