Texas Tech University Athletics
Crosswater Golf Course Preview
May 30, 2006 | Men's Golf
May 30, 2006
Photo Gallery - Practice Round #1
SUNRIVER, Ore. - To even the average golfer, the Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore., is a daunting task. The links' seemingly never-ending fairways eventually give way to difficult sloping greens that would leave the causal player with a scorecard that looks more like a complex algebra equation. The course is also impressive to the Texas Tech men's golf team as they prepare for the 109th NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, but the challenge at hand is not as overwhelming as it once was for the squad.
Since the 2002 season, the Red Raiders have consistently improved every season under the tutelage of head coach Greg Sands, making the NCAA Regionals for a school-record six consecutive seasons and twice appearing in the NCAA Championships. This season, Tech has been particularly impressive, posting a pair of tournament wins as it captured the Hyatt Plantation Intercollegiate and the 2006 Aggie Invitational and has had four individual medalists, including junior Oscar Floren who has tied a school-record with three medalist performances on the year.
The difference in the last few seasons has been the addition of The Rawls Course, which was completed in 2001 and gives both the Texas Tech men's and women's golf team a championship course to call their own. With the addition of the Rawls Course, they no longer have to solely rely on tournaments that are held at world-class courses in other parts of the country.
But even with all the team's experience with top-notch courses nationwide, Crosswater will be a tough task to tame. The course, which has been named by Golf Digest as one of "America's Greatest 100 Courses", is nestled in the mountains of central Oregon and features sweeping elevations changes as well as a creek that meanders through the middle of the course. The thing that one notices the first time they step foot on the course is its length. The 7630 yards of the course are spread evenly over 18 holes, but is clearly evident on the 635-yard par-five sixth hole and the 687-yard par-five 12th hole, which is aptly named "Endless."
Floren, who enters the tournament leading the nation in par-five scoring knows that control will be a big part of tackling the difficult course and also looks forward to the challenge the long par-fives present.
"It's a very good course, but the key will be distance control with your irons and putting," said Floren. "Some of the long par-five will be hard to reach in two even though I've had some success on the par-fives this year. At times, I've been a little too aggressive on those holes and if I get the chance to reach in two here I will, but lately I've been trusting my iron and putting a lot better so I'm not going to be afraid to use that."
Despite the trappings of the hazards of trees, water and sand a wide, soft fairway presents itself to the players off the tee, a point not lost on senior golfer Andrew Dresser, who ranks fifth nationally in fairways hit a .825 percentage.
"The course is great and it will defiantly reward good shots," Dresser said. "You have to be consistent with your driver and keep the ball on the fairways; they are perfect and a lot softer than a lot of the surfaces we have played on this year. The greens are small so you are going to have to be good with your distance and control your shots."
The challenge that the course presents is not overwhelming for the Texas Tech golf team, but winds and weather as well as pin placement could make things very difficult on some players who are used to shooting low rounds. But the Red Raiders are not a team that has relied on shooting 10-under par and similar scores to win tournaments this season, instead the team is one that goes out every round and completes against difficult courses and just plays their game of golf. With Crosswater Golf Course presenting a challenge for all the team's completing for the 2006 NCAA Men's Golf Championship national championship, the successful traits that the Red Raiders have shown all season long may just put them in a position to stand alone on collegiate golf's brightest stage after a week in Sunriver.
Players Mentioned
