Redhawks Golf Club President Represents Southeast at NCCGA Finals

In just his second semester with the Redhawks Golf Club, president and founder Shawn Heuring finished 126th out of 208 players in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association finals, which took place in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Nov. 15 and 16.

Heuring shot an 84 in the first round of play and an 86 in the final round.

"I didn't play as well as I could have," Heuring said. "But it was a great experience, and I'll be working hard to get back there next season."

All 208 players were given the opportunity to play on two of the nicest courses in the country at Barefoot Resort.

On the first day of play, the golfers saw rolling greens and dog-legged fairways that were difficult to read for the average golfer when they played on the Love course, which was designed by professional golfer Davis Love III.

"You had to hit it just right on some of the holes," Heuring said. "It was tough to even read the greens, and I think that's where I struggled most."

The best golfers from 38 club teams from around the country came to compete and learn from the experience. Golfers spent most of their downtime learning from one another and talking about how to improve their games.

The atmosphere that weekend was something Heuring had never experienced before.

"It was a pretty exciting atmosphere," Heuring said. "It was cool to bond with everyone from all over America and get what's going on in their head when they take certain shots."

At the start of the semester, Heuring and the rest of the Redhawks Golf Club members set goals that they hoped to achieve. One of those was to send a player to the NCCGA finals.

"He's a great player and a leader," sophomore club golfer Jacob Brumfield said. "He definitely deserves to be there, and it's cool to see him represent our team and our school."

The success the team has seen in just its second semester could be a sign of bigger and better things to come down the road.

Now that the season is over, Heuring said he and his teammates must set new goals, prepare for next season and build team chemistry.

"There's a lot of preparation that needs to take place for next season," Heuring said. "Our individual play is good, but now it's all about getting to the tournament as a team."

The team play improved as the season went on.

The team placed fourth out of eight teams at its first Central Regional tournament of the semester at the Adams Pointe Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo.

In its second Central Regional tournament, the team placed third out of eight teams but just missed the cut to earn a trip to the finals as a team.

The top team from those two tournaments combined moved on to the finals in Myrtle Beach while Heuring qualified by finishing first in the second Central Regional tournament.

For now, Heuring and his teammates are enjoying the offseason and taking a break from golf until next semester.

"I'll golf on a nice day but for now I'm taking a couple of weeks off," Heuring said. "We'll get back at it after winter break."