Tickets// DAN HOARD TALKS WITH AUSTIN SQUIRES
Voice of the Bearcats Dan Hoard recently sat down with University of Cincinnati senior golfer Austin Squires ahead of his appearance at the NCAA Championships Regional on May 13-15 in Stanford, Calif.
Dan Hoard: We think of golf as an individual sport, I've always got the sense from you that you've loved the team aspect of being at UC.
Austin Squires: Absolutely. At the end of the day, the only thing that you can control is yourself. At the same time, I love being with my teammates and playing for each other. There is definitely a different aspect than in individual tournaments. There's another trophy to be had. Being able to play these past four years with my teammates, a great group of guys, it's been very special for sure.
Dan Hoard: You will arguably go down as the best player in UC history. How did UC and Coach (Doug) Martin help elevate your game?
Austin Squires: It's been a long road. We've come a long way since freshman year for sure. I was talking to Coach a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about the knowledge that he has given me. I huge part of taking the knowledge that he has given me is taking ownership of it and kind of making it my own. The things that he has given me to elevate my game they were his insights but I turned them into my own and made them comfortable to myself.
Dan Hoard: You've had some great individual accomplishments. You've been the player of the year in the conference. You had the great run in the U.S. Amateur last year. What have been your highlights? What stands out for you?
Austin Squires: Obviously, the U.S. Am (performance) was huge. But probably, one of the best awards I've ever gotten was the Jimmy Nippert Award a couple weeks ago at the (University of Cincinnati) One Team Honors. That was a huge award for me because a big part of my four years has been trying to leave the program in a better spot. Winning that award made me feel accomplished in that regard. That was really special for sure.
Dan Hoard: You were the captain of a very young team this year. What does the future look like for Bearcat Golf?
Austin Squires: That's a lot of talent, absolutely, a lot of potential and it's just (a matter of) tapping into that potential. I hope that I helped them with that as much as possible whether it be being an example for those guys or helping them with specific parts of their game. The sky is the limit. As long as they put in the work, they can accomplish their goals as well.
Dan Hoard: You just earned your degree in Finance, congratulations. I think with a 3.89 GPA if I'm not mistaken. How did you balance the demands of college with trying to improve as a golfer?
Austin Squires: We have great academic counselors here. They do everything for you that you need. Also (I take) a lot of online classes to take care of that time management. And then the professors here are great. I've communicated with a lot of them over the years and they've just been great, in working with me, taking exams at different times.
Dan Hoard: You've improved a lot over the course of four years, how humbling was year one?
Austin Squires: It definitely humbling for sure. Most freshman come in thinking, 'oh, I'm just going to play right away.' Then the first qualifier comes around and I actually finished last. That was really an awakening. I put my nose to the grindstone and got to work and luckily qualified for a few events later that fall. I continued to progress over the winter and the experience I gained from playing in every tournament in the spring was huge for me as a freshman.
Dan Hoard: Let's talk about what's coming up, first the NCAA Championships and the opportunity to really put a finishing touch on your legacy as a Bearcat.
Austin Squires: I head out for Stanford on Friday. Three rounds there, only one individual gets out. So, I'm going to have to play very well. It can definitely be done. If I make it out of there, I head to nationals in Arkansas. I haven't made it to nationals yet, so that's a big goal of mine. I just got to do everything I can control. I can't control what other guys do. If I play well and don't make it, there's nothing I can say or do, I got beat. But, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen.
Dan Hoard: And after that, another trip to the U.S. Amateur, this summer. Last year at one of the most famous courses in the world in Pebble Beach, this year Pinehurst No. 2, which is also right up there. Because you made it to the quarterfinals last year, you get to jump ahead a little bit this year.
Austin Squires: I am exempt for the U.S. Am, so that's huge just having that in my schedule already, just knowing I'm going to be there and can prepare accordingly. I am going to be playing the North and South Amateur which is at Pinehurst as well. That will be nice to have that in my schedule and get just a little more preparation. My goal is to make it to the finals this year so if all goes well I won't be professional until next summer because I will get the Masters invite, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.
// DAN HOARD TALKS WITH CINCINNATI HEAD COACH DOUG MARTIN
Dan Hoard also spoke with UC head coach Doug Martin about Austin Squires' growth as a Bearcat and his impact on the program.
Dan Hoard: Let's talk about Austin Squires, who is off to the NCAA Championships, capping off a remarkable Bearcat career.
Doug Martin: There's no question it was a remarkable career, in my opinion the best of any Bearcat that's ever played golf here. Where his game has the potential to progress to, the future is very bright. But just in his time here, the leadership that he displayed both on and off the golf course and how he handled himself in both success and defeat, I couldn't imagine a better role model for our players, even future players in our program.
Dan Hoard: I'm struck by his consistency this year, never finishing outside of the Top 16. That's hard to do in this game.
Doug Martin: It is hard to do in this game, but I think it has a lot to do with his growth mentally. His physical skills have grown over the course of the four years just because of his disciple and his desire to get better. The mental skill is another level of experience and with the addition of our assistant coach Austin Frick, who has his master's in sports psychology. I had Coach Frick purposely spend the last nine of 10 rounds with Austin this spring to assess his mental game, knowing that he is moving on and that it will be a big thing as he moves forward in his career… Even in the last three or four events, I saw tremendous growth in Austin mentally.
Dan Hoard: Your lineups this season have often consisted of him as a senior and a bunch of really young guys. What did his leadership mean to that group and to the program moving forward?
Doug Martin: Again, he's a tremendous role model. The work ethic that Austin displays. And too the preparation. As a freshman, you come in and you're a fish out of water and even for the sophomores. Seeing each week the game plan that he establishes, he makes no poor decisions on the golf course because of the data he collects as far as: how far the shot is playing; how far he wants to carry it; how the wind is going to affect it; the elevation. There are so many things he has learned to put into play before hitting a shot. I think he has passed that on to a lot of the younger kids. I had the same experience at Oklahoma with playing with some older guys that left their legacy with me. I kind of carried it on. Those guys were a huge reason why I went on to play professional golf because I learned from them. When you have someone like Austin who is able to lead, not only example but by performance, it's great for your program.
Dan Hoard: You played on the TOUR. You competed against legendary names. Why do you think he has what it takes to compete at that level some day?
Doug Martin: I think he has the 'it' factor to be honest with you. I'm not even questioning the skill set: his ability to hit it high; shape the ball right to left; left to right; distance isn't an issue; wedges are improving; good solid putter; good solid short game. It's those intangibles of really having a desire to want to compete and be great. With the money that's out there now on the PGA TOUR, it's easy to be complacent with the amount that they are playing for now. It's much different than back in the 1990s when I was playing. But I see no complacency in Austin. That's one of the things that's going to help him be successful. And finally, he has a plan.
Dan Hoard: Is it unusual to improve as much as he did in four years?
Doug Martin: It's a credit to him. Your improvement as a player comes through your honesty in your evaluation of yourself. There were times when I was probably harder on Austin than I would be on another player in my program because I knew that if he was able to evaluate himself properly and spend his time the right way, the evolution of the player would be there. I think that's really what happened. He's such a great evaluator of himself and he's honest with himself.