SE: K-State Women’s Golf Focused on Small Goals Heading into 2018-19 Season
Sep 12, 2018 | Women's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Two weeks ago, the K-State women's golf team met with Director of Mental Wellness/Sport Psychology Anne Weese. In this meeting, the Wildcats went around the room and listed some goals for the 2018-19 season. Very few of them were results-driven, however, which represents an intentional shift for the group.
"Sometimes that's an easy thing to do; it's almost a cliché thing to do," K-State head coach Kristi Knight said of setting more tangible goals — i.e., winning a certain number of tournaments or making it to the postseason. "It sounds good but, at the end of the day, it sometimes doesn't mean a lot. What means a lot are the actions. When they did mention a result goal, they immediately followed it with the character goals that we need — the accountability, trust and being honest, being communicative and getting after it every day in practice."
Senior Chloe Weir, the lone upperclassmen on a team with four sophomores and two freshmen, has stepped into an increased leadership role this season after Connie Jaffrey finished her decorated career in the spring. She said she has plenty of help in that department, however.
"We're all strong individual leaders and I think that really helps when we're on the road and we can support each other," Weir said, as K-State opens its season on Saturday at the Mary Fossum Invitational, a three-round, two-day tournament in East Lansing, Michigan. "We're all working together toward a common goal – to win as a team."
Like her coach, Weir said the team's focus has not been as much on winning tournaments as it has been about the steps that lead up to it. Culture dictates success, not the other way around.
"We just decided we want to focus on small goals that are realistic instead of bigger goals at the end," she said, adding that those small goals include: "Going into tournaments prepared, doing well academically away from the golf course and then when we're there, just being totally focused on golf.
"Ultimately, we want to get to regionals, but we have to do small goals to get there."
K-State made an NCAA Regional in 2017. The Wildcats looked well on their way to another postseason appearance after a successful fall to start the 2017-18 campaign. This included a pair of tournament victories and an individual title from now-sophomore Reid Isaac. It also preceded a spring where low scores became harder to produce.
"Last year at this time there were a lot of unknown and now they're just on their way. Everything is familiar to them," Knight said of K-State's four sophomores of Isaac, Ella Adams, Darby Deans and Niamh McSherry, whose contributions ranked their class fifth nationally among freshmen last season, according to Golfstat.com. "They had a taste of success last year. They had a taste of disappointment. I like the focus that we see and the drive."
One collective push the Wildcats have tried to make over the offseason has been in their short games. Progress around the green, McSherry said, can help keep good rounds from being derailed and minimize the damage when a player's game is shaky in other areas.
"If you miss the green, the confidence to get up and down and save those pars is huge," she said. "I feel like we all learned last year that the best teams aren't the ones that make all the birdies, they're the ones that make the least amount of bogeys."
So far in qualifying practice rounds, Knight said she has been impressed by the mental maturity her team has displayed. When something goes wrong on one hole, the Wildcats have bounced back in a positive way more times than not.
"After somebody struggled, after somebody had a bad hole, we liked the way they responded. If they had a three-putt, we saw a lot of birdies after," Knight, in her 24thseason as K-State's head coach, said. "That's what you want because it's not a game of perfect. It's about how you handle what happens to you. That's what we really like and that's what we shared with the team, is it's not about playing great in qualifying. It's about seeing some good decisions and handling the adversity, and we saw that."
Two weeks ago, the K-State women's golf team met with Director of Mental Wellness/Sport Psychology Anne Weese. In this meeting, the Wildcats went around the room and listed some goals for the 2018-19 season. Very few of them were results-driven, however, which represents an intentional shift for the group.
"Sometimes that's an easy thing to do; it's almost a cliché thing to do," K-State head coach Kristi Knight said of setting more tangible goals — i.e., winning a certain number of tournaments or making it to the postseason. "It sounds good but, at the end of the day, it sometimes doesn't mean a lot. What means a lot are the actions. When they did mention a result goal, they immediately followed it with the character goals that we need — the accountability, trust and being honest, being communicative and getting after it every day in practice."
Senior Chloe Weir, the lone upperclassmen on a team with four sophomores and two freshmen, has stepped into an increased leadership role this season after Connie Jaffrey finished her decorated career in the spring. She said she has plenty of help in that department, however.
"We're all strong individual leaders and I think that really helps when we're on the road and we can support each other," Weir said, as K-State opens its season on Saturday at the Mary Fossum Invitational, a three-round, two-day tournament in East Lansing, Michigan. "We're all working together toward a common goal – to win as a team."
Like her coach, Weir said the team's focus has not been as much on winning tournaments as it has been about the steps that lead up to it. Culture dictates success, not the other way around.
"We just decided we want to focus on small goals that are realistic instead of bigger goals at the end," she said, adding that those small goals include: "Going into tournaments prepared, doing well academically away from the golf course and then when we're there, just being totally focused on golf.
"Ultimately, we want to get to regionals, but we have to do small goals to get there."
K-State made an NCAA Regional in 2017. The Wildcats looked well on their way to another postseason appearance after a successful fall to start the 2017-18 campaign. This included a pair of tournament victories and an individual title from now-sophomore Reid Isaac. It also preceded a spring where low scores became harder to produce.
"Last year at this time there were a lot of unknown and now they're just on their way. Everything is familiar to them," Knight said of K-State's four sophomores of Isaac, Ella Adams, Darby Deans and Niamh McSherry, whose contributions ranked their class fifth nationally among freshmen last season, according to Golfstat.com. "They had a taste of success last year. They had a taste of disappointment. I like the focus that we see and the drive."
One collective push the Wildcats have tried to make over the offseason has been in their short games. Progress around the green, McSherry said, can help keep good rounds from being derailed and minimize the damage when a player's game is shaky in other areas.
"If you miss the green, the confidence to get up and down and save those pars is huge," she said. "I feel like we all learned last year that the best teams aren't the ones that make all the birdies, they're the ones that make the least amount of bogeys."
So far in qualifying practice rounds, Knight said she has been impressed by the mental maturity her team has displayed. When something goes wrong on one hole, the Wildcats have bounced back in a positive way more times than not.
"After somebody struggled, after somebody had a bad hole, we liked the way they responded. If they had a three-putt, we saw a lot of birdies after," Knight, in her 24thseason as K-State's head coach, said. "That's what you want because it's not a game of perfect. It's about how you handle what happens to you. That's what we really like and that's what we shared with the team, is it's not about playing great in qualifying. It's about seeing some good decisions and handling the adversity, and we saw that."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
K-State Women's Golf | Carla Bernat ANWA Recognition
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Women's Golf | Behind The Scenes Photoshoot
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational
Tuesday, November 11
K-State WGOLF | Carla Bernat Augusta National Women's Amateur Recognition
Saturday, November 01
