Goucher Golf Inaugural Season Preview
The Goucher College men’s and women’s golf programs have released their 2017 fall schedule. Both programs will enter their inaugural season, participating in the Landmark Conference as Goucher’s 19th and 20th NCAA sanctioned teams.
Men's Schedule | Women's Schedule
TOWSON, Md. – The Goucher College men's and women's golf programs have released their 2017 fall schedule. Both programs will enter their inaugural season, participating in the Landmark Conference as Goucher's 19th and 20th NCAA sanctioned teams.
"I'm really looking forward to August and I'm honored to be a part of the inception of golf at Goucher. We've worked really hard to get a great first group of men and women in here and we're excited to get them out to compete."
The Goucher College both the men and women plan to participate in four tournaments during the fall semester, closing out with the Inaugural Goucher Fall Invitational held at Hillendale Country Club – the home of the Goucher College golf teams.
I'm pleased with the events we have on the schedule for the fall. We're going to be playing quite a bit—with the guys in five events and the girls in four—and that's really a strategic move to give our almost exclusively freshman teams the opportunity to acclimate to college golf.
The Gophers will hit the fairway for the first time at the Bay Creek Invitational in Cape Charles, Va. on Sept. 11. Bay Creek is an Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf course that includes two 18-hole courses on the Chesapeake Bay. The Arnold Palmer Golf Course boasts 7,204 yards of play on 419 Bermuda fairways. Its counterpart in the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course measured 7,417 yards of Tifsport Bermuda fairways littered with bunkers to challenge the golfers.
Two weeks later, on Sept. 23rd, the women will play in the Susquehanna Fall Invitational at Susquehanna Valley Country Club. This event will serve as a preview for the conference championship which will also be hosted at SVCC in the spring. In the event of a weather cancellation of the conference tournament, this tournament will be used to crown the conference champion.
On Sept. 24, the men travel to Rocky Mount, N.C. for the Don Scalf Memorial at the Belmont Lake Golf Club. Belmont Lake GC measures 7,085 yards from the championship tees. There is a balance of dogleg lefts and dogleg rights including the 18th hole which carves along Belmont Lake and serves as a demanding finishing hole.
On Sept. 30th, the men play in Scranton's fall invitational at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, PA. Like the women's event at Susquehanna, this tournament functions as the conference preview and tie breaker for the unlikely event of a canceled conference tournament. The Gophers will use both of these fall events to guide their preparations for the spring championship.
"It's really important that we get some competitive rounds in on the championship courses early so we know what we need to be working on all year. Obviously, the courses will play quite different in April/May then they will in September, but this will still guide the way we practice the rest of the year," said Brown.
On Oct. 8, the women take part in the Spring Brook Invitational in Morristown, N.J. with Drew University playing host. Spring Brook Country Club is a shorter golf course, playing at only 6,612 yards from the back tees. It vaunts rolling hills and undulating topography, requiring multiple skill sets in order to succeed.
On Oct. 14-15 the men resume play at the Revolutionary Collegiate Classic in Elkton, Md. hosted at the Patriot's Glen National Golf Course. Patriots Glen is a demanding course, requiring precision off the tee with unforgiving fairways. On each shot, the golfer is challenged to weigh their options via the risk/reward decisions it presents.
Finally, the fall will wrap up with both teams playing in the Goucher Fall Invitational on Oct. 23-24 held at Hillendale Country Club. The course is 6,844 yards from the back tees and 5,104 yards from the front tees. The William and David Gordon signature designed course was built in 1954 as a challenging course with "rolling hills, undulating topography, and well-bunkered greens." The course was most-recently updated in 2009, adding new bunkers and tee boxes.
For a personal tour of Hillendale Country Club with Hunter Brown, click here.
Both teams will continue competing in the spring semester with as they build towards the Landmark Conference Championships. The women's championship will be held Apr. 28-29 at Susquehanna and the men will compete the following weekend May 5-6 at Scranton.