Collegiate golf is a sport that gets little recognition. Golf matches have one of the fewest sports attendances on campus, despite being one of the best teams. Most people probably wouldn’t know how an average season or match works.
The Cortland Women’s Golf Team typically plays five matches in the fall and three to five matches in the Spring. Each tournament that is held has both an individual and team scoring aspect. The team receives a score of how they did and placed against each team, and each golfer gets individually placed as well. At a typical tournament each golfer golfs a total of 36 holes for the weekend.
Sophie Oristian, a sophomore from Maryland, would be happy to see more support for her golf team. Oristian received the golfer of the week for the Northeast Women’s Golf Conference after being Cortland’s top finisher during their spring break in Florida, placing third overall.
“Spectators are allowed and welcomed! I just had my mom come watch a tournament this weekend,” said Oristian. “Each golfer has a tee time where we tee off with and play with other players from other teams.”
Anyone can go to watch the golf matches, just as they would a professional golf tournament. Different courses may have different rules for the spectators, but they are still able to watch. Cortland uses the Cortland Country Club, which is three miles away from campus, to play their home matches.
Practice wise, the Red Dragons also use the Cortland Country Club when weather permits. During bad weather they utilize a golf simulator room in Park Center.
“Normal practices look like a lot of 1 on 1 and talking with coach. We structure a lot of different drills and coach helps us tune into specific parts of our game that are having issues,” said Oristian. “Practices can last anywhere between one to three hours depending on what we’re working on, it’s all very flexible.”
Cortland’s golf team is successful, which is a little-known fact on campus. The Red Dragons compete in the Northeast Women’s Golf Conference. The conference is made up of fifteen schools across the Northeast, and the only other SUNY school in the conference is Geneseo.
This past weekend, April 15-16, the Cortland Red Dragons hosted the Martin/Wallace Invitational where they competed against several non-conference, nationally ranked schools. Despite placing fifth out of seven, Cortland posted their second-best score in program history with a final score of 632. Cortland’s top golfer, sophomore Claudia Winterberg, placed 15th out of 50 golfers at the tournament. Winterberg scored a 78 on Saturday and a 76 on Sunday.
Last fall the Red Dragons won the Northeast Women’s Golf Conference Fall Invitational. The official NWGC championship is scheduled for April 22-23 in Bloomfield Connecticut. Cortland has taken home the past three NWGC titles, and they are expected to win a fourth because of their performance in the fall.
Cortland’s golf team has been successful and deserves more acknowledgement. If you’re looking for a new sport to attend, check out a Cortland golf match.