Eli Greene is a men’s golfer at UFV — this past June at Golf Canada’s University/College Championships, the Cascades won a silver medal as a team and Greene finished tied for seventh individually at +2.
Which building on campus is your favourite for class?
It’d have to be the Chilliwack campus. I know a lot of people there, and I like the openness of it. There’s a lot of natural light — a lot of classrooms have huge windows that go maybe 15 feet up in the air, so you can see if it’s snowing, raining — you still feel in touch with nature a little bit.
Besides that, they don’t really have a food court or food service, which I’m sure is a common thing people say. I want to pitch for a Pita Pit in where that café is; get a franchise owner to pop in there and you’re good!
Do you pay attention to the speed of other people’s windshield wipers?
I care more so about my own…are mine too fast? Depends on how self conscious I am about how fast they are, or safety reasons for how much it’s raining (laughs).
Do you love practicing golf?
I hate putting, I hate practicing putting. It doesn’t satisfy me. A few of my teammates and I started this group chat called ‘the Champions,’ and it’s an accountability group chat. Every day you have to say something you’re going to do that’s golf related; so that could be meditation, visualization, putting. Anything that you feel will get you one per cent better that day. Having my teammates around to do that has helped me enjoy putting a little bit more and have the motivation to do it, even though sometimes I’m like ‘dang, I don’t want to do this.’
Who’s the most underrated player on your team?
Brett Bateman. I think people recognize how good he could be; I don’t know if he himself recognizes how good he could be. Not sure if the energy just needs to be put in the right place, but he’s going to be very good.
What is your least favourite road city and why?
Newark; the airport sucks. A few years back we went to Ireland — we stopped in Newark before going over the water, and they had porta potties inside! It was horrific, it was grimy; there weren’t a lot of food options.
The team went on a golf trip to Ireland?
Yeah! During the COVID years we fundraised a team trip to Ireland, just for fun. We got to play some of the best courses in the world. We were there for seven days, got to sightsee — we saw this little island off the coast where they filmed Star Wars…
Any highlights from that trip?
Probably playing this course called Ballybunion — we played in some ridiculously difficult weather, and it’s already an extremely difficult golf course. There were 70 km/hour winds and it was raining sideways. I didn’t have a hat on, I had a rain jacket but it didn’t do anything, and it was an extremely tough test to golf…but you’re there with your friends. You’re having fun, and can let go a little bit.
We were on the side of a cliff with the ocean beside us — that’s where Rory McIlroy grew up playing too — I’ve seen clips of him hitting shots over the ocean and coming back on the fairway where we golfed. That was a highlight.
What does your team like to do together on the road?
Maybe some karaoke? Normally in the hotel rooms, lights are out — we’re just singin’. That’s recent, as of this past year’s nationals. If there’s a pool, we’re going to be in it, we’re going to be in it, for sure…
If you had to sing a duet with a teammate, who would you choose?
Give it to Lucas O’Dell. Good country voice.
What does playing the “Cascade way” look like?
We have a locker room at Chilliwack golf club for the golf team, and one of the sayings there is ‘Take Dead Aim.’ I think it’s kind of cool and ironic because in golf, sometimes you don’t always want to take dead aim at things — it’s not as beneficial.
I think the Cascade way is knowing your goals, knowing your intentions, being calculated. Matt Chapdelaine, our strength and conditioning coach, is super influential with that perspective of dedication, and goals. He’s a part of the Cascade way. At the end of every team lift, no matter what team, he does a final thought — where he gives us an inspirational or perspective-shifting story, quote, lesson that he’s learned — and that’s part of the Cascade… ever-changing your perspective, and trying to grow, and climb, and conquer.
