TicketsApril 4, 2011
By Jeff Gentil
GoBEARCATS.com
After a slow start to the season in the fall, David Tepe has begun to play the kind of golf he and his coach have expected since he arrived on campus. With disappointing finishes in the fall portion - placing in the 50s and 60s - the sophomore has been outstanding thus far in the spring, leading the team at the USF Invitational and the Seminole Intercollegiate.
This newfound improvement is neither the result of one quick adjustment nor a major overhaul of his golf swing. Tepe attributes it to returning to a former comfort zone from his high school playing days.
"I went back to Tim Lambert, a guy I took lessons from in high school for four or five years before I came to UC," Tepe admitted. "Coach Martin was very open to it provided we just let him know what we were working on. I started working with Tim again back in November and it was more of a tweak here and there (not a major overhaul)."
Head coach Doug Martin also is beginning to see some positive changes from Tepe on the course.
"David has a very comfortable golf swing," he said. "We've talked a lot about putting and his short game and shoring up the pace and speed of his putts - about having the right speed and giving away less shots."
Naturally, with such steadily improving play comes improving confidence and an ability to block out more of the negative when it comes to bad shots.
"David has a lot of positive things going on right now and that's leading to success," Martin said. "We've worked a lot on not being so emotional. He's got to keep his emotions in check. I think right now he's got really good focus and you can see his confidence building."
"We really hit on our emotional part of the game in the offseason," Tepe said. "Coach Martin is all about confidence and the mental game. This spring has been the most calm I've ever been in competitive golf and I think that's the biggest change in my game. I know that I have to be accepting to what happens and that bad shots are bound to happen. Coach is always about looking forward to the next shot."
Part of the improvement can obviously be attributed to maturity and getting comfortable in your surroundings. It's not easy for a college freshman to be in a comfort zone from day one and Tepe's play last year proved that. But, this year, Martin sees a different player.
"Last year he had varying levels of success - some good and some bad," he said. "This year I think he is becoming more accustomed to playing college golf and what it takes to be successful in college golf."
Tepe is just one of four talented sophomores hoping to lead UC golf to new heights over their careers. Along with Zach Bates and Andrew Desmarais, the sophomores make up three of the top four current scoring averages on the squad and Matthew Ledom is a player with plenty of potential as well and could eventually join his classmates on the UC leaderboard.
"The entire sophomore class has done a great job," Martin said. "They display tremendous leadership and intelligence. They certainly have a chance to do some great things before they leave UC."
Tepe couldn't agree more: "We came in as four freshmen who played every tournament last year," he said. "It's just a matter of getting better over the next couple of years and we could do some great things."