The Bridgewater Eagles wrapped up their fall season in October. The highlights of the fall season included the Eagles winning the Tom Kinder Memorial Tournament at Lakeview in September. They were led by Travis Gahman who shot 67-75 to place second among the individual competitors. In October, Mike Redwood won the Ted Keller Invitational by posting 71-72 for a 1-under par total.
 
The Bridgewater team will head back into competition early in March 2010 at the Pine Needles Invitational at Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Coach's Comments

I have had the privilege of providing instruction for the Bridgewater College golf team since 1999, soon after their coach, Dr. Lee Williams took the helm. It is especially rewarding work for two reasons: one, it is always gratifying to have the trust of higher-level athletes, and two, I sometimes get to cultivate talented junior golfers from the area and then watch them compete at Bridgewater as well: golfers like Chuck Whetzel, Grady Ruckman, Shawn Harper, and Nick Dean.
 
Coach Williams has done an amazing job turning this program into one of the better teams in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference after years when the Eagles perpetually finished last. In fact, the team is now on the threshhold of national attention in Division-III golf having been ranked as high as #10 nationally by GolfStat in 2009.

The 2009-2010 squad is led by Travis Gahman who averaged 74.2 strokes per round in the fall, followed by Mike Redwood (76.1), and John Phillips (77.6). Coach Williams said, "This team has as much potential as any I have coached.  Gahman, Redwood and Phillips are very solid golfers, and currently rank 4, 7, and 13 in the conference.  To be more successful, we need to get better scores from our 4th and 5th players. "
 
I have witnessed first-hand over the past decade how the Coach has recruited players to make his team stronger and deeper. In the late 1990s there might have been 1 or 2 players who occasionally posted scores in the 70s for the Eagles. Now there are 1 or 2 who might break par and perhaps 8 players are capable of posting scores in the 70s.
 
Each season, I generally provide a handful of team clinics for the Eagles as well as private lessons for players who seek instruction. It is one more satisfying facet of my job as the Director of Instruction at Lakeview Golf Club.
 
It is an older story now, but I wrote a Golf Things Considered article for the Augusta Free Press in 2004: Bridgewater on the Rise