The club golf team is one of N.C. State’s newest groups trying to become a part of Club Sports.
Dustin Givens, a junior in international studies, is responsible for starting the club this year. The club golf team is requesting affiliation and is in the process of gaining full club status. According to Givens, the team should become an official club in the next two to three semesters.
Givens said he started the club because he wanted to continue playing golf competitively.
“I was a pretty decent golfer in high school, but not good enough to play for State. I just assumed that the school would have a club golf program since they seem to have pretty much every other sport you can imagine,” Givens said. “Finally I decided to take it upon myself to start one. With a school this large and a golf course coming, I figured there would be plenty of interest. Also the majority of the schools around us have teams, even some of the smaller schools.”
Givens, the president of the new team, said club treasurer Wayne Schilly has helped in making the club golf team a reality. The team has about 13 members, yet only eight get to travel and compete in tournaments. According to Givens, more members are welcome.
“The more the merrier,” Givens said. “We welcome everyone to the team. Right now, we have more members than on the traveling squad. So this semester we had a qualifying tournament to determine who would be on the traveling squad, and that’s what’s going to happen in the future.”
According to Givens, members that do not qualify to travel will still be part of the team. They just won’t be able to play in tournaments involved with the National Collegiate Club Golf Association.
With no University golf course currently in place, it has been difficult for the club to hold any kind of practice. Givens said that it isn’t a big problem, however.
“I practice at Carmichael [Complex], but it’s not something we require,” Givens said. “We don’t have a set practice, and we typically don’t practice together. Some members are a part of courses around [the area] and practice there.”
The team does have periodic meetings on campus. The group also has a Facebook group, NCSU Club Golf, where the members can communicate and get organized, Givens said.
“We also have a Web site, which should be linked to the Campus Rec site in the next few days,” Givens said. “The Facebook group is the best way to get involved with the club if you are interested, as well.”
Club golf has already played a tournament this semester. Last weekend, the team competed in a National Collegiate Club Golf Association East Division tournament against East Carolina and Duke. State beat Duke and was a few strokes short of beating ECU.
With such a strong performance, Givens said the team has now been invited to play in the Southeast Conference Tournament being held this weekend in Durham. The club will be facing six more schools from around the area. Givens has already started planning tournaments and fundraisers for next semester.
“For the fall, we are planning on hosting a tournament here at a local course,” Givens said. “We are planning on inviting at least the local schools like Wilmington, ECU, Duke and Chapel Hill.”
Since the club team is not an official club, it does not receive funding from the school. According to Givens, the team will seek sponsorship from local businesses in addition to holding a Facility-Alumni Tournament to raise money.