This coming Sunday, the Georgia Northwestern men's golf team will load up the vans and begin a nearly 12-hour ride for what will be a week's stay in picturesque Chautauqua, New York.
For the Bobcats, however, the trip is all about business.
As it has since 1999, the Chautauqua Golf Club will play host to the NJCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships and Georgia Northwestern is hoping to make their inaugural appearance at the event a memorable one.
“We have a lot of different personalities on our team, but they all like to win,” head coach Jared Willerson said. “If we go up there and play like we’re capable of playing, we’ll do well and have a shot at winning.
“It’s going to be a different experience. Most of our guys have barely left the state before. We’re just a bunch of country boys headed up north. It does concerns me that it’s been nearly eight weeks since our last tournament, so we’ll have to adjust to the course quickly.”
The Bobcats, in just their second season as a program, qualified for nationals in their first year of eligibility after winning the GCAA/Region 17 Division III title at the Stonebridge Golf Club in Albany last month.
Georgia Northwestern finished with a three-day total of 897, beating their closest Division III opponent — Georgia Military College — by nearly 80 strokes. The Bobcats finished second overall to Division II nationally-ranked Darton College in the event which featured squads from both classifications.
Despite being the new guys on the block when it comes to the national championship, the Bobcats — based on region tournament scores — will actually arrive in New York as one of the favorites to win it all, something Willerson thought might have been possible before the 2014 fall season even began.
“I know some people thought I was crazy when I said it, but I know how good our players are,” he explained. “I’ve looked at some of the scores that have been shot (at nationals) the last few years and I know we’re capable of shooting those scores or better.”
Of the 13 teams that will tee it up in New York, 10 played in two-day region tournaments and the winning scores from those tournaments ranged anywhere from a 620 by Region 10 champion Sandhills (N.C.) to a 660 by Region 19 champion Lehigh Carbon (Pa.).
By comparison, Georgia Northwestern’s highest two-day total at the Region 17 tournament was a 608 and its lowest a 593.
The Bobcats' main competition could come from Region 12 winner Cincinnati (Ohio) State, who shot a three-day total of 888 in their region tournament with daily scores of 297, 300 and 291.
Georgia Northwestern shot 304 on each of its first two days in Albany, but fired an 289 on the final day.
This year’s scores for Region 4 champion, College of DuPage (Ill.), were not available, but DuPage won its region title a year ago, shooting a 950 over the three days.
Willerson said the biggest thing his team will have to adjust to is the type of grass on the course, especially on the greens.
“Everything up there is bent grass and we’re used to playing on Bermuda down here because it’s easier to grow,” he said. “The greens are fast and it’s a Donald Ross design. Luckily, Donald Ross also designed Brainerd in Chattanooga so we’ve played there a couple of times to get used to the type of course architecture we’ll see.”
Ross, who died in 1948, was one of the world’s most famous course designers. Among the over 400 courses he designed or had a hand in designing include East Lake Golf Club and Augusta Country Club in Georgia, Oak Hill, Inverness, Oakland Hills, and Pinehurst No. 2.
The Bobcats are scheduled to arrive in New York on Sunday night and slated to play a practice round on Monday. There will be a long drive contest Monday afternoon and a welcome banquet later than evening.
Play begins on Tuesday with teams playing four 18-hole rounds over four days. Awards for first, second and third place, as well as the All-American Teams, will be announced following the completion of Friday's round and the team is slated to return home on Saturday, June 6.
A total of 20 other colleges will be represented by individual players, but will not be eligible for the team championship.