Men’s Golf

Q&A with Coach Kyle Drugge

What are some highlights of this year that shows your team succeeding, facing a challenge, and supporting each other?
One of my favorite moments from this season was a team wiffle ball game that we played towards the end of the spring season. While it is not a story about being on the course, it represents so much of what makes this team special. Our student-athletes are competitors and you would have thought we were playing game 7 of the World Series. That is one thing about that moment that sticks out, they love to compete. Whatever it is; school, golf, or even a wiffle ball game they always give 100% of themselves. Another reason why I mentioned this story of our competitive wiffle ball game is because it always demonstrates one of the core values of our team, which is relationships. We take pride in how much effort we put into developing player to player, coach to coach, and coach to player relationships. When they look back on this season they will of course remember the wins, the losses, the close finishes, and the highlight-reel golf shots, but I know they will also remember all of the fun that we had along the way. The van rides, the dinners, the wiffle ball game, those memories will last throughout time.

What makes your student-athletes special? What makes you feel most proud of your team?
In an individual sport like golf, what makes this team special is that they commit to the team aspect of golf, which is not very common. They of course want to do well individually, but they also want to win and be successful together as a team. It is a very unique situation, and it makes me proud of how they are able to come together with different backgrounds, styles, personalities, etc. and play for something bigger than themselves.

How did your team engage with the community this year?
A few of our student-athletes recently volunteered at the PLU Athletics Youth Sports Clinic.

Looking ahead, what are you most excited about for next year?
We are losing a lot of great student-athletes that have reached a new chapter of their life post-graduation, but we are also welcoming some new student-athletes in. There are a lot of youth in the program as next year there will be no seniors on the roster. I am looking forward to some of the returners stepping into a bigger leadership role and for how much learning and personal growth they have in their near future.

“Being here for the PLU plus year has allowed me to provide my leadership skills that I have learned in previous seasons to help the incoming freshman feel comfortable on the team.”
– Ryan Pearson

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