Golf club finds home, success

The only thing better than starting something new is starting it and being successful, too.

The IU golf club team has found instant success this fall after being founded last spring.

“I was really surprised to find that there was no club team,” said founder and current club president, junior Preston Linville.

Linville was not alone in his discovery.

Currently, the co-ed squad is made up of about 30 members. Before each tournament, the club holds a qualifier where the top four to six players will be chosen to compete in the upcoming tournament.

“The pull of talent is increasing with each qualifier,” Linville said.

In the club’s first tournament, the team that was put together that same week placed first. The tournament, held at Central Michigan, also included Wisconsin.

The following week, the team traveled to Cincinnati, where they defeated Xavier with a team score of 331 for the six players.

The schedule this year might be small, but like other IU club teams, they are looking toward a national scale.

If the membership and talent continues to increase, the Hoosiers could make that happen very soon.

Sophomore Julie Marx, the vice-president and coordinator of tournaments, looks forward to this. As the only female to qualify for both tournaments, she enjoys the ability to remain competitive.

“I’m glad that I found a way to play competitively in college without having to participate on the Division I scale,” she said.

This isn’t the only way for students to get involved in the golf club.

They have created a 9-hole student league for its members to entice more of the student body.

Senior Kyle Falk, the director of the Student Golf League, points to this as his favorite aspect of the golf club.

“Where the intramural golf lasts just one time, this is a way for students to play one to two times per week,” Falk said.

Currently the club’s focus is on expansion and building up the current members.

The squad holds instructional clinics where the more advanced golfers assist beginners on the team. This unique opportunity opens the door for players of all skill levels.