Newton Sells His Program Weather You Believe the Facts or Not
CSU men's golf coach battles perception on recruiting trail
Luke Zahlmann
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Advertisements in Colorado have a unified theme. Look up at a billboard or watch television for an hour and you’re bound to see a skier, snow or a mountain resort – maybe even all of the above.
All of the talk of wintery conditions and hitting the slopes irks Colorado State’s Christian Newton. While he’s trying to lead a program, a task which includes recruiting golfers from out of state, he’s constantly faced with educating others. His speech is based on busting the perception his state has little to offer in the way of golf.
The problem with perceptions is they’re often misleading. Newton knows it and has pointed to many factors to prove his point.
“You turn on the Broncos game, and it could be 65 (degrees) and sunny in Denver, and they’re going to show the mascot skiing down the slopes,” Newton said. “Nobody knows that that’s two hours away. There really isn’t any weather like this anywhere else in the country. We get 300 days of sunshine and less rain than Phoenix. It’s a high desert.
“We usually lead with, ‘If there’s a problem, then why has the team been so good for 20 years?’”
The proof, as Newton would say, is in the pudding. His team has finished first, or tied for first, in three of their four team events this year. Last year, they found success all year as well en route to a second-place finish in the Mountain West.
Programs in states many think of as “hot and sunny” are finishing behind his on a yearly basis. Part of it to Newton is the ability to overcome adverse weather which occasionally strikes.
“The guys that come here are tough guys,” Newton said. “We will be prepared for any kind of weather, because golf isn’t played in a dome. It’s going to rain, the wind’s going to blow and sometimes it’s cold. We’re going to compete through all those types of variables.
“Our team, when the weather is bad, they’re excited. They know they have an advantage. They can’t wait for it to be bad.”
We usually lead with, ‘If there’s a problem, then why has the team been so good for 20 years?’CSU Men's Golf Coach Christian Newton
Newton sends his team into the conditions plenty. The advantage they gain from being outside is evident.
When things do go awry, the university has created an ideal environment indoors. On campus, they have an indoor simulator which allows golfers to go through rounds of golf, even practicing their chipping and putting. Away from campus, they have the CSU Practice Facility at the Harmony Country Club where heated bays allow for hitting indoor-to-outdoor shots.
The mix gives every member of the Rams’ roster a chance to get their preparation in, no matter the conditions.
“You can go to Harmony and hit balls, you can have more room to chip and putt on campus,” AJ Ott said. “There’s nothing like playing outdoors, but those are really comparable. We have all the resources to make up for times when the weather is bad.”
No one has been more exposed to the conditions of Colorado golf than Ott – a native of the state and former Fort Collins High School standout. All those years, if perception were true, would surely lead him to seek greener pastures for collegiate competition.
He understands as well as anyone that the storyline of the state is skewed.
“I’ve had days where I went up to ski in the morning, then come back down to play golf in the afternoon on the Front Range,” Ott said. “I could play a lot in the winter. If I wanted to go play, there were definitely times to do it.”
Each year, the team has a break between November and February. In Colorado, the stretch is often thought to be the worst conditions. Entering the second half of their season, the Rams should be worse. Instead, they’ve made a habit of storming into February without a misstep.
In each of the past three years, the Rams have finished among the top two at their conference’s championship. They’ve also finished in the upper half of nearly every tournament after winter break in the same span.
“It’s a combination of being able to play, but also being able to play a little bit more relaxed and coming back recharged,” Ott said. “Everyone’s really good about knowing when to take time off and be ready to come back (hot).”
The first event after the Rams’ lengthy break this year will be in Palm Desert, California. Even when his lessons don’t engrain themselves in players, Newton can always bring his scheduling prowess to the table.
“I’ve gone about scheduling where we start really late,” Newton said. “If you look at our schedule, we’re in and out of town about every week. It works really well.”
Every part of Newton’s program is built on making golfers successful in Fort Collins. When they head on the road, the conditions won’t bother anyone.
Those Colorado conditions, despite what some may tell you, aren’t too bad either.