June 7, 2004

The 2003-04 season came to an end with the conclusion of the NCAA Division III men's golf championships at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club at Oak Valley. Our last golf trip in beautiful southern California was easily the best trip of the season, with arguably some of the best play, weather, food and good times we could have imagined.

A few days after academic finals, with the usual burden of schoolwork off our backs, we flew out to Ontario, Calif., a day before the practice round. With a late shotgun start the next day we treated ourselves to a two-hour drive to the famous Santa Monica Boulevard for dinner and a night out.

We arrived at the course the next day with high expectations, and none of us were disappointed. The wonderfully designed course was long and challenging to say the least; a slope and rating of 76.5/141, playing just more than 7,000 yards. The four tournament rounds displayed the course's defense with tucked pins and windy conditions.

I'm obviously not going to sum up each round for you but anyone watching the live scoring on GolfStat knows we each had our share of ups and downs. After a pair of stressful days, Scherr decided to have some fun and finish off his record breaking collegiate career with two great rounds of even par.

It took Timmy four days to realize that he just had to get himself so deep into the red that he couldn't come back out. As a team, a rough second day in tough conditions proved to be the only thing keeping us from a top-four finish and taking home a piece of NCAA hardware. Disappointing... of course; but no regrets. We had an incredible trip, played tough, and got beat by a few of the best teams in the country who were on top of their games.

This season marked the end of two great college careers and I'd like to personally congratulate Jason and Brian for all of their accomplishments. They helped shape this team on and off the course and in doing so set the standard for Emory golf in the future. Emory proved itself to be a strong national contender with talent and dedication.... and we're all looking forward to next year!!!

Mike Lebow is a sophomore from Royersford, Pa.

April 19, 2004

After a solid finish in the Camp Lejeune Invitational we had a little time off before our spring invitational. We did not stay at Camp Lejeune and go through military training like Tiger Woods did at Fort Bragg.

Coach would have liked us to do that, but after a long discussion with my fellow teammates, we opted not to do that. We lead boring lives. All we did on our time off was catch up on schoolwork and practice; I will leave you with another top ten list.

Top Ten Reasons Why We Should Get Into Nationals That the Committee Won't Look At:
10. Tristan and I are fat and need to lose weight by walking four rounds of golf
9. I have never been to In-N-Out Burger
8. Jason Scherr needs one more opportunity to finally win a tournament outright (and one last chance to beat Trent Erb)
7. I need to learn how to avoid randomly shooting 81 after good rounds
6. I improved my score at the spring invitational from last year by 39 shots
5. Nixon needs to keep proving his theory that a golfer can't afford to take days off or it will ruin their golf game. (He is definitely the hardest worker on the team or not at all)
4. Scherr is short and needs to prove one last time that he can carry a tall man's load
3. What else are we going to do a week after finals?
2. Coach needs to put up with our nonsense one last time
1. Nixon will never walk another round of golf after college. He needs four more.

Timothy Hamm is a junior from Niskayuna, N.Y.

March 29, 2004

Cruel and unusual punishment. That is what I have been through the last two golf tournaments. I have missed three University of Connecticut basketball games. Luckily they reached the Final Four or I may have been emotionally scarred for the rest of my life.

Sadly, our golf tournament officials did not take into account the times of these NCAA basketball games when they scheduled our tee times and the multiple banquets. Jason Scherr was a mini-savior because he has wireless web on his cell phone and was able to update me with the scores every 10-12 seconds.

Besides the drama of missing the basketball games, the last two golf tournaments have been a lot of fun. Jason and Brian are both running out of time here at Emory and it has been fun spending quality and very mature time with the two elders. Trust me; they act as if they were at least 12 years old during the trips. I guess they are ready for the real world.

Brian was able to have a great experience the last day at Camp Lejeune. He got to play with someone who has the same Jim Furyk-esque swing that he has. Brian never realized what it was like to play with him until he played with his clone. During the round, two of his playing partners were commenting on the players' swings.

Brian always thought his unorthodox swing either went unnoticed or wasn't a big deal. He was wrong. He never took the blatant hints that we gave him. It took a first-hand experience for him to understand his game.

Despite these distractions Brian was able to shoot a one-over-par total of 215 at Camp Lejeune to finish tied for seventh with me. Jason Scherr started off the tournament on a high note with a career best 66. Too bad it was on the easiest course in the world.

No one on the team can really say that though because with his four-under 66 we only shot one-under as a team. To put this in perspective, Rhodes College shot 22-under-par on the same course with scores of 63-65-65-65.

If it wasn't for the little course we would have finished second in the tournament, but our lackluster performance put us back to fifth place out of 32 teams. This greatly improves our chances of going to nationals. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will get the good news that we are heading to beautiful Southern California.

Timothy Hamm is a junior from Niskayuna, N.Y

October 22, 2003

After a great showing at the Gordin the previous week, our team hopped on a plane and traveled down to Texas. Our first and only plane trip of the fall was a huge success and a great experience.

We arrived in Austin and after a quick tour of the city and lunch on the infamous Sixth Sstreet; we drove north to the small town of Salado, Texas.

We checked into the hotel and had a short practice before stopping down the street at a little steak restaurant for some of the best mesquite-grilled steak I've ever had. They say that everything is bigger in Texas, but I didn't believe it until they brought out a 72-ounce platter of beef that the six of us couldn't finish.

We then drove down to see the Oasis and the more than 40 outdoor decks that overlook Lake Travis. After Keith's near death experience from the top deck and a typical dinosaur fight that left the other customers scared and confused, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the tournament.

Our solid first day score of 288 was good enough to put us in first place, 12 shots clear of the field which included five national top-25 teams. Being the only non-Texan team at the tournament, we turned a few heads and had a couple people asking, "Where is Emory?"

After two rounds of play we found ourselves with our first victory of the fall; 11 shots ahead of the field with two of us tied for medalist honors. Tim Hamm and Jason Scherr were tied for the lead with scores of 142 (70, 72) and 142 (73, 69), respectively.

Mike Lebow finished in the top 10 with a 147 and Keith Rourke was one shot back with a 148. Dan Ofman also contributed with a solid 75 the second day to finish with a 153.

This tournament was a great finish to a solid fall season. We have put ourselves in a great position for a return to the NCAA national championship and enjoyed a little taste of victory. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the spring and show our local rivals that we're not just ready to compete... we're ready to WIN!

Mike Lebow is a sophomore from Royersford, Pa.

October 15, 2003

This week's tournament was the Gordin Collegiate Classic. The top 11 teams from last year's NCAA championships (plus the host school) are invited to this tournament. We sneaked in due to a couple of teams withdrawing. It was a great opportunity to show that we belong among the elite in Division III golf and that we deserve a spot at this season's nationals.

When the bus finally arrived back in Atlanta, Jason Scherr suggested that I write a top-10 list for my diary entry. So I will offer two lists. One making fun of him and his roommate Brian (Nixon) and one about the most inevitable things that happen on our college golf trips.

Top 10 Funniest Things about Jason and Brian
10. If you are playing against Jason you are always away
9. Why does Brian always wear a collared shirt? ALWAYS
8. Jason is a neat freak
7. Brian is the anti-neat freak
6. Jason's closet is color coordinated down to shades of colors.
5. Brian loves the color pink (On this trip he wanted to use my red sharpie to mark his ball because it turns pink after a few holes)
4. Jason's only goal in a tournament is to beat Trent Erb (He is the No. 1 player for Oglethorpe)
3. Brian didn't play Little League baseball...who does that?
2. Jason still wishes he was playing in AJGA events
1. And the No. 1 funniest thing ... (drumroll) ... Brian uses a cell phone more than most people eat

Top Ten Most Inevitable Things about our College Golf Trips
10. It will rain at least once on your trip
9. You will be late for the van at least once, especially because Coach's watch is 10 minutes fast
8. You will learn to love the sound of artificial crow noises
7. You will see more dinosaurs than in Jurassic Park
6. Cracker Barrel anyone?
5. Someone will dispute having to wash clubs after round one
4. No one will ever have to clean Tim's clubs
3. The greens will be aerated more often than not
2. Brian will keep someone up later than normal
1. And the No. 1 inevitable thing ... Tiger Woo 2004 will be on your mind the whole trip.

Timothy Hamm is a junior from Niskayuna, N.Y.