[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. As always, thanks for listening. We appreciate your time. Our guests today are Wichita State men's golf coach Judd Easterling and assistant coach Mark LaRue. Mark joined the staff in August. Mark LaRue is not your typical assistant.
He served as head coach at Missouri for 19 years, a time in which the Tigers went to 15 NCAA regionals. He spent the last two years as women's golf coach at NCAA Division II Barry University in Florida. Judd's college golf coaching career began as Mark LaRue's assistant at Missouri. He was there from 2013 to 2015. And Lake LaRue, Mark's son, played for the Shockers. Wichita State opens its fall schedule. Next week they will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado for the Ram Masters Invit.
Tell us why you're continuing your coaching career here at Wichita State.
[00:01:08] Speaker C: Well, as I got into retirement, I needed something to do a job to kind of keep things going and, you know, was going to do this or that. And then when coaching opportunities kind of presented themselves to me, I was kind of piqued by that interest and, you know, started looking around and Judd had an opening here and I jumped on that as quick as I could.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: Okay, Judd, take us through it from your perspective. How did you get Mark to come and join you in Wichita?
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Yeah, it was a troubling summer of trying to hire and had some poor experiences and just ups and downs and, you know, it got into August and I came to terms with I'm not going to have an assistant coach when school starts.
And sitting at home one evening around 8:30, I get a text from Coach Larue and his interest in this job. And at first I thought he was playing a joke on me and didn't think this was reality. And here we are and couldn't be.
I could not be more excited and just lucky, I guess is the right word. And grateful that he's here and spending time with our guys and looking forward to getting on the road next Monday.
And yeah, just very grateful that some things didn't work out this summer. And yeah, just really excited and proud.
Hi, this is Rick Niuma, 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.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: So you get that text and then at some point your mind starts going to, all right, he can help us with this. His Experience is great in this. What were the main assets that first popped into your mind about having Marc LaRue on the staff?
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Yeah, his relationship with the guys, I'm pretty intense and he's relaxed, easygoing. We'll keep the guys upbeat and positive mood.
And you know, it really didn't hit me until I saw him here in Wichita. And yeah, he's a grinder, works hard, great with the guys, very detailed, oriented, resourceful, and will be great with the guys on the golf course.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: Okay, so Jed, Mark obviously is not your typical assistant coach because of his resume, but he will need to do typical assistant coaches things. What was the conversation like at the beginning of this about? All right, here's how we navigate this. You know, all roles have flipped from 2014. How are we going to do this?
[00:04:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
And talking with him, I guess maybe interview phone calls. But I asked him the question, if I want to do one way and you want to do another way, are you going to be okay with that? And he said, my job's to make your job easier and you're the head coach. And. Yeah, so, I mean, after that phone call, it was a no brainer and it took us a couple days and he called me on a Friday and said, him and Leslie, we're in and we're doing this. And I almost broke down in tears and was just so excited and you know, we're a family here and you know, he got me into college coaching and so grateful for that. And here we are at Wichita State.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: So, Mark, did you have a typical job description speech that you would give to an assistant coach when they were joining your staff and now are you leaning on that? This is what I need to do now.
[00:04:58] Speaker C: Yeah. Paul, I really was looking forward to being the assistant coach and not being the head coach anymore. You know, as you know, the roles throughout time, throughout my time in coaching college golf, you tend to become more of an administrator, you know, throughout. Throughout your career.
And I'm really into the coaching and the helping out.
Yeah, I've kind of had my day and if I can help in any way, that's kind of what I'm looking forward to doing.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: So it sounds like you're looking forward to more time working on somebody's short game or helping them actually on the golf course. Not worrying about other things that a head coach would do.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Yes. And gathering range balls and setting the tee up or doing menial tasks.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: Okay, we'll take a break here. I have to ask my standard Nike question because Wichita State went to Nike So I'm asking everyone, what's that mean within your sport? And I think it varies from sport to sport. Going to Nike, what does that mean in the world of golf? Judd?
[00:05:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I love it.
I think, you know, the whole entire athletic department is on board.
Kevin did a great job with the transition, and, you know, the Nike shoes are great. The gear is obviously all great. It fits golfers well. Our guys love it. It's the trendy stuff.
Yeah, it's been great so far.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: So, Mark, what would your advice be for someone who is early in their coaching career or maybe early in their golf career, and they think, I want to get into college coaching?
What's your advice for them? What do they need to do to navigate this career?
[00:06:34] Speaker C: The first thing that came to mind was that recruiting is perpetual.
You have to get in knowing that it never ends. I had a former football coach say to me, it's kind of like shaving. If you miss a day, you don't look great. If you miss two days, it gets ugly in the recruiting cycle. So I would say for a young coach, hey, know that recruiting is never ending, and it's probably the most important thing that you do. And then it's a really tough nut to crack. It's really hard to get in the door, but once you do, you're kind of in until you lose.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: If you look back over your career, how have you changed as a coach?
[00:07:17] Speaker C: I think I said this in an interview previously, too.
I was pretty selfish, driven, and trying to promote myself at the beginning and then throughout time. Got to a point where it was where it should be, and it was about these young men and how can I help?
[00:07:37] Speaker B: And that would be pretty typical for a lot of young people, regardless of the field that you're in. Yes.
[00:07:42] Speaker C: I think you want to climb that corporate ladder and be as successful as you can.
And maybe that's not really what success means, but.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Right. No doubt. Okay, Judd, take us back to 2015. You're leaving Missouri.
What were the biggest lessons you learned coaching under Mark LaRue?
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Probably the relationship with the players, work ethic, relationship with the administration, being professional in all aspects of life.
Yeah, it was really hard to leave Missouri to go to Arizona State because I obviously grew up in Missouri, a Missouri fan, and he also gave me my first coaching gig. And I think that's why we're here today, and everything works out for a reason. But, you know, for the jobs to flip and for us to work together, and from day one since he's been here, I'm still learning from him about delivering of the messages to the players and here's what I would do. Or hey, you know, I still bounce ideas off of him because, you know, he's done it a lot longer than I have. He's been at the SEC level and, you know, I've already been selling his story and his resume to recruits and, you know, it's hard to beat his resume as an assistant coach.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Mark, do you have a specialty that you consider yourself a really good teacher of on the golf course?
[00:09:06] Speaker C: I think others have said to me, former players had kind of said my on coach.
The on course coaching, you know, is really one of my strengths. Just coming up to a young man on the course either during the play of a hole or between holes and just having the right thing to say.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: Yeah, that would seem to be a real relationship thing. You don't have a lot of time. There's a lot of stress.
How do you learn what message works best?
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Yeah, and that's individualized. You really got to spend time with your players and get to know them personally so that you know the right thing to say to that person.
Because it's probably different from what you need to say to the next guy.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: Do most, and I know probably difficult to generalize, but do most people take the message of just kind of a positive mental thing or do they want technical instruction on your, you know, your backswing is messed up or how do you navigate that part of it?
[00:10:02] Speaker C: You know, it really varies.
If I could tell the story about Jace long to Jace was probably the greatest player that ever played at the University of Missouri and Judd's cousin and two stories. The first one was, I remember at in Dallas that Oaks something oaks the golf course, Royal Oaks. We were at a tournament there and Jace came up and said he was. He kept hooking it or something.
And I said to him, a technical cue. You know, it was like face or path, one or the other that I was talking to him about.
And he takes off down the hole. And a hole later, I kind of run back to him and say, oh, hey, I got that wrong. I meant the opposite. And he goes, yeah, I knew, coach. I had it figured out. So in that case it was a technical aspect.
Then there was fast forward, you know, maybe two or three years later. And Jace went into the final round with the lead at George Mason.
And I'm watching him play the first couple of holes and he's just not him.
And he comes up on this par three. And I was like, jace, what's going on he goes, coach, I'm thinking about my shoulder. My shoulder's hurting. It's popping. I don't know if I'm going to be able to play professionally at the end of the spring. And I stopped and I said, jace, you're in the final round of a college golf tournament and you're thinking about three months from now, it's like, yeah, get back to the present.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Focus, Judd. The Shockers play five tournaments this fall, including the Greer Jones Shocker Invitational. That's in early October in Newton. Take people through the routine in the fall. You obviously want to play well, but the big goal comes in the spring with conference championships, NCAA play.
What's the philosophy in the fall?
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yeah, the fall shaped out to be very good with tournaments that most everybody has been to some courses that and places that we can drive. So not getting on a whole lot of airplanes to wear us out.
Yeah. So at Fort Collins, Colorado, we leave next Monday and then play at Lincoln in Nebraska's home event and then drive to St. Louis. And we played in Nebraska last year. We played at SIUE Tournament, St. Louis last year. We've obviously played at Sand Creek, and then we go to Hawaii in early November. So a real good start to the fall is expected. Our guys came in ready to go this fall. Today is actually our last round of qualifying for CSU's tournament next week. The work ethic, the enthusiasm, the vibes all are very, very good.
For instance, Last night at 8:45 had two freshmen text me that their key fobs wouldn't work to get into our indoor facility.
So loving the eagerness, the enthusiasm.
Everybody are being great teammates and we'll find out today who's going to go and get on that airplane next Monday.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: How does qualifying work?
[00:13:10] Speaker A: Yeah, so the way we do it here, we play Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we take the low man of those three rounds. He will go to the first event the next week, which is this week. We play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The low man of those three rounds will go, and then Coach LaRue and I will select the other three guys that go.
What we tell our guys, we're very transparent when it comes to picking 3, 4 and 5.
We take into consideration everything they are doing. Academics, working, you know, working before and after practice, playing, practicing on off days, being a good teammate, listening, being respectful.
So it's very transparent of how we operate here. And so today should be a good afternoon at Sand Creek.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: So you give yourself some wild card options. If a guy has one bad day, it doesn't Totally eliminating, right?
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Or a guy gets sick, car accident, fender bender, anything like that. Our job is to ensure that the very best five guys are going to travel every week.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Jose Miguel Ramirez, senior for Wichita State. He was the American Conference runner up last spring. You're early in the fall, but how's he looking?
[00:14:24] Speaker A: Jose came back ready to go. He played all summer long up in New Jersey, and he actually won our first qualifier and exempt for next week at csu, and he's being Jose Ramirez. And, you know, he's kind of the guy right now. So we're hoping a newcomer or a returner will push him and knock him off the block here soon.
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Tell us about the rest of the roster. You also have Jose carleta. He finished 11th in the American tournament last spring. He's also back.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Yes, four returners, five new guys.
It's a deep lineup.
I don't think we've ever been this strong from 1 to 9.
And three freshmen came in ready to go. They've played great so far.
And I.
I could not tell you, other than Jose Ramirez, who's going to be traveling next Monday. So it's a great problem to have. Hopefully they put us in a tough spot tonight of picking 3, 4, and 5, and I think they're going to, but could not be more proud of the nine guys and how they've worked so far.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: So today's a big day, then. There's some mystery with qualifying, you're saying.
[00:15:29] Speaker A: Yeah, and we told them that last night in the group chat, like, today's a big day. This is why you put in the work, the workouts.
And this is one of the main reasons why I love this job and love golf, because scores are scores. You know, 218 beats 219.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: Mark, what's your favorite place to fly fish?
I did some prep work, so I was ready for that.
[00:15:54] Speaker C: You know.
Los Pinos river, above the Vallecito Reservoir in southwest Colorado.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: Okay. And do you have a.
This is my favorite day. This is the best fish I've ever caught, the biggest fish, the most rewarding day on a river.
If you had to give us one fishing highlight, what would it be?
[00:16:17] Speaker C: I would say two summers ago with my two sons, Lake and Ty, and Lake is kind of my fishing partner, my buddy.
He goes everywhere with me. We've been all over, you know, the country, fly fishing together. Well, we talked the younger brother, Ty, into going, and so we were on Los Pinos, and I. I put Ty on the hole, you know, ahead of Lake, and. And he got the fish he caught Lake's fish. And so I think Ty was certainly excited and Lake was gracious enough to net the fish, take pictures.
And the poor guy knowing that that was probably his. His trout.
[00:16:59] Speaker B: That sounds like a good holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas story that will get brought up for. For many years in the. In the household. Judd, what's the favorite college tournament that you like? Wichita State to play in the national championship. Okay, good answer. I wasn't anticipating that. Other than the national championships.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: Probably our home event.
It's just named after Greer, and it's just such a special place and to have him out there every year and hopefully be victorious again this year and have a decent field of friends of mine that are head coaches that I respect and yeah, it's just a special event.
[00:17:40] Speaker B: And Greer Jones, of course, former Wichita State coach, PGA golfer, Wichita, golfed at Wichita State. Just a really important figure in Wichita State golf history. Mark, how about you? Do you have a favorite college tournament that you really have looked forward to playing in?
[00:17:56] Speaker C: Not on our current schedule, but the Hootie at Bulls Bay.
Darius Rucker and Hootie have hosted a college event both on the men's and women's side for probably the past 15 years. I don't know the exact history of the tournament, but it's really well run and to be around, you know, Darius, who had previously done concerts for the donors and the kids involved in the tournament, and he's always on site, so him and Mark, it's a great experience and a really cool golf course.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: And that would be in South Carolina, I'm assuming.
[00:18:26] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Okay. Very good.
Mark, what's the best round of golf you've played in your long golfing career?
[00:18:34] Speaker C: Yeah, it was 69, I remember at a course in Clarksville, Tennessee. It was pretty easy, but, yeah, that's the best I got.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: That's a good low score. Judd, how about you? Best round of golf you've played?
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Probably 59 at my home course in Dixon, Missouri. Yep. Same course that Jay Slong grew up on.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Mark, favorite golf course to play?
[00:19:03] Speaker C: Cypress Point.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: Okay, tell us about that course. Why is it so why is it your favorite?
[00:19:09] Speaker C: You know, just being on Monterey Peninsula and the experience that you have there, you may be on the course with just eight or ten guys.
And, you know, the day that I got to experience it, it was that perfect kind of misty ocean Monterey Day. And so. And with the guys on the team and some hosts, it was just a wonderful experience.
[00:19:33] Speaker B: Judd, favorite course to play?
[00:19:34] Speaker A: I would say Sandhills in Sandhills Nebraska.
We've went on a couple trips there the last couple summers and it's remote area. They've got lodges on site and fortunate enough to have a friend in Wichita that takes us up there, and it's a very, very special place.
[00:19:53] Speaker B: Shockers open their fall golf schedule next week in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado. They play their home tournament starting October 5th at Newton's Sand Creek Station. Judd Easterling and Mark LaRue, thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Paul.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: Thanks, pa.
[00:20:22] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] 830ft away on that one. That is a killer.
This is just, just incredible.
