Men’s Golf Takes Patriotic Trip To NY, Leaves With Memories

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Men’s Golf Takes Patriotic Trip To New York, Leaves With Permanent Memories
Mustangs Learn About True Dedication During Weekend To Remember

Sept. 25, 2014

DALLAS (SMU) – With the Ryder Cup right around the corner, the international golf community is focused on national pride and the dream of representing your country. The SMU men’s golf team is full of patriotic players who wish to someday represent the USA on the golf course. Last weekend, the squad got to see what true dedication to the USA means with a trip to New York to tour West Point and visit landmarks like the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

The trip certainly included some fun – the team played 36 holes at the famous Winged Foot Golf Club with the Army men’s golf team – but the weekend was mostly for learning about hard work, dedication and the true meaning of patriotism. The team learned what it takes to be a student-athlete while also serving the USA from the golfers at Army.

“The guys on that team and anyone that attends Army work so hard,” SMU freshman Ben Baxter said. “They wake up early and stay up extremely late. It really put my life and what they do for our country into perspective.”

“It was great getting to meet all the Army players and go around with them on a tour and gain such a deeper understanding and appreciation of what they have to go through every day,” sophomore Andrew Buchanan added. “Most of us on the team complain about how we don’t get enough sleep and don’t have enough hours in the day, but the Army team’s schedule is so much more rigid and busy than ours which made us appreciate their hard work and what it means to serve your country.

“The trip really put everything that we get to do into perspective and showed that we are so blessed to have so many great opportunities because of what some people such as the people at Army sacrifice every day in order to serve our country.”

One particular moment that stood out for the team was their trip to the National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan. Visiting the location where nearly 3,000 citizens lost their life was a powerful moment for the group. The team described the moment as surreal, intense and something they’ll hold on to forever.

“The presence of all that happened there hits you from a few blocks away,” junior Austin Smotherman said. “Once there, standing around the memorial fountains, we all just kept to ourselves and walked around with our own thoughts. It was one of those times where no words were needed.”

Buchanan also found the experience to be evocative, and mentioned how seeing the spot where the towers were and the waterfall was built was impactful.

“It was a great experience to be able to be there and learn about the memorial and why the waterfall went down,” Buchanan said. “Most of the guys on the team, myself included, are always pretty chatty and we always joke around with each other and are consumed by our phones. When we got to the memorial there was sort of a hush that fell across all the guys and after we took a few pictures, so many of us seemed to blank out and let all the history of our country and what so many people were affected by 13 years ago wash upon us. It was a very tranquil experience. Everyone said they felt chills because when you are on site near the waterfall, you can’t hear any of the New York City traffic at all.”

The trip taught the team a lot of important lessons, and the guys feel that they can apply their new-found appreciation for hard work and dedication to their golf games this season.

“Everything there from daily routines to the strenuous physical demands have opened our eyes to just how hard someone can work,” Smotherman said. “That is what the team will take most from this trip going forward. Just how hard working and determined those enrolled at West Point really are.”

SMU hopes that their hard work and determination will lead to a lot of fun this season. SMU is coming off a 2013-14 season that included winning the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals. And while the team will use the beginning of the season to see who fits best in their lineup, the guys learned in New York who would be best if they were enrolled in Army.

“We were able to use their gun range simulator and we had a mission to carry out and Alex Higgs was by far our most skilled shooter,” Smotherman said.

SMU will continue its season at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate in Erin, Wisconsin, on Oct. 5.

[PK]

Nice! Good report. Thanks.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Great stuff!