OPINION — The Ragin’ Cajuns golf team may have started off their season mediocrely, but as time went on, they showed how great they can be.
The first few games of the season saw Louisiana place 12th and 13th. This was out of character for the team because, during the fall season, the worst they placed was 10th. After those two games, the Cajuns had almost a month to prepare for the next one.
In the March 15 and 16 Louisiana Classics, Louisiana placed second. Two individual Louisiana golfers placed in the top 10. This winning attitude would carry over to the next set of games.
As part of the Craft Farms Intercollegiate, Louisiana placed first, second and third during the series that ran from March 28-30. And in their most recent games during the first week of April, the Ragin’ Cajuns finished fourth and third.
“Three top-20 individual performances and the lowest 54-hole score of the season help Louisiana to a third-place finish at Bayou City Collegiate Classic,” read the Facebook post.
It’s evident that how the Cajuns were playing in February and even how they were playing in the fall season was not at their full potential. With these recent spring games, the team showed they can be top performers.
Golf is like any other sport: practice makes perfect. You can tell the team has been practicing hard.
But golf is also about strategy. Every player has their own strategy that works best for them in order to score the lowest points possible. By practicing, players find out which strategies work best for them and which don’t. That’s what makes the best golfers.
But, it’s also about not letting a bad stroke put you down. It’s one of many holes and if you’re worried about how you did on a previous hole, you may not move past it. That would result in bad play.
I’ve never played golf myself, but I’ve played mini-golf, and I know that a bad attitude can ruin the next few holes I have. You have to have a strong mentality when playing and know that not every hole will be your best.
The golf team is also a much smaller close-knit team than other sports. The entire roster is only nine players. Having this small of a roster is good for golf. The players can interact with each other more and teach each other strategies and tips that work for them. If one teammate’s strategy doesn’t work for you, it’s easy to find one who does.
The coaching staff also does a good job of choosing the starting lineups for each game. They know who can deliver best in certain situations.
The Ragin’ Cajuns only have two more games before the Sun Belt Conference Championships. With the way they’ve been playing, I believe they can go far in the championship tournament and continue to thrive beyond it.