Weekend with Ben Crane, Matt Chandler and Coach McGraw!

Below is the blog that senior captain Nick Jarrett wrote during his time with PGA Tour Pro Ben Crane last weekend.  Nick, Kyle Lewis, and John Potter had the opportunity to spend an extended weekend with Ben at his home in Dallas, TX.  They did not have wireless while down there so that's why they didn't post while they were there.  It sounds like they had a great time.  Pictures will follow soon...

Thursday

We started our trip Thursday night by leaving the Twin Cities just after 5pm. Kyle Lewis, John Potter, and I are traveling with two coaches and several members of the NorthCentral University men’s golf team. We are all going on a retreat through College Golf Fellowship (CGF). Our final destination is Ben Crane’s house in Dallas, TX. We will be driving though the night in order to make it down to Dallas the next morning for our tee time at Dallas Cowboys Golf Club. On the van ride we watched movies and played PGA Tour golf trivia to pass the time.

Friday
Once we arrived in Dallas Friday morning we headed to the Cowboy Golf Club. It was a windy day in the mid 40s but it was outdoor golf so we were all still excited to play. After filling up on a late breakfast at the course we headed out to play. The course was in great shape. It took a few holes to get used to playing again but it was a great way to start out our time in Dallas. After golfing we headed to Ben Crane’s house to meet all the other golfers for dinner. We arrived to his house around 5pm and met up with the other 60 college golfers and staff of College Golf Fellowship. After a great dinner we all sat down to listen to our speaker for the weekend Matt Chandler. He is a widely known speaker and a pastor at the Village Church in Dallas we would be attending on Sunday. Friday night he started by speaking on Roman 1:21-25. We discussed three main issues many Christians face in life on their walk. After the large group discussion, we were split up into small groups and shared our individual thoughts. Our group was made up of those traveling down from Minnesota. This concluded our night as we were all pretty tired from our travel down the night before.

Saturday
After breakfast Saturday morning, Matt Chandler came and talked to all of us again. This morning he talked to us about I Corinthians 6:9-11. Afterwards we once again split into our small groups to have further discussions. After our small groups we came back together. First Ben showed us his new workout videos that will be released in the beginning of next year. These are the sequels to his popular first workout video.  Next Ben and his wife, Heather, talked about what life is like on the PGA Tour and how they rely on their faith to get them through life. It was interesting to hear both discuss how each one of them has continued to grow in their faith over the years through their experiences. After listening to Ben and his wife, everyone headed to a local school’s football field to play wiffle ball and flag football.

Our team was made up of our small groups but our team was lucky enough and had Ben Crane join our team. I was thinking in my head “right now we are playing wiffle ball, a game we each have done in our backyards as kids, with a PGA pro. After wiffle ball we played flag football and represented Minnesota well by going 3-0 against the other teams. It was fun to be outside playing backyard games against other college golfers from around the country.

Later that night we left the house to go eat dinner at Babe’s Chicken. It included all you could eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. I think Kyle would agree it was some of the best fried chicken we ever have had as he went on to eat probably more than 10 pieces of chicken.

After dinner, Matt Chandler spoke for the last time. He discussed Colossians 3:1-4. For the last time of the weekend, we split into our small groups and discussed what Matt spoke on. After small groups we all gathered for a Q&A with PGA veterans Ben Crane and Paul Stankowski along with rookie Martin Piller. We were able to ask any of the players any questions we wanted. We asked everything from their most embarrassing moment while playing in an event to how each one of them kept the game fun and enjoyable. Following the Q&A there were several other players and myself that talked to Martin Piller for another hour or so about his experiences so far in his life. It was a once in a lifetime type of experience to be able to ask several PGA pros any question you want.

Sunday
Sunday morning everyone gathered after breakfast and listened to two players talk about their experiences over the last several years. Each one had a unique several years and had completely different paths to decide to make their faith the center of their lives. After packing, we all headed out to a worship service at the Village Church where Matt Chandler is the pastor.

After attending the Village Church, our entire group headed to play Whirlyball. This was a game that we all had heard about continually throughout the weekend but no one would describe it to us. They kept telling us we could only experience Whirlyball, it could not be described. And they were right, Whirlyball was extremely fun but it cannot be explained; only played. Afterwards we said our goodbyes to all the players, staff of CGF, and Ben. It was an unbelievable experience that each of us will remember for the rest of our lives. While many people headed home, our group made a pit stop on the way back to Minnesota. The head coach of Oklahoma State Men’s golf team, Coach McGraw, was going to let us stay at his house that night so we could split up our drive. Coach McGraw is the head coach of the top golf program in the country and probably the most successful athletic team in the nation.

We met Coach McGraw at Eskimo Joe’s restaurant in Stillwater, OK. At dinner we talked to Coach McGraw and learned as much as we could from him. After dinner he asked us if we would like a tour of Karsten Creek’s clubhouse. We all instantly said “YES!!!” This was the home to the most dominant golf program in the country.

As we entered the clubhouse we saw a hallway filled with National Championship trophies, All-American awards, and every other award/honor one could think of. Oklahoma States men’s golf team is probably the most decorated team ever and their clubhouse displays all these awards. As we walked through the clubhouse it felt surreal as the names of many great PGA pros were on the walls. Coach McGraw then took us into his office and showed us the U.S. Amateur trophy that was won by one of his players this past August, Peter Uihlein. We looked on the trophy as saw the names of some of the greatest golfers ever such as Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones who also once held the same trophy. Each one of us was speechless as we walked through the clubhouse.

Afterwards we left the clubhouse to go spend the night at Coach McGraw’s house. That night we continued to ask Coach McGraw questions about his team and past players on his team. Coach McGraw asked if the following morning we would like to practice at the team’s practice facility at Karsten Creek and once again it took no time for each of us to say “Yes!!!”

Monday
Monday morning several of us woke up around 5:30am to make the most of our time at Karsten Creek. We piled in with Coach McGraw into his golf cart and traveled up to the course well before the sun was up. We went on to hit pitch shots in the dark for almost a half hour before the Sun crept over the horizon. Once we could see past 40 yards, we went on to practice and talk with Coach McGraw throughout the morning. Karsten Creek has a practice facility like none other. It is one of the best practice facilities in the nation. Once again it was an experience of a lifetime.

After taking a few photos with Coach McGraw and thanking him for his generosity, we packed up the van and left to travel home to Minnesota. The experiences we had over the last weekend were ones we will never forget. We met some of the most gracious hosts who shared their faith and life experiences with each of us.

Conference wrap-up and visiting a PGA Golfer!

The NGCA coaches convention in Las Vegas went great.  It is always good to connect with coaches you don't see that often and meet new ones.  There were over 160 women's golf coaches, from all 3 divisions, in attendance.  They had two great speakers.  The 1st was Rick Rigsby.  Rick spoke on "Making an impact."  How do we live our lives and make an impact in others.  If you've never heard of Rick, go visit his website.  He ended his talk with a great quote "Good enough isn't good enough if it can be better; better isn't good enough if it can be best."  The other great speaker was Tim Elmore.  He spoke on how can we relate to this "Generation iY."  He has a couple great books that I purchased and plan on reading over break.  You can find more information on Tim here. 

On a different note, three of our golfers on the men's team (Kyle Lewis, John Potter, and Nick Jarrett) have an awesome opportunity this weekend.  They will be traveling down to Dallas, TX to spend the weekend at the house of PGA Tour Golfer Ben Crane!!  Ben has won twice this year on the PGA Tour and is currently ranked 39th in the world.  This is a tremendous opportunity for these three and a wonderful learning experience.  Kyle, John and Nick will be updating this blog on a daily basis this weekend and hopefully will have some pictures to post also.  Keep checking back for the updates! 

Lastly, next week we will also start the "Get to know them" feature.  Basically this is a quick Q&A with a current player. 

Coach Higgins 

We are staying busy...even in the winter months!

I wanted to update you all on some of the exciting things happening with the CU golf programs. 

First of all our early signing class was released this past week.  We are very excited to have Molly Mullins (Caledonia), Andrea Dwyer (Elk River), Adam Petterson (Lakeville), and Kyle Hagglund (Lindstrom) joining our CU Golf family next year!  They all will be great additions to the program!

The CU Golf staff is keeping very busy during the winter months.  I am staying busy continuing to recruit, oversee athlete workouts and fulfilling NCAA chair duties.  I have the great opportunity to attend the National Golf Coaches Association Annual Convention next week in Las Vegas.  There will be over 100 women's golf coaches from all divisions at this convention.  Also, as the Chair of NCAA Women's DII Golf, I have the wonderful opportunity to facilitate the DII breakout sessions.  I'm really looking forward to this convention.  It's a great way to catch up with some friends and network with others.  Coach Waryan is currently down in Arizona working with the Bird Golf Academy.  He stays busy traveling between Phoeinx, Palm Springs and Las Vegas meeting with clients and giving lessons.  He also helps me with recruiting and future planning.  Coach Maize is staying busy traveling between MN and Sarasota, FL.  She does many private clinics and private lessons during her time down there.  She just recently returned from the 2010 World Golf Fitness Summit in Orlando, FL.  This was put on by the Titleist Performance Institute.

With Coach Maize's help, we just finished putting the last few team members through the TPI testing.  They all now have individual workout plans that they can do to enhance their golf games.  It will be exciting to see how all the hard work pays off this spring!

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Senior golfer, and women's captain, Molly Noser for being accepted into the University of Iowa Dental School.  After her graduation this spring from Concordia she will attend graduate school in Iowa City and sadly become a Hawkeye! :) 
Congrats Molly!

That's all for now,
Coach Higgins