Hutz | Quakers on course despite distance gulf

I had never been in a Penn sports team's locker room until last week. That's when I stepped inside the red, University-owned van that pulled up at 39th and Spruce streets.

Welcome to the men's golf team's "locker room."

Littered with a few plastic sports-drink bottles and lacking leg room for the lanky athletes whose inopportune arrival time forces them into the back corner seats, the van is a lifeline for first-year coach Scott Allen and his squad.

Every practice day it transports them about 16 miles to the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown., Pa., a journey of about 45 minutes.

The trip makes the golf team sort of an enigma, an outsider to the athletic community; most teams just saunter down to Franklin Field for a practice or game. The distance is also a barrier to the casual Penn fan. Senior Mike Blodgett, who recently got word that an injury will officially end his career at Penn, said golf is one of the few sports that isn't featured during a SAAC "Quaker Day."

But Blodgett has come to relish the opportunity to get out of the city and away from the stress of campus life.

At the club, my golf education began. Having only ever mini-golfed, I was looking forward to my first "real" golf experience.

The men's team was all business. Each player teed off, completed the hole, and walked on to the next one. Instead of talking about an upcoming opponent, they discussed the elements they'd face on the weekend's course.

I was surprised to see how hands-off the coaches were. Allen and women's coach Mark Anderson don't walk the course with their teams. Freshman Tiffany Cheung said practice was more about situation management and also learning the mental aspects of the game.

"Golfing is like an entire basketball game of free throws," Allen said.

He told me it took a few weeks to learn which players like analysis of their swings and which ones prefer to work through their games alone.

The women's team only had three players out practicing that day, and the atmosphere was relaxed and social.

"Nice out," sophomore Michelle Winters cheered as Cheung artfully knocked her ball out of a bunker (the pit of sand, a new term for me!).

Each of the women has a distinct approach to golf. Cheung is the technical one. She lines up every shot, even short putts, and constantly flips open her book with the course specifics.

But as Winters watched her ball arc towards the parking lot she laughed good-naturedly; she was just out there trying to enjoy golf.

With the women's team hurting for bodies in the fall, Winters and freshman Liz Pettie joined after thinking they wouldn't play collegiate golf.

Pettie kept her spirits up throughout practice, even when playing a few strokes behind and struggling to hit the fairway (my golf knowledge is improving!).

After watching, I thought I had it down. Finally it was my turn on the driving range. A fellow left-hander, Anderson selected a three iron from his bag for me to use.

But I wasn't going to get right up there and start swinging; working on my posture and setting my grip took longer than I thought.

My follow through was good, Anderson told me. My backswing? I was bending my arm too much. Actually making contact with the ball was the hardest part.

Don't know how to play basketball? Just stand closer to the basket and toss the ball up. Don't know how to golf? You can't even think about getting out on the course without hours of practice on the range.

For the golf teams, that's hours of practice that the Penn community doesn't have the opportunity to see.

Krista Hutz is a senior history major from Philadelphia and is former sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Her e-mail address is hutz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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