The next month will be full of preparation for Florida’s men’s golf team.
The team will have time to focus on final exams and then transition to focusing solely on golf.
After a seventh place finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship in St. Simons Island, Georgia, this weekend, the Gators will have a three week gap before they participate in another competitive round of golf.
First year coach JC Deacon acknowledged that the gap between competitions will be tough for the athletes but it will let them clear their plates in order to focus on golf and use their excitement to benefit the team.
On May 14 the Gators will open up play in the NCAA Regional Championship and continue working toward a National Championship.
Deacon thinks that the team-first mentality and a different approach to the game this year for certain players will help them down the stretch.
“The biggest thing with these guys now, is that when they aren’t playing well, they don’t hurt us anymore,” Deacon said about sophomore Ryan Orr’s performance at the SECs. “It’s not about them. It’s about the team. Ryan didn’t have his best week, but he was a heck of a teammate and pushed the other guys and pumped them up and stayed positive and he helped us yesterday.”
A new team culture is what Deacon said he hoped to bring to the program during his first year and said a moment at the SEC tournament between him and senior Eric Banks let him see his approach with the players is working.
Deacon asked Banks how the second round went and the senior said he hit 17 greens.
“For him to say 17 greens was the judgment of his round,” Deacon said. “That’s what we’ve been working on and it was kind of a proud moment for me and him.”
Despite the prolonged layover between tournaments, Deacon thinks the team and other conference competitors will be just fine in the NCAAs.
“It is tough and at the SEC meetings a lot of the head coaches talked about trying to move it back a little bit because all the programs are dealing with that issue,” Deacon said. “I think the SEC had 10 teams in the national championship last year so it didn’t hurt anyone last year and I don’t see it hurting anyone this year.”
Deacon said he knows his guys will be ready when it comes time to compete at the regional competition.
“We’ll be ready to go, I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve,” Deacon said. “I have no clue what these guys are going to do, but it’s probably going to be something special.”
Follow Ryan Summers on Twitter @RyanSummers18
UF men's golf coach J.C. Deacon speaks during a press conference in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Led by first-year head coach JC Deacon, the Florida men's golf team returned to the NCAA Championship last season. Here's Ryan Summer's story on the occasion (http://www.alligator.org/sports/golf/article_982fe4ae-fdf2-11e4-833b-83c78d3e0d3f.html)
