Each time a school has sent its men’s golf program down to Ardmore for the Perry Maxwell Intercollegiate, the coach and their team always have had rave reviews with their experience.
This year was no exception as Michigan and Middle Tennessee State came down for the first time.
The Wolverines and the Blue Raiders had rave reviews for the tournament, as well as the Dornick Hills Country Club, which is the host site for The Maxwell annually.
“We played six holes before the day of the practice round, and you could tell there is a lot of thought that went into an event of this kind,” Wolverine golfer Bill Rankin, of Traverse City, Mich., said of the course.
“I like the course because you can’t hit the ball just anywhere. There is a lot of strategy involved. You have to think on every shot and on top of that, it is a beautiful golf course and it is in good shape. I really like it out here.”
The Maxwell was also special to Rankin because he won the individual medalist with 8-under-par.
His coach, Andrew Sapp, also talked about how he saw where strategy is needed to have success on the 6,453-yard, par-70 course.
“It is a great golf course,” Sapp said. “You have to hit a lot of different type of shots. You’ve got to curve the golf ball much more than you do on more modern golf courses, where you hit a driver and bomb it everywhere. But it’s really fun. You have to fit some fades off the tees, hit some draws off the tees to keep it in play, and the greens are rolling really well. So, that really helps us make putts.”
Middle Tennessee State coach Whitt Turnbow thought of Dornick as being fabulous and saw that “it really exposes where you are weak in your game.”
“If you’re not driving it well, or your wedge does not play good or whatever the case might be, Dornick Hills exposes it,” Turnbow said. “That’s important, because we need to know where we stand with our game going into regionals (this week). Dornick Hills is fabulous, and is in great shape. So, it’s a good spot to warm up for regionals.”
And the NCAA regionals, which starts today in three different places across the country, is a big reason why teams like to come to The Maxwell.
“That’s what we came here for,” Sapp said. “(We came) to get that momentum, get a good feel competitive-wise, and, hopefully, it will carry on to (this) week."
Amazingly, both teams had success at The Maxwell.
Michigan started off well with a first-place lead through the Saturday rounds before eventually finishing as runner-up. Middle Tennessee State placed fourth in the event and had Chas Narramore tied for fourth with Michigan’s Tim Schaetzel in the individual standings.
The format of all five guys playing together was also appreciative.
“I thought it was great,” Turnbow said. “You don’t ever get to see them all together and really evaluate where they all are at the same time, and these guys getting to play together is beneficial for them because they do a little bonding. It’s a great format, and, hopefully, it will continue.”
“I thought it would have been a little more awkward because we have never done anything like this before,” Rankin said. “But, actually, we had a lot of fun out there. So, it was fun. We don’t get to do this all the time, so it was nice.”
Another point of interest, temperatures often begin getting hot and humid in May, and it was somewhat that Saturday. But that wasn’t the case Sunday morning. It was cool and somewhat cold, with many spectators wearing windbreaker suits instead of just shorts and short-sleeved shirts.
For Michigan, that was just right.
“It was kind of funny,” Rankin said. “You could hear some of the guys who live down here kind of griping (Sunday) morning about how cold it was. But we were like, ‘Man, this a great change for us.’ This is perfect weather. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”
But Sapp didn’t share the same idea.
“We liked it scorching hot as it was (Saturday),” Sapp said. “So, we didn’t play too well when it was cold (Sunday) morning. We had to wait until it got a little warmer before we started making some birdies. But, we didn’t use that (the cool weather) to our advantage like we should have.”
When it was all over, both teams could not say enough about the fun they had while in Ardmore.
“We went over to Two Frogs the first night we were here,” Turnbow said. “We expensed into some local flavor. We also went to Fireside Dining. We were glad to be here. It’s a great time. Ardmore did a great job with this thing, and hopefully, they’ll have us back.
“It was so much fun,” Rankin said. “It is probably one of the tournaments we’ve had the most fun in since I’ve been here. I’ve been to 30-odd tournaments in college, and this was maybe the most fun tournament I’ve ever played in. You have the long drive contest, all the camaraderie between all the players — it is so much different than any other tournament that we ever played, and a unique experience that is something we’ll draw on in the future."
“The hospitality is what we’ll always remember,” Sapp said. “The hospitality is spectacular. From every step of the way, it was a wonderful experience. The golf course is great, and it was just a well-run tournament. They do a super job of running this event, and it was a lot of fun for the kids — especially getting to play together. For a coach, to be able to watch all five of your players play (at once), which you hardly ever get to do, it’s a good way for us to help them prepare for regionals.”
Mike Moguin, 221-6522
mike.moguin@ardmoreite.com
