[00:00:15] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Solandrop of Wichita State University strategic communications. We have two shocker golfers as our guest today. Wichita State early in its spring season. Season. They're coming off a good start in a tournament in Mexico. The next action for the Shocker golfers is March 11 and twelveth and the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Alabama. Michael Winslow is a junior. He is from overland Park. Blake Lorenz is from Phoenix and he is a senior. Blake earned All American Athletic Conference honors last spring after leading the Shockers with a stroke average of 72. Michael's stroke average of 73.3 ranked second on the team last spring. He started this spring by tying for fifth in the Los Vocaros Intercollegiate in Cancun. He shot a 218. Blake tied for 9th with a five over par 221. And the Shockers placed fourth in the nine team tournament. Let's start with some just general golf fun questions. Blake, what's the favorite course you've played as a shocker?
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Favorite course, Pebble beach is number one. It was insane. Spectacular views, great conditions. That's got to be my number one.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Was there a hole that stands out? What was memorable or tough or what did you nail?
[00:01:28] Speaker B: I mean, that stretch from six and seven has got to be up there, going up the hill on six, hitting that second shot of that par five. And then once you get up top there, you kind of are met with a pretty insane view of the Pacific. And hitting that shot on seven is one of the coolest ones you'll ever do in your life. So that's definitely it for me.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: That's a good one. Michael, how about you?
[00:01:51] Speaker C: I probably would say probably Baltistral growing up. I played there in 2018 for the US junior. That place was pretty cool. We played the upper and the lower that year for it. And I mean, the conditions there, the history with having PGA championships and US Opens there and whatnot throughout the years, you can really feel it. And on the lower course, there's a plaque of Jack Nicholas's famous shot into the 18th green.
So it's just really cool. The condition is cool, the history. I just really enjoyed that course and everything around it, too.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: Those are two really good ones. Michael, how about what's the course you want to play before you die?
[00:02:35] Speaker C: Augusta. I want to play Augusta. I think that's on a lot of golfers bucket list, but would love to be playing a tournament there at one point.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: Blake, how about you? What's tops on your list?
[00:02:46] Speaker B: I mean, that's a good answer. That's a pretty easy one, but I think I'm going to go Pine Valley. I think just heard a lot of good things about it. I think it's pretty up there on everyone's list, so that one would be really cool.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Have either of you been to Augusta to watch or drive around or.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: Hopefully soon. Hopefully soon.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: That would be a good one. Blake, your history with the sport, describe the time that you fell in love with golf.
[00:03:12] Speaker B: Man, it was probably when I was about seven or eight. I was big into all sports growing up. When I was young, I played just about anything I could, especially with having three brothers. It was pretty easy to go from season to season.
My younger brother Ben, he's at Ou right now, but he was the golf prodigy, quote unquote, in our family, and he's a couple years younger than me, so anytime he would go play when we were young, my parents would kind of not make me go but just be out there with him because they didn't want him being out there by himself. So me and him spent a lot of time together when we were young, growing know, playing par three courses over all around the Phoenix area and then kind of slowly moving our way up.
But basically, our relationship was what made me love it. I was just able to get really close with him, and we spent a ton of time together, and just having something like that to be able to share with him was great and what made me fall in love with him.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Michael, how about you?
[00:04:18] Speaker C: I would say it really falls back on family as well. For me, my siblings are quite older than me, my brother's ten years older than me, and my sister's eight years. So there's a big gap. But when I was younger, I'd probably say three, four, I would just be brought to the golf course. My dad was a teaching pro growing up as well, so I've had that golf background forever. But just being brought to the golf course, I remember the course I grew up in at KC was called shadow Glen, but the first hole had this, like 30 yard carry of water just off the t box. And so my dad, to get me out to the golf course, he'd be like, all right, you can have a lemonade and just hang out, but at the end of the day, you have to go down there and try to hit the golf ball over the water. So that's where I love the game. And eventually I just top it right in the water. Top it right in the water. But the first time I ever got over the water, that's probably where the love came for the game for sure.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: So you both mentioned family, parents coming to supporting you, coming tournaments. It's always interesting to talk to parents. Some of them can't watch. They have to walk away or they have to watch. Just different nerves, different levels. Describe your parents, your family. What are they like when they're watching you compete? Blake?
[00:05:39] Speaker B: Well, I would say they love watching it. I think both my parents just love seeing all their kids do what they love, and we're all super competitive from my dad all the way down to my younger sister and younger brother. So they love just watching us compete.
I would say that they definitely do get nervous watching. Probably a little bit more nervous than the person who's actually playing in the round.
Being on both ends of either playing or watching my brother play, I'm kind of able to see how they handle it and also how it looks when I'm watching them watch me. So they definitely get pretty nervous watching either me or Ben, but they ultimately just want to see their kids do well.
But they love watching and supporting, and that's probably one of my favorite things is having them out there.
I get to smile at them and talk with them in between shots sometimes, but just having them out there is a blessing, and I wish they could be out there for everyone, but, yeah, sure.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Michael, how about you?
[00:06:49] Speaker C: I completely agree. Having family out there on the golf course makes it even your worst days, great days. So I think that's really important.
I'd say my mom and dad, we're all very holy and religious, and so my mom's always, you can look over there and if she's being quiet or not with my dad, I know she's just like praying the rosary or something, trying to, trying to calm herself down and pray for the best things and whatnot, which I love. It's just who she is and I love it. But yeah, it's always fun having around. They come to a lot of events.
Obviously, they're 2 hours away from me, so it's pretty easy for them to get around down, even down to here or in general just going to tournaments and whatnot, if we're playing a midwest more schedule.
But it's great. I completely agree with blake. It's hard to beat when your parents are out there and just as fun to have people around that love you.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: Excellent parents are important. So, blake, when you mentioned super competitive and brothers, there's got to be a story about board games being thrown or a rush to the Christmas presents, something like that. What's the best family competitive spirit story you've got.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: Man, there's a lot to choose from. To be honest, it's hard to narrow it down to one, but we always used to get super competitive on the ping pong table.
It was always a race to see who could beat my dad, because my dad always used to be really good when we were younger.
I have now taken that crown from him, and I would like to say it's either me or Ben, but we could spend hours up there. We had a little ping pong table, pool table that we had up there in the game room, and we spent so much time up there, it would always end up usually getting pretty heated just from the competitive nature and both players wanting to win so bad, but that's got to be the one game. But then again, you could basically put us in any atmosphere that is somewhat competitive, and it's going to get pretty heated regardless. I mean, both guys always want to win so bad. To her, you could throw us in anything.
[00:09:07] Speaker A: Very good ping pong stories. Can't beat a good ping pong story. So, blake, Judd Easterling, coach of the shockers, he describes riding with you in the car, team van, as he is the worst dj who thinks he is the best dj. Tell us about your musical choices and why they irritate Judd Easterling when you're in charge.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: I think that he just says that because he wants to get a little rise out of people, but I think he's trying to get a rise out of me. But honestly, I just think that's completely false information.
Everyone that I ride with tells me how good my playlists are, song choice are. I kind of bounce around everywhere. I'm a hip hop guy, but I also have been getting into country, so my music taste is kind of all over the place. But I got. Man, it's just nice. And everyone always compliments me on it, and I think he's just saying that to try to get under my skin, which it might be working a little bit. But, yeah, we just like to have a good time in the car, and I like to just try to keep the vibes up if they're down or just keep them going. So music is a good way to do that, but it's just fun in those car rides. It gets pretty crazy.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: Okay, michael, do you have an opinion on who's the best?
[00:10:21] Speaker C: Mean, I will say I live with, uh, he gets going with the same songs for about a week or two, but I don't blame him. I do the same thing. So I'm not going to give him any I'm not criticizing. In what way?
I don't know who the best dj would be. I mean, could say selfishly myself, but I'm probably not up there. I'm just pretty relaxed when it comes to that kind of stuff. I've thrown. I don't know, I quoted last year, maybe it was like tate or somebody, but Tate always has the speaker playing. I know that.
[00:10:54] Speaker B: Yeah, he does always have it.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: So he usually gets probably more of the credit. He plays some good songs. I mean, Aston sneaky has some good songs, too.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: There's a lot of good djs on our team, honestly.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Yeah, we've got a lot. I mean, all of us, we listen to everything. We listen to country, we listen to classic rock, we listen to rap, we listen to hip hop. It just depends on what we're feeling. So we all have a playlist for that and whatnot. So I feel like we all can trust each other and play something good, too.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Yeah, there's no bad options there, I think.
[00:11:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I guess Ty's been. Ty's been. If we have like outdoor practice or something, we play some music. Ty's got the speaker going now, so I think he could be up there, know, honorable mention, at least you could.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: Bounce anyone in there.
[00:11:33] Speaker C: Yeah. So, no, it's been fun. It's always fun to have. I mean, music makes it more fun and whatnot, too. And just a social environment and know practice too. Just kind of relax, practice. Have some music playing the background. It's nice, too.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: Michael, you went to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Johnson county, one of the best golf high schools in the state of Kansas. Tell us how you ended up here at Wichita State. What was the recruiting journey like?
[00:11:59] Speaker C: It was a little tough for me.
I graduated high school in 2021, which is we're kind of middle of COVID and whatnot. But leading up to that, obviously college commitments is a little bit earlier, either your fall of senior year or even the spring of your junior year. So obviously that was during COVID It kind of was a little interesting.
I was hesitant on where I wanted to go, but it ended up being that I was going to take a gap year in between high school and college. And coach Eastern Lane reached out to me and the summer that I decided this, and he said, why don't you come up on a visit in the fall and we'll talk about coming here and playing? And so I did that and he offered to start in the spring. So instead of taking my full gap year, I took a semester off and I've been blessed to have that opportunity since. So it's been a great experience. It's great know, being from Kansas City, it's only two and a half hours away, so it's very nice for that factor.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: Blake, tell us how you ended up at Wichita State.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Oh, man. Long road. I get a lot of flack for being in college for so long, but I spent four years at the University of Oklahoma. I graduated there with my bachelor's in 2022 and had two years left from COVID and a red shirt that I wasn't really ready to give up and wanted to keep playing college golf because, I mean, it's such a cool environment being in a team atmosphere with guys your age and being able to travel with them and go to some really cool spots and be able to compete. And I really didn't want to give that up and wanted to spend some more time in the golfing world and honestly just wasn't ready to give up on the dream of taking it to the next level. So I entered the transfer portal after I graduated, and coach Ishaling reached out to me. He was one of the first guys that reached out, came down here for a mean him and our assistant at the time, Josh Galliggi, they were really good to me. They made me feel like I was already on the team and made me feel like I was at home already. And tough decision, but it was close to as many of the people that, you know, in Oklahoma around this area, in the central part of the, I mean, great slate of courses in the Wichita area. I was able to get an MBA at my time here. So kind of using it wisely, and that was kind of the main thing. I mean, I just like the environment that coach us ling brought and all the guys have been absolutely great to me, and they made me feel like I've been a veteran in Wichita State for six years. So they accepted me really easily and we just have a really good time out here.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: You brought up the variety of courses which Judd tells me about all the time. Maybe that'd be good for listeners to understand how that's part of this golf program and why it's important. A lot of good golf courses, a lot of variety. How's that affect your life as a college golfer?
[00:15:09] Speaker B: I mean, it's nice. Just being able to have the opportunity to go to multiple different places is great. I think in college golf, our coach, he likes to say that it's never usually 75 and sunny. That's just not college golf atmosphere. You end up playing in a lot of wind, a lot of temperatures that you most likely wouldn't like to. But I think having a variety of places to play offers a unique challenge that most universities don't have.
So being able to go to a place that's tighter, more old fashioned, like Wichita Country Club. Tighter off the tee, tree line. And then we go out to Flint Hills, which is pretty big boy golf course long. Got to hit it straight. Pretty undulating greens. We have Crestview north. We're going to Sand Creek later today for qualifying. Another pretty tight off the tee. So just having variety, I think, challenges all parts of your game. And I think that's good. And allows you to be ready for any kind of course you're going to see in this season.
[00:16:14] Speaker A: Michael, give people an idea about what's maybe a typical week or two weeks like as far as going to different courses. How's it set up? How does that work to try to improve your games?
[00:16:26] Speaker C: So right now this is nice because we've got a month in between our next event. So this is perfect example in this situation. So, for instance, this week we're back into qualifying.
So we're going like, we go Monday, usually practice, and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we're playing. So some sort of qualifying round. Usually we're doing three rounds of qualifying per qualifier. So this week we went to Wichita Country Club on Tuesday and played 18 holes. Yesterday we played rolling hills for 18 holes. And then today we're playing sand Creek for 18 holes. And then we'll have practice on Friday and Saturday, off day Sunday. And sprinkle some workouts in there as well. And you kind of stamp that over the period of time. Obviously, it's nice when we have this time. We can kind of structure qualifying kind of more spread out in a sense. And so that can allow us to really prepare for our next event when the time comes about end of February here, leading into March. So we can actually have a good amount of time to prepare for what we're expecting at Auburn. So, I mean, that's kind of really structured. Usually Mondays and Wednesdays, we have workouts in the mornings. And it can get busy there quick. If you're a class, you have everything in there. Like yesterday, I didn't get home till about 10:00 p.m. Because I was workouts class. Qualifying straight to study hall. So you got to understand that life of a golfer. We're out there for 4 hours playing golf, and 4 hours isn't enough. Most of the time, that's just playing. You got to still practice your own parts of your game. So I think the times that we have required practice, you got to times that, too.
By yourself. Practice, too.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: So, judd was really excited about the trip to cancun. He thought it was really good on the golf course. He thought it was really good off the golf course. Blake, tell us about those days down in mexico and why it was so productive for the shockers.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: Man, it was fantastic. I was telling the guys as we were flying back, that was probably my most memorable and probably my favorite trip in my entire collegiate career. It was just a great atmosphere. From the time we got off the plane in Mexico to the time we were getting back on it and flying back into the mean, everyone was there, and when it was time for business, we all kind of locked in and got our work done and the prep work done before the event. When we were on the course, I mean, everyone was grinding. It was a tough track. It was tight.
There was a lot of trouble, and a lot of times where you could get into some serious trouble if you weren't locked in and weren't staying focused for that entire 18 holes. But it was a grind, and you could see it on everyone's face after the round. It's just as mentally exhausting as it is physically, just having to stay focused and that locked in for that long of time.
But after we were done, sign the scorecards and just go back to the resort, and there were so many things to do there.
We could eat as much as we want. All inclusive food. That was absolutely fantastic. Beach right next to all of our rooms, they had a couple of pools.
Honestly, if you were in your hotel room, that was kind of a waste of the time. There was so much to do there, just great weather.
It was hard to complain about really anything. So it was one of my most memorable trips, for sure.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: Michael, what are your thoughts on why that was a good trip for the shockers?
[00:20:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it was great. I think there was a lot of team bonding.
That's my second time out of the country, and just be blessed to be put in that situation, too, with all the guys. We had six of our guys down there, and it was so fun. Just besides the golf, we would talk and really drew closer for this upcoming spring.
Obviously, we all battled during the day, but it was really nice to just relax and have fun with each other and get rid of the bad shots thinking and just think about the good things and be grateful that we're in Cancun when things are going tough. You got to realize that, man. I'm in Cancun right now, so that's really how my mindset during the week was. Even on the course was maybe I had a bad swing. Still be grateful for where you're at and what you have. And so I think that was a big breakthrough for us and our team, and I think coach would totally agree the vibes were totally higher. I think really, we've had some good meetings over the offseason, and it showed in this first event in the spring. So I'm really looking forward to the rest of the spring here.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: So, Blake, last semester of college golf, how has that changed or heightened or how's it kind of affected how you've approached this spring and the mindset?
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Yeah, it's kind of a bummer to think about my tenure being over after these couple of months, but it's been great.
It's really easy to look back at all the time that I spend with every group of guys that I've been around. Honestly, I've just tried to stay in a mindset of being grateful and just being glad that I've been put in a position here. To be able to help team out and be able to spend time with these guys has been great. So just trying to not take every day for granted and really soak every bit of it in all the trips, all the times that maybe would go unnoticed. Just trying to be grateful for the opportunities I have and hopefully go down to conference after we maybe win a couple of events and go take care of business at conference. But yeah, just grateful to be in this spot and just looking forward to the rest of the spring.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: So over your time as a college golfer, what have you learned about leadership and helping the freshman who is new to this whole world?
[00:22:51] Speaker B: I've always been a big believer in being a leader of example and being a good example for guys to look at and say, if he's doing it this way and he's gotten to this point, hopefully be in a position of influence, but just being a good example on and off the course in school, making sure I'm taking care of everything I need to. That way I have time to do everything I need to on the course. Time management has been a big thing as well.
Like Mike said, there's days in semesters where you're waking up at 630 in the morning for workouts, and then you don't really have time to go back home and shower and you're just going to class. And then we have qualifying at 1230 or one and you're playing until 05:00 and then if you have something in the afternoon, most of the time you're going straight from the golf course to whatever responsibility that is. And it gets long and it gets hard to do it, and it kind of gets repetitive and, like, you don't have enough time to do anything. But that's kind of the world that we live in, and that's, I think, why we love it. It keeps us busy, and as long as you're focused on the right things, it's been great.
But, yeah, just trying to be an example for guys to look at, and if my input is needed, I will provide it. But being someone that people could look up to and see how he's doing it, and hopefully they follow along so.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: You'Ll have your master's degree. What's next for you after college?
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Big decision.
It's flip flopped over the years. I've been kind of on the fence of whether or not to turn pro or do something else. And I think just with these last two years, it's kind of revived my love for the game and being able to compete day in and day out, and it's made me want to keep going.
And so I think I will end up turning pro right after I finish college.
Don't know exactly what that looks like. Probably a lot of qualifying. Hopefully do q school, but we'll see when we're in that spot. But that's the plan to try to keep this dream going as long as I can.
[00:25:15] Speaker A: Michael, take us through your time here at Wichita State. Where do you feel like you've improved the most with your golf game?
[00:25:22] Speaker C: I would say it's a good question.
I think I've become more routine based in my golf game.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: I think.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: Since when I came here, it was kind of like any freshman usually will say, it's kind of like, oh, yeah, that just kind of happens or whatnot. And so over time, I've really kind of figured out, oh, how do I do this and that and really have a structure around what do I need to do and what do I need to have for my golf game to perform well? And so if that looks like in practice or just understanding mechanics or mental eating, all the little things that play into playing well. And so I think before that, it was just kind of brush it off or just kind of let it happen in a sense, but now it's more. Sometimes when you get a little bit more conscious about your game and whatnot and getting up to that bigger level, you got to make sure that you have that same routine and know which one works the best. And I think over my three years of being here, that's something I'm still working on, but I think it's definitely improved over time, whatnot. So I'd say I learned that a lot. I mean, just probably being more relaxed on the course tenacity. So it's been a great experience and great learning experience for sure, over this time so far.
[00:26:49] Speaker A: So, Blake, describe the challenges. Learning the game in Arizona, then coming to Oklahoma and Kansas, where you're obviously going to encounter some different conditions.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: What's that big culture shock there?
There is a little bit of weather in Arizona, but I mean, if I'm being completely honest, a lot of the days are pretty warm and pretty minimal wind and being there my whole life, and that's basically where I learned how to play and where I grew up. Playing and going to the central part of the United States, you just get met with a lot of cold and a lot of wind and a lot of adverse conditions that I wasn't exactly used to. You basically have to kind of change the structure of how you play, especially on those days that it's tough. The mentality changes, mindset changes. The way that I swing changes a little bit.
And you try to take every day and learn from it, but spending a decent amount of time over here, I feel like I've gotten used to it, but I think it just adds more and more layers to your game. Being able to play in those kind of conditions, I mean, that's what we see day in and day out here.
A pretty low wind day is anything under 20 miles an hour. So we're kind of used to it blowing pretty good, being able to figure out what that wind is going to do to the golf ball and how much it's going to affect it and whether or not I want to hold it up against all the different technical factors, I could dive into it, but just learning from past experiences and playing in tougher conditions has made me more gritty, I would say, and more tenacious, like Mike said. And most of the time, you kind of just have to take it with a grain of salt and just put your head down and get to work. And it may not look pretty, but that doesn't really matter. All that matters is what numbers you're riding on the scorecard. So just being able to go out each day and not let those conditions take you out of the wrong mindset before the day starts and everyone knows it's going to be a grind, everyone knows it's going to be a struggle.
Hi, this is Rick Muma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Shocker nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts, it just being able to be ready for anything, whether that's weather, you know, conditions, anything, I think gives you a little bit of a leg up on the competition and allows you to get through those days a little bit easier.
[00:30:06] Speaker A: Prepares you for the British Open, I guess is one way of looking at it.
[00:30:10] Speaker C: That's why Tom Watts had won so many. He's from Kansas City. He's won, what, five british.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: Who's the teammate who's improved the most from, let's say, September 1, start of the fall?
[00:30:26] Speaker C: I'd say ethrow both the freshmen from their first qualifier.
Obviously it probably nerves like any freshman, but you throw both of those guys in there and you see that ever since that first qualifier, they've really improved. Scores wise. They've improved as players themselves.
It's been fun to watch.
Obviously, we have their backs and want them to play well and learn a lot, and they come up to us and ask us questions and come to us for things because obviously seniority and whatnot. But I think they've really improved as not just golfers, they've improved of maturity and they like to make sure that they, I guess, how do I word this?
Push YouTube. I mean, they chirp, that's for sure. They start chirping us a little bit and keep us in line. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that they know who's going to beat them.
But they've really improved for sure.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: The two freshmen on the team, Ty Atkins from Hutchinson and Connor Geist, Cape and Mount Carmel here in Wichita.
What is the best advice you have for a youngster? Let's start. They're thinking about getting into golf. They're, whatever, seven, eight years old. Blake, what's the best way to go about learning this game?
[00:32:04] Speaker B: Man, that's a loaded question. I think I could go from a lot of different areas.
Best way to learn it? I think that it's a big time constraint. I think that it's something that you have to put a lot of time and energy in.
So just knowing that at the beginning, but honestly, this may sound niche, but making it as fun as you can. I think the best times I've had in golf, and I think the times where I've played my best is when I've enjoyed it the most.
I have found that the harder I try to make things happen, the less they tend to happen. So I think that having some of those core memories, like we talked about early on in your career, being able to go back to those and make the game kind of how it was when you first started learning it and first fell in love with it, I think is a big key to not getting burnt out and just being able to enjoy, even on those hard days, whether your game is struggling or you're not in a great mental spot, but being able to actually make it enjoyable. I've struggled when I've wanted it too much or I've been pushing really hard. And obviously hard work is important, but making it enjoyable to where it doesn't really feel like work is a big thing that I've tried to incorporate over my years in college, and I think that that's helped a lot.
[00:33:37] Speaker A: Michael, what's your advice for youngster getting started in golf?
[00:33:40] Speaker C: I completely agree. Make it as fun as think, you know, looking back at myself and my siblings especially, I think having someone to go out there with, I think either it's your dad, mom or dad.
I've always grown up with my dad.
He would always come out there with me because he's a teaching pro. But having that friend, like Blake said, him and his brother pushed each other to be the best they could be. I think if you don't have any siblings, you have one of your close friends that it's interested, too.
I think it's really important to just have someone out there that's going to push you and you push them. And obviously, when you're younger, I think it's just important to make sure that you're always doing something that's something online, like your dad takes you out there and you don't want to come to the golf course. Well, how about if I get you a coke or ice cream or something like that? I think that really draws in when kids are really being stubborn in a sense, which I was when I was younger, too. But I think that's kind of having some incentives and stuff, and it's just supposed to be a fun game. You don't have to make it a lifelong competitiveness. It can just be a game of being out in nature and relax and having fun. And there's so many ways you can be the highest level, you can be the lowest level, but everyone enjoys it through and through and has the same enjoyment. So I think instead of just focusing on how you're scoring and whatnot. Just go out there and have fun with your family, your friends and whatnot. And I think over time, once you get older, you'll see which way you.
[00:35:36] Speaker B: Want to take it then.
[00:35:38] Speaker A: Michael, let's fast forward a few years. This youngster has had some success. They're going to play college golf.
How do you advise them to look at that process and go about choosing a school?
[00:35:49] Speaker C: I think communication is very important. Being on top of your communication, reaching out to coaches, building a resume of what you've done, and structuring that to a sense of where it's very accessible. You can send it to a coach. I don't know the whole recruiting rules and regulations anymore. I know they've changed since I've been in college, but I think it's just important to make sure that you not too over communicate, but make sure you reach out. And the scarcity factor. I know a lot of kids, and probably myself, too, were scared to reach out and thought they could never get to a program that one of the biggest programs in the country and whatnot. But the worst thing you get is no. So I think it's really important just to reach out.
Sell yourself to someone like you can be humble, but make sure you tell them who you are and what you're about. And coaches want to know who you really are as a person.
Obviously, golf is important because they're recruiting you, but they want to know who you are as a guy, first of all, and see if that fits into their picture as a team member of their team. So I think that's really important.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Blake, what do you think? High school, junior, senior. What should they be looking for in a university golf program? Academics. What's your advice?
[00:37:16] Speaker B: I mean, I think it kind of can vary depending on what you view as being beneficial to you, but I think that your relationship with the coaches is very important.
I think that having two guys that you can go and talk to and almost acquire as like a mentor built in mentorship is really important, especially when you're first getting into it. There's going to be a lot of things that are going to be brand new experiences that you just won't know what to do until you experience it. And I think having some trustworthy guys, some guys that have been through it allows you to kind of fall back on them. I think that's really important. But again, I would say go through a pro and con list of what you find most valuable, whether that's being close to your family, whether that's golf course, academics. I think there's a couple of categories that you can jot down and say, okay, which one do I find most valuable? And kind of just go down the list and put those universities up against that list and then see which ones are most applicable. And like Mike said, I think reaching out to the coaches is something that's very sought after in the coaches perspective. I think that a lot of guys like myself and probably like Mike were a little nervous to talk to coaches and thought that whether they weren't good enough or that they didn't deserve the opportunity, but that is something that I think, I wish I would have leaned on more is as uncomfortable as it was making those calls and reaching out to them.
I think that the most beneficial ones were in that situation. I think that was able to show them that maybe you're a little bit ahead of the curve and that's someone that is ready to a little bit more mature beyond their age and ready to go into school once they hit the ground.
[00:39:15] Speaker A: Wichita State golf the shockers are early in their spring season. Their next action is March 11 and twelveth. They'll go to Auburn, Alabama, to play in the Tiger Invitational. Michael Winslow and Blake Lorenz, thanks for your time.
[00:39:26] Speaker B: Thanks for having us.
[00:39:42] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita State University strategic communications. We encourage you to rate, review and.
[00:39:50] Speaker B: Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:39:53] Speaker A: You can find more Roundhouse
[email protected]. Malcolm out near the timeline, left side of the floor to bay. Ron works deeper to the wing, fires a three. Good. Ron Baker with his third three point field goal of the game. And Wichita State goes ahead by four.
