SE: K-State Men's Golf Looks to Take Lessons from Alumni Event to Spring Season
Feb 20, 2019 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
A little more than a week ago, eight Kansas State men's golf alumni faced off with eight current Wildcats in Arizona. The goal for the program's first such event, organized by former Wildcats Aaron Watkins and Richard Laing, was three-fold: Improve alumni engagement in a competitive setting that also happened to be warm.
But it turned into even more.
K-State's golfers also got to pick the brains of former Wildcats like Watkins (2001-04), who played two full seasons on the PGA Tour and more than 125 events on the Web.com Tour, and Curtis Yonke (2009-13), who just finished his second season on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.
"You just can't ask those guys enough questions," said K-State junior Jacob Eklund, who summed up all the advice he heard into five words: "You can't work hard enough."
The theme of responses he heard are based on a mentality. Eklund defined it in different ways, including the four examples listed below:
"You have to have the go-out-there-and-grind-every-day mentality."
"You have to have the mentality that there's rent to pay and it's due every single day."
"You can't take a day off."
"The future is a chain of a bunch of nows."
All of these phrases boil down to the same takeaway: The Wildcats need to work harder than they have been to get to where they want.
"You can't say I'll wait until the summer to work hard or I'll wait until next week to work hard. It all starts now, and it starts every day," Eklund said, as K-State starts its spring season at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday and Sunday. "Every day has to be the same focus and same mentality."
K-State head coach Grant Robbins said the program's culture must form around what Eklund described, if the Wildcats hope to compete with some of the best teams.
"For Kansas State to be competitive in the Big 12, we have to outwork people. That's the bottom line," Robbins said. "For us to get to the level we want to be at, we have to do extra things and work harder. We're trying to convey that culture with this group."
Hearing this message from former players like Watkins and Yonke, both in K-State's top 10 for career scoring average, certainly "goes a long way," Robbins added.
"If you want to reach that level, 20 hours a week is not going to get it done. You have to put in the extra time and the extra work," he said. "We have some guys who have been like that. I think more and more are starting to catch on. If we can get the whole team embracing that type of culture, that's where we need to be."
A glimmer of this was visible earlier this week. With a few inches of snow on the ground, K-State took to its indoor facility at Colbert Hills. Heaters kept the temperature manageable and the Wildcats used their state-of-the-art Trackman golf radar to dial in distance control.
"We don't have the luxury of being able to practice in 80-degree weather like some teams right now, but we have an indoor facility, we have a $20,000 Trackman. We have what we have, and you have to accept what you have," Eklund said. "You can't feel like you're owed anything. You can't feel like I deserve better weather. You have to take what you got and use it to your advantage."
The Wildcats look to use it to produce a breakout spring.
K-State's team scoring average finished at 290.13 for the fall, the third-lowest mark going into a spring in the program's last 10 years. Five different Wildcats posted rounds under par in the fall, with three different players leading the team in as many tournaments.
In other words, the potential is there. But, Eklund said, consistency has to be created through hard work for it to become something special.
"We have guys with a lot of talent on this team, guys with a lot of upside who can do a lot of really good things, and that's why I'm excited about this spring," he said. "I think we all have changed that mindset coming into the spring to make this spring count."
A little more than a week ago, eight Kansas State men's golf alumni faced off with eight current Wildcats in Arizona. The goal for the program's first such event, organized by former Wildcats Aaron Watkins and Richard Laing, was three-fold: Improve alumni engagement in a competitive setting that also happened to be warm.
But it turned into even more.
K-State's golfers also got to pick the brains of former Wildcats like Watkins (2001-04), who played two full seasons on the PGA Tour and more than 125 events on the Web.com Tour, and Curtis Yonke (2009-13), who just finished his second season on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.
"You just can't ask those guys enough questions," said K-State junior Jacob Eklund, who summed up all the advice he heard into five words: "You can't work hard enough."
The theme of responses he heard are based on a mentality. Eklund defined it in different ways, including the four examples listed below:
"You have to have the go-out-there-and-grind-every-day mentality."
"You have to have the mentality that there's rent to pay and it's due every single day."
"You can't take a day off."
"The future is a chain of a bunch of nows."
All of these phrases boil down to the same takeaway: The Wildcats need to work harder than they have been to get to where they want.
"You can't say I'll wait until the summer to work hard or I'll wait until next week to work hard. It all starts now, and it starts every day," Eklund said, as K-State starts its spring season at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday and Sunday. "Every day has to be the same focus and same mentality."
K-State head coach Grant Robbins said the program's culture must form around what Eklund described, if the Wildcats hope to compete with some of the best teams.
"For Kansas State to be competitive in the Big 12, we have to outwork people. That's the bottom line," Robbins said. "For us to get to the level we want to be at, we have to do extra things and work harder. We're trying to convey that culture with this group."
Hearing this message from former players like Watkins and Yonke, both in K-State's top 10 for career scoring average, certainly "goes a long way," Robbins added.
"If you want to reach that level, 20 hours a week is not going to get it done. You have to put in the extra time and the extra work," he said. "We have some guys who have been like that. I think more and more are starting to catch on. If we can get the whole team embracing that type of culture, that's where we need to be."
A glimmer of this was visible earlier this week. With a few inches of snow on the ground, K-State took to its indoor facility at Colbert Hills. Heaters kept the temperature manageable and the Wildcats used their state-of-the-art Trackman golf radar to dial in distance control.
"We don't have the luxury of being able to practice in 80-degree weather like some teams right now, but we have an indoor facility, we have a $20,000 Trackman. We have what we have, and you have to accept what you have," Eklund said. "You can't feel like you're owed anything. You can't feel like I deserve better weather. You have to take what you got and use it to your advantage."
The Wildcats look to use it to produce a breakout spring.
K-State's team scoring average finished at 290.13 for the fall, the third-lowest mark going into a spring in the program's last 10 years. Five different Wildcats posted rounds under par in the fall, with three different players leading the team in as many tournaments.
In other words, the potential is there. But, Eklund said, consistency has to be created through hard work for it to become something special.
"We have guys with a lot of talent on this team, guys with a lot of upside who can do a lot of really good things, and that's why I'm excited about this spring," he said. "I think we all have changed that mindset coming into the spring to make this spring count."
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