Colorado State University Athletics
Newton Has Rams on Upward Arc
11/1/2019 2:01:00 PM | Men's Golf
Players find success through coach's leadership
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State men's golf head coach Christian Newton was told a culture is everything.
Like a mad scientist, Newton embarked on a journey through trial and error to create an even better program than he inherited. When an attempt to turn his new program into a copy of his former one – Georgia Tech – didn't work, he learned every program is different.
Now, he's making sure the future is different than the lull he incurred years ago.
"I didn't come into a program that was dead by any stretch of the imagination; they had a lot of success," Newton said. "Since the mid-1990s, the program's always been pretty good. I think it kind of took a little bit of time to get my system in and the way I want to do things.
"Then we finally started seeing some fruits of our labor. Recruiting is the lifeblood of it, and we've been able to get in some pretty good guys and get better."
Led by AJ Ott, Newton has brought in a cast of players – two sophomores, two juniors and one senior – who are looking to go higher. Three consecutive years of second-place finishes in the Mountain West is not just an improvement, but the best three-year composite finish in program history.
Already at the start of his eighth season, Newton's Rams continue to build a legacy. Individual tournament champions this year bring the total to seven, the trophy lifting accomplished by six different players. The Rams have won 10 team tournament titles under Newton, two already this season. There are also the back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances the Rams plan to extend in the spring.
All of it is nice, but the Rams do not view it as their ceiling.
Each player was drawn in by several things. The team's training facility that's reserved exclusively for them helped. So did a state where the sun shines for a majority of the year.
Newton is the deciding factor though.
"I think he's super positive. Even when we didn't play well as a team, he doesn't give up on us – there's always tomorrow," junior Parathakorn Suyasri said. "I think that's a really nice part of him. It helps our team as a whole."
In team events, the Rams have put together two first-place finishes and a seventh-place finish at Newton's former university in Rocky Face, Georgia.
The glory has come with a price. After last season, Newton lost his assistant coach Elrick Van Eck. Instead of exploring replacements, he decided to become a solo act. The workload has been worth the continuation of the team's culture.
"It's extremely challenging, but that's my problem. It doesn't spill into the team," Newton said. "They're still preparing and doing things like they normally would. My goal was to make sure that it didn't affect them. I made the choice that I would do it myself this fall because I felt it would provide the most continuity.
"I could've easily brought someone in quickly, but I don't think I would've been able to do the due diligence to make sure it's the right assistant coach. I felt like I went with the route of continuity because I felt things were going really well for us."
That culture is one that is made by Newton's insistence to work hard. No matter the task, whether it's homework, putting or walking through an airport, players have been taught to take it seriously – there's no such thing as an off day.
"It's how our guys represent themselves on campus, the way they represent themselves when they're traveling in the airport, the way they represent themselves on the golf course," Newton said. "What kind of light are we spreading on the university?
"(We) have each day (to) be a better man, student and golfer when it's all said and done. I think that's what that looks like."
The mantra is instilled differently for every player. Some need blunt lessons, while others need it from a calm perspective. That fluctuation's a looming reason why each player respects Newton so much.
When the message doesn't stick, he goes through the team's leader.
"Sometimes he can relay a message to me and I can get it through easier to someone else or sometimes it can be the other way around," Ott said. "If I have something to say and don't know how to say it, coach is good at delivering that message, too. I think being the only senior, it's almost like I can help get stuff across that he can't."
Everyone is an important part of the team. When each person is someone who can be impactful, the effects are similar to that of an avalanche.
It's also why the program is ranked No. 17 in the Golfweek rankings. In the coach's poll, they're No. 21. The message is also why they've already defeated five programs that are either inside the top-25 or have previously received votes.
All of the success comes because of the template that took years for Newton to imprint. It's all uphill now and the coach serves as the guide.
Like a mad scientist, Newton embarked on a journey through trial and error to create an even better program than he inherited. When an attempt to turn his new program into a copy of his former one – Georgia Tech – didn't work, he learned every program is different.
Now, he's making sure the future is different than the lull he incurred years ago.
"I didn't come into a program that was dead by any stretch of the imagination; they had a lot of success," Newton said. "Since the mid-1990s, the program's always been pretty good. I think it kind of took a little bit of time to get my system in and the way I want to do things.
"Then we finally started seeing some fruits of our labor. Recruiting is the lifeblood of it, and we've been able to get in some pretty good guys and get better."
Led by AJ Ott, Newton has brought in a cast of players – two sophomores, two juniors and one senior – who are looking to go higher. Three consecutive years of second-place finishes in the Mountain West is not just an improvement, but the best three-year composite finish in program history.
Already at the start of his eighth season, Newton's Rams continue to build a legacy. Individual tournament champions this year bring the total to seven, the trophy lifting accomplished by six different players. The Rams have won 10 team tournament titles under Newton, two already this season. There are also the back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances the Rams plan to extend in the spring.
All of it is nice, but the Rams do not view it as their ceiling.
Each player was drawn in by several things. The team's training facility that's reserved exclusively for them helped. So did a state where the sun shines for a majority of the year.
Newton is the deciding factor though.
"I think he's super positive. Even when we didn't play well as a team, he doesn't give up on us – there's always tomorrow," junior Parathakorn Suyasri said. "I think that's a really nice part of him. It helps our team as a whole."
In team events, the Rams have put together two first-place finishes and a seventh-place finish at Newton's former university in Rocky Face, Georgia.
The glory has come with a price. After last season, Newton lost his assistant coach Elrick Van Eck. Instead of exploring replacements, he decided to become a solo act. The workload has been worth the continuation of the team's culture.
"It's extremely challenging, but that's my problem. It doesn't spill into the team," Newton said. "They're still preparing and doing things like they normally would. My goal was to make sure that it didn't affect them. I made the choice that I would do it myself this fall because I felt it would provide the most continuity.
"I could've easily brought someone in quickly, but I don't think I would've been able to do the due diligence to make sure it's the right assistant coach. I felt like I went with the route of continuity because I felt things were going really well for us."
That culture is one that is made by Newton's insistence to work hard. No matter the task, whether it's homework, putting or walking through an airport, players have been taught to take it seriously – there's no such thing as an off day.
"It's how our guys represent themselves on campus, the way they represent themselves when they're traveling in the airport, the way they represent themselves on the golf course," Newton said. "What kind of light are we spreading on the university?
"(We) have each day (to) be a better man, student and golfer when it's all said and done. I think that's what that looks like."
The mantra is instilled differently for every player. Some need blunt lessons, while others need it from a calm perspective. That fluctuation's a looming reason why each player respects Newton so much.
When the message doesn't stick, he goes through the team's leader.
"Sometimes he can relay a message to me and I can get it through easier to someone else or sometimes it can be the other way around," Ott said. "If I have something to say and don't know how to say it, coach is good at delivering that message, too. I think being the only senior, it's almost like I can help get stuff across that he can't."
Everyone is an important part of the team. When each person is someone who can be impactful, the effects are similar to that of an avalanche.
It's also why the program is ranked No. 17 in the Golfweek rankings. In the coach's poll, they're No. 21. The message is also why they've already defeated five programs that are either inside the top-25 or have previously received votes.
All of the success comes because of the template that took years for Newton to imprint. It's all uphill now and the coach serves as the guide.
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