[Women's Golf] Women's Golf welcomes start to the spring season on Monday in South Padre

LAGUNA VISTA, Texas – Kristen Sayyalinh (FR/Rockford, Ill.) is eager to get on the South Padre Island Golf Course.

 

It will be much more conducive to improving her skills than hitting a ball indoors in a golf simulation room.

 

"I'm really excited to play there because it's going to be really nice and it's our first tournament of the spring season," said Sayyalinh, a freshman on the Kansas Wesleyan women's team and native of Rockford, Ill. "I just want to see what's in store for us."

 

She's certainly not alone. The relentless winter weather has made preseason preparations nearly impossible for Sayyalinh and her teammates, who open the season Monday and Tuesday in the South Padre Intercollegiate.

 

"It's tough not being able to practice outside," said Sayyalinh, who has ascended to top of the Kansas Conference rankings since arriving for the fall semester. "We're still able to get some swing in in the (simulation) room. Just working on our tempo helps."

 

Second year KWU coach Randy Syring, a recent inductee into the Kansas Golf Association Hall of Fame, has tried to make the best of the situation.

 

"Being limited to 90 percent of our practice being indoors, you don't have ball flight," he said. "You can see a ball flying on a simulator, but that leaves a lot to be desired. Simulators can be fooled and they're not always accurate.

 

"Also, the contact when you're hitting off the mat versus turf is completely different. Lots of times it's actually hard to tell how you're striking the ball, whether you're catching it clean and solid."

Syring said indoor work also can enhance bad habits.

 

"We work on set-up, tempo and alignment and things like that. But if you're hooking the ball and don't know it, you're actually getting worse instead of better," he said. "I can watch the swings and hear the contact and try to get an idea of what's going on, but it's difficult without actually getting out there and actually seeing the ball flight.

 

Working indoors also doesn't simulate the various turfs and corresponding shots the Coyotes will encounter outside during the season.

 

"There's no way to simulate pitching, chipping and putting indoors," Syring said. "I typically try to gear our practice towards the golf course that we're going to. If it's all Bermuda then I have them hit a lot of pitches and chips out of Bermuda to get a feel for that.

 

"That's a lot different kind of shot than out of a cool season grass like a rye grass. Working on the speed of our putts, the roll out on the greens and things like that."

 

For those reasons, Sunday's pre-tournament practice round is imperative and a godsend.

 

"We're going to do a ton of chipping and putting and play the golf course," Syring said. "I always tell the team the practice round is the work day, that's the day we prepare to play that golf course. Up until that time we've prepared to play.

 

"Right now, we're going to be doing both the same day, preparing to play and preparing to play that golf course. Sunday's going to be a long day for everybody."

 

Sayyalinh is taking a pragmatic approach to her first spring tournament.

 

"Personally, I'm just trying to come in with a decent score, I'm trying not worry too much about it since it's our first tournament of the season," she said.

 

Four of KWU top five golfers last season were seniors, leaving this year's team lacking significant experience and compounded by the lack of playing time outdoors.

 

Four Coyotes will compete in Texas – Kat Downey (SR/Augusta, Kan.), Mikaela Johnson (JR/Salina, Kan.), Chandler Birkholz (SO/Eureka, Kan.) and Sayyalinh. MacKenzie Fabrizius (SR/Spring Hill, Kan.) and Torie Cox (SR/Fredonia, Kan.) have student teaching responsibilities and will play later in the season.

 

"Kristen is a huge acquisition for us," Syring said. "Mikayla Johnson and Chandler Birkholz have both stepped up nicely and really put a lot of work. I'd say we're probably ahead of where I thought we'd be right now as far as expectations."

 

That said, Syring knows the South Padre Island event presents a steep challenge.

 

"This team getting thrown into a tournament situation without having much practice going into it is a lot to ask out of them," he said. "My message is go out and do your best on every shot and we'll add them up at the end and we'll either play well or we'll learn well. It will be a good experience either way."

Individual improvement is the primary goal for Syring.

 

"We'll learn where our strengths and weaknesses are and we'll know what to work on when we're able to get outside," he said. "I'll tell them in the practice round that I don't expect you to go out there and play like it's midseason. I expect you to go out there and do your best on every shot and try not to make the same mistake twice. That's what this is about.

 

"If nothing else, it's almost worth the trip to get three solid days of play and practice outside to get this team ready for the rest of the season."

 

The KWU men's team opens the season March 4-5 in the San Antonio Shootout.