USU Golf Club experiences ‘unprecedented growth’

When the Utah State University Golf Club was first established a year ago, it consisted of 18 total members. Currently, the club has increased to 26 active members. The club has seen an influx of over 100 interested members and hopes to continue this growth into the future.  

 “We’ve already seen unprecedented growth within the last year,” said Andrew Bassett, one of the USU Golf Club vice presidents. 

In their tournament last fall, the club ended up taking third overall. They currently expect to increase their competition level as the club continues to grow.  

“We’re only going to have more and more members as part of the club,” Bassett said during an interview with The Utah Statesman, “which means we can have even more and more competitive teams.”  

Most recently, the USU Golf Club participated in a tournament with two teams consisting of 8 members each, which was an all-time record for USU. Participation in the club looks like tracking golf scores, attending social events and participating in local service projects.  

“In the first couple weeks of school we’ve already had two service projects,” Bassett said. 

 One project was running a booth for a local golf simulator company, and the other was a cleanup project for Logan River Golf Course. The club already has another service project lined up for Nov. 12, with members participating in Campus Recreation’s upcoming Turkey Trot. 

Practices for the club are held at Logan River Golf Course, however, members are welcome to record their scores at a variety of courses. Additionally, opportunities are available for members during wintertime with optional practices held at a local golf simulator. 

Members can also participate in optional tournaments, and no experience is required to join the club.  

“You don’t need to have a lot of golf experience at all, and I think that’s the great thing about it,” Vice President Eric Ingman said. “There’s so much diversity in where you’re at with the sport.”  

President of USU Golf Club Braylen Carlson describes the club as less exclusive and mentioned how other clubs around the country may require tryouts and charge hundreds of dollars in membership fees, but their club does not.  

“It’s interesting to see how … ours is much more laid back,” Carlson said.  

For the USU Golf Club, there is no tryout required to become a member of the club. Registration is online, and members must pay a $45 registration fee. They expressed their hopes in making the club as affordable as possible so members of all skill levels can come and enjoy the sport.

“Our club, specifically, has really embodied the golf course culture in general,” Bassett said. “We have people who play it super casually, … people who have been playing their entire lives, grew up on a country club, that sort of thing. Our club has both.” 

On Oct. 3, the USU Golf Club participated in a tournament in Preston, Idaho. They brought a total of 16 members to the tournament who were chosen based on several requirements.  

“Not anybody can just come and participate in a tournament,” Bassett said.  

To be considered for a tournament, members of the club have access to an app made specially for golf club members where they can log their scores and participation, which will be considered when determining tournament eligibility.  

The tournaments are co-ed, and girls are more than welcome to participate. In fact, Bassett mentioned that during the tournament in Preston, they were the only team who brought female members. 

“I think the important thing is we prioritize participation,” Ingman said. “Those people will be preferred over people who just score well.” 

Club leadership says that the best way for members of the community to support the club is through sponsorships. 

“We are hosting tournaments through the [National Collegiate Club of Golf Association], so they can be a sponsor of a hole at a tournament or an overall sponsor,” Carlson said. 

Additionally, the community can offer their support to the club by participating in monthly service projects. Ingman mentioned that anyone, regardless of membership status, is welcome to participate in these projects and support their growth as a club.  

Ingman expressed his hope for future social events, including a Wii Sports golf tournament. Ingman described the culture of the golf club as diverse yet welcoming.  

“The idea is just to get the campus population who likes golf together,” Ingman said.