With men’s and women’s golf seasons underway, practices and tournaments are a common occurrence. Utilizing the National Golf Club of Kansas City as a home course, the players are greeted with alluring views at each practice.

    The men’s team is new to the list of sports offered by the university. While a team comprised of new players from all around the world might present problems as any sports team would with the players learning how to work with one another, the men’s team has done a successful job thus far.

    Fitness and wellness junior, Wesley Buntenbach, has a lot of experience playing golf, starting from his childhood. His father owns a golf course which played a large role in him becoming a golfer. Starting his collegiate career at Iowa Central, he was optimistic coming to Park to join the team.

    “I knew we were going to have a good program coming in,” said Buntenbach. “It’s been a great experience so far and with this being a first-year program, I know we’ll improve.”

    After a successful Fall season, the team is only days into Spring season. With the few tournaments played this semester, the team has already proven they are a force to be reckoned with.

    “We had a strong start,” said Buntenbach. “We got third place in our first tournament and in the second tournament, we won first. We also played well in our third tournament. We all played solid and we have gone undefeated in home tournaments.”

    He sums up their early success with “We didn’t come to be mediocre,” said Buntenbach. “We came here to do what we needed to do, and that’s winning.”

    Business management junior Christian Groumoutis has also been golfing a long time. His dad got him into golf when he was about seven and he has loved it ever since.

    “Golf is relaxing,” said Groumoutis. “I love doing it. It’s my hobby and it’s been a great experience so far. The guys all get along well. The guys are great and are fun to play with which makes me a better player.”

    His pulled nerve and physical therapy kept him from playing in the current tournament yet he has to practice every day.

    “The season hasn’t gone how I wanted for me but I’ve been able to work on my short-game while I work back to a full golf swing,” said Groumoutis.

    As he continues to train and heal his injury, he supports his team as they play in tournaments.

    “Everyone has been playing well,” said Groumoutis. “The team looks awesome and we won a tournament by 30 strokes which is hard to do.”

    The women’s team has also had a strong start.

    Senior Rachel Hoffman earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and is now working toward her MBA in finance. Even with this full schedule, she still makes time to play the sport she loves.

    “It’s nice to go out and play by myself or a few teammates to clear my mind,” said Hoffman. “Hitting a bucket of golf balls can also be a good stress reliever.”

    While the women’s team has been playing well so far, they still see improvements they could have made.

    “In golf, there are always putts you should have made, a different club you could have hit, or a safer option you should have taken,” said Hoffman. “We all have different ways we can improve every time we play. We have had our good days and our bad days but considering the conditions we have had to endure, I’m proud of the way we’ve played and fought through it.”

    The men’s and women’s teams hope to go to Nationals and are working hard in practices and tournaments to end the season on a high note.

    “We’ve also played against some really good teams which is a great experience,” said Hoffman. “We’re playing some good courses and a few that we know, so I think we have a chance to do really well with the rest of the season.”

    With both of the Park golf teams remaining hopeful and performing well in the tournaments, it seems reasonable to assume that the teams will continue to be successful and only improve from here.

     “The future is looking bright for the team,” said Groumoutis.