After a successful fall season, the Bruins golf team looks forward to the spring season.

“In terms of wins and losses, we had probably what could be called ‘the most successful’ fall season since we began the program in the fall of 2013,” golf coach Dennis Scott said.

The Bruins golf team finished the 2016 fall season with three first-place finishes and six top three finishes, including a third-place finish at Anderson University where the team shot a university record team score of 302.

Individual team members also experienced personal success last season.

Senior sports management major Micah Gold won the NCCAA’s Dan and Kelly Wood Award, which is awarded annually to a golf student-athlete who, according to the NCCAA’s website,“exemplifies the NCCAA Game Plan 4 LIFE Character traits of love, integrity, faith and excellence.”

“Micah was selected from about 30 colleges and universities who are members of the NCCAA and have golf programs,” Scott said.

Gold has been a team captain for the Bruins golf team for three years.

Scott said that junior business administration major Jeremiah Heath has been the most improved golfer from last season to this current season.

Heath shot his personal best score of 1-under par (71) at the NCCAA Regional Tournament in September 2016.

The spring season for golf started Feb. 18 when the Bruins hosted their spring invitational at the Green Valley Country Club.

Brevard College, Piedmont College and the University of South Carolina all competed in the match.

“There are two tournaments this spring that are significant events with probably the strongest fields we play all year,” Scott said.

“One is the University of South Carolina at Beaufort Sand Shark Classic and the other is the Hurricane Invitational hosted by Georgia Southwestern University.”

Both the Sand Shark Classic and the Hurricane Invitational are 54-hole events.  

Bruin golfers will face many scholarship athletes at both of these tournaments, making them more challenging.

“We look forward to the challenge of facing these strong fields of golfers from larger [universities] who compete in the NCAA,” Scott said.

Scott said there are three goals that the team has for the spring season.

The first is for each golfer to build momentum for the fall NCCAA Regional and National Championships.

“A second goal,” Scott said, “is to help each team member grow spiritually through the experiences they have representing BJU Bruins in golf competition.”

“A third goal which has been quite elusive for the past two seasons is to break 300 as a team score in a tournament,” Scott said.

“We have been very close numerous times, and I think we will finally break through during [this] spring season.”