For the first time during the 2025 season, the Wabash golf team found themselves on the links in a competitive setting. However, the team’s performance showed there is room for improvement moving forward.
After the opening tournament, set for the end of February, was cancelled due to weather, the team’s first opportunity to compete outside came on March 9 and 10 at the Hampden-Sydney College Tiger Invitational at the Country Club of Whispering Pines in Whispering Pines, North Carolina. The team finished ninth overall out of 16 teams.
“I think the team was very disappointed in the way that we played, but not discouraged,” said Lewis Dellinger ’25. “We’re disappointed, but not discouraged because it’s realistically our first 18 holes outside where it wasn’t 35 degrees in the wind and it was our first time chipping on real grass.”
Although the team’s performance was disappointing, Dellinger put together rounds of 76 and 77 to finish tied for 22nd place individually. Sean Bledsoe ’26 tied for 44th individually with Lane Notter ’28, Robert Pruzin ’25 and Matt Lesniak ’25 rounding out the scoring for the Little Giants.
“I am happy that I shot what I shot and helped out the team for two days in a row, but at the same time, I know that I can play so much better,” said Dellinger.
Although the outcome of the tournament was not what the team had hoped, the trip was still a success.
“When I took over the program, the team would have been throwing clubs, acting poorly on the golf course and not representing Wabash well due to their poor play,” said Head Coach Justin Kopp ’21. “However, every single player fought until the end of the round with a good attitude and acted like Wabash men through and through. I’m very proud of them for that. Now it’s about learning how to take our much improved mental game to the next level and make it a weapon for us.”
The trip to North Carolina didn’t solely focus on the team’s performance on the course. On top of playing in the tournament, the team was provided the opportunity to play at Pinehurst #2, one of the premier golf courses in the world, as a result of generosity from an alumnus. Furthermore, the team had dinners and free-time together — allowing them to grow closer as a unit.
“The experience at Pinehurst #2 and the rest of the pristine courses that we played on spring break proved to be an absolutely incredible experience,” said Kopp. “We are so blessed at Wabash to have generous alumni to help students experience opportunities like we did this spring break. The group of guys who got to play those courses and go on a once in a lifetime trip like that are all so grateful but also better men because of the experience. The group got closer and meshed very well. Everyone on the trip agreed that the team chemistry felt higher than ever due to the experiences they all just shared together whether it be playing cards in the back of the van, hanging out in the hotel rooms at night, or playing golf together. Those are memories the team will remember forever.”
As the team prepares to enter the meat of their schedule with three April tournaments before the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship in May, they’ve identified specific areas of growth to focus on in practice.
“Eighty-five percent of shots in golf are from inside of 150 yards so that’s where we will spend ~85% of our time practicing,” said Kopp. “Additionally, I want guys to get more creative and feel more athletic on the golf course. I don’t want us to feel like robots and practice to become robots because then when we get under pressure or if we can’t practice for a week due to rain or snow, we lose our confidence. We need to trust in our athletic abilities and know that we can still score without our best stuff out there on a day-to-day basis. That’s how golf is, no one can perfect the game.”
A limiting factor for the team is the difficulty of course that the team has to practice on. Typically, the Little Giants will use the Crawfordsville Country Club (CCC) as their practice course. However, the course offers difficulty in some respects, but easier areas in others — and does not usually match the level of difficulty of tournament courses. Furthermore, playing on the same course every day becomes repetitive and boring.
“Instead of going out to the CCC, we’re going to go out to Trophy Club or Purdue’s golf course and be able to work on short game or even just playing harder golf courses, so that when we go to tournaments on a nice golf course, we’re not really shell shocked because we’ve been playing a golf course that isn’t as good,” said Lesniak. “Another thing that we’re going to implement is doing on-course out of bounds (OB) at the CCC, because as a team, we struggled with tee shots this week.”
The team will have a chance to put their practice to the test on April 4 and April 5 when they play in the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational.