ANN ARBOR– Michigan State and Michigan are storied universities with an athletic rivalry that toes the line every time they share a field. However, that is not the case for club golf.
On the first tee of Leslie Park Golf Club, Spartans and Wolverines shake hands and prepare for 18 holes on a quiet Sunday morning. They break the ice, commiserating in their respective football teams’ shortcomings from the day before, both taking blowout losses at the hands of Southern California squads.
Tee times are on schedule, as the event narrowly avoided a frost delay. The brisk fall morning had the majority of players wearing multiple layers and only the brave (or stupid) wearing shorts.
Coming off a tournament low, three-under, 69 in round one, MSU club golf president Ronnie Aniel tees off looking to protect his lead. The round is even more impressive given his limited warm up routine.
“Just played on cruise control, walked right out of the car and tried to play my misses,” Aniel said.
Aniel, a graduate student, has been the president of the club for three years. After taking a hiatus from the club last year and trying to walk on to the varsity team, he’s back at the helm of the club while pursuing a master’s degree in human resources.
This is the first of three NCCGA Midwest Region tournaments that the club will play in this fall. Of course, the members of the club want to play well and compete, but an even more important aspect for the club is having fun as a group.
The first competitive round of the season didn’t go to plan for MSU, as many golfers struggled to post a quality score.
However, there is a relaxed sense around the team, as the members of the club aren't taking poor scores to heart.
“This year the camaraderie is a lot better, everyone seems like they’re closer together,” junior Braden DiMarco said “Yesterday, a lot of us played kinda bad so we all just laughed it off.”
Off the course chemistry has proven to be the main takeaway from the club.
“I think what really separates us is our ability to develop relationships outside of golf, it's the stuff we do outside the course and I think that’s were the core memories I have within the club come from,” Aniel said.
The sport of golf has seen a boom since 2020, with many initiatives to grow the game, especially with the younger demographics, something the sport hasn’t had in the past.
This has led to growth for the club, which now carries three sets of teams to each event, an A, B and C team. Despite having more players than most clubs, Aniel finds it easy to manage.
“The interest is high, everyone wants to do it,” Aniel said. “I think it's pretty easy to get everyone out here because they want to play and I have a good e-board that helps me out.”
Sophomore vice president Natalie Kostalnick believes the chemistry of the club has improved.
“I really enjoy it, this year it feels a little more like a team, it’s very cohesive, we talk all the time,” Kostalnick said.
In 2024, the club was able to compete at nationals which happened to be at Pinehurst. The legendary golf resort was only a few months removed from being the host of the U.S. Open, one of the premier events in professional golf.
“Last year we went to nationals in the fall and it was at Pinehurst, which is where I grew up,” Kostalnick said. “So it was pretty awesome to go there with all these people who think Pinehurst is Disney World for golfers.”
The club doesn’t have scheduled practices, but they do a process to get together and hit the links in their free time.
“We let everyone do their own thing, we want everyone to abide by their own schedule, but we have a huge group chat set up if anyone wants to go out and play, we’ll play,” Aniel said.
Also, golf is a lifelong sport where the social aspects and networking can be important for the future, although it is an individual game, the relationships that can be built are important.
Finding a large community of students, who share a passion for golf and are at an equal skill is a perk for members of the club.
“I’ve probably met over 50 players throughout my time here,” MSU senior Luke Lampman said. “It’s really cool to have this many guys that you can go out and golf with that are top tier players.”
More often than not, the team will practice at Akers East or West, the two courses on MSU’s campus, due to their friendly rates for students. In past seasons, the courses hosted one of the three regional tournaments.
“My favorite tournaments are the ones at Forest Akers.” Lampman said. “It's awesome to hangout the night before with your friends and then wake up the next morning and go right to the course and it’s a course you’ve played a million times.”
Playing at the home course can be a huge advantage, knowing how greens break, what clubs to hit and other intricacies of the property can all help lower a score.
Michigan won the tournament at its home course with a team score of 15-over. The B-team for MSU came in third place at 55-over, the A-team came in sixth, at 71-over and the C-team came in eighth at 104-over.
However, the good news for MSU is that Aniel came in first place in the individual tournament. After carding a one-under, 71, on Sunday to finish the tournament with a combined score of 140, three shots clear of second place.