Where did you see the most growth between the Canada West Championships in October to the two tournaments in March?
“I would say the whole entire team technically got better. We had a lot of athletes, especially on the women’s side that were newer to the game, so they had a huge exponential growth in their technical ability.”
How did your team deal with the elements in the Cascade Classic?
“It was miserable, it was cold, it was wet [and] it was mentally difficult because the rounds were long. Leading up to it … we wouldn’t cancel practice if it was raining like that, so they were used to it.”
In that tournament, you had a one-two punch of Andrew Biggar and Brett Bateman who finished second and third respectively. What did you think of their play in that tournament?
“[With] Andrew Biggar, he’s been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and in front of everybody, and it shows in his game. I don’t think he brought his best stuff that week or those two days. Obviously, the elements were difficult [but] for him to post scores like that and be right there in second place was impressive. And then Brett Bateman, he’s just so steady. He’s mentally resilient, and he showed that in the weather.”
Coral Hamade led the way on the women’s side, shooting four over par and took home third place. What impressed you about her performance in Cascade Classic?
“She’s putting in so much work, not only in herself, but also the team’s culture. What’s impressed me so much is just her growth. Over the past year, it’s been instrumental to our team, and she’s put in a lot of work in the mental game [and] her technical abilities. And it showed on those days that she deserves to be up at the top and competing for first place.”
What was the emphasis on in practice between the two tournaments?
“A big focus was honing in on our short game. We did work with our wedges that was productive. We also did a lot of work with shaping our irons and the ability to play different shots. We just reiterated what we had been working on, gave people some anchors to hold on to and kept going from there.”
Zach Auramenko took on his brother Hunter in BC Match Play, how was it seeing that family dynamic on the golf course?
“They’re obviously siblings [and] are different, but very similar. It was super respectful [and] wasn’t any more casual than you’d see any other tournament. They kept it professional [and] respectful. But they’re both stoic to their own, they don’t really care what’s going on around them. There [are] no egos, just pure sport.”
The men’s team had their best round in the BC Match Play against Victoria. What was clicking for them in that round?
“That was our second round … [and] we just started to play some good golf. We got into a flow after that. First round, you kind of get the nerves out, get the feel of the game. I think [the] second round showed our course knowledge.”
On the women’s side they got three out of their four wins against UBCO, what went well for them in that round?
“I know Gabriella Gobbato was like two over through 10 holes, so she was playing some good golf. In reflection we did today, she said she found her game, trusted it, and got into a flow. A key contributor Maya Gidda was sharing that her short game was on fire. So, there was a testament to the short game work we had been doing with the women’s team and dialing in not only the technique, but also the knowledge in terms of those shots.”
What have you learned in the first nine months of being the head coach of Cascades golf?
“Man, you think university prepares you to be a good scheduler, but this job does it even better. You have to be on top of the ball!”
Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
