Video Blog: Rob Wakeling on teams' in school and practice facility prior to the holidays

Associate Head Coach Rob Wakeling talks about the men's and women's teams and their work in both the classroom and the Ferrara & Page Practice Facility, then discusses what lies ahead for the teams  after the holidays.

Video Blog: Herb Page on the development of the young Golden Flashes men's team

Watch head coach Herb Page discusses the development of a very young Golden Flashes men's golf team during the recently completed fall season.

In need of a charge in the NCAA Regional's final round

By Herb Page

Head Coach

We are going to need to do something really, really special today at Rich Harvest Farms if we are going to go back to the NCAA Championships.

We are 14 shots out of fifth place with the top five teams advancing, and we are behind some very good teams. And while we know it will take something special, we also know we are capable of doing it.

This team has a lot of firepower at the top of the lineup, and Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith are both capable of going out and shooting 67 today. We’ll need something like that with our backs against the wall.

To get the round we need, our short games are going to have to be better than they were on Friday when we shot 309 and dropped from a tie for third to a tie for seventh. Chipping and putting has been our sore spot all year long, and it came back to bite us again in that second round. Our short games just were not very good and we didn’t get it done.

Corey shot 73 and he hung in there to bring it back after starting out 3-over. But there was a good score out there for the taking yesterday because the conditions were pretty moderate. After the 2 1/2-hour rain delay at the start, there was no wind and the course was soft.

It will be cold again today – 40’s and 50’s with a chance for more rain. The wind is supposed to be 7 mph.

We are going to go out there with the belief that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I’ve said it before. I’m the eternal optimist. We are capable of doing this. 

We’ve done it before.

I have good memories of back when there were 24-team fields here and the top 10 got in. One year we were in 21st place after day one and worked our way to 14th, then made a charge to finish ninth. It only takes one good round. We are capable of that round, we just haven’t done it yet.

In position heading to Round 2 at Rich Harvest Farms

By Herb Page

Head Coach

I’m very happy with the way we played in round one. We had three guys who played exceptionally well and put together three great rounds.

It was raining pretty hard for the first three or four holes. But everybody had to play the course under those tough conditions. When it stopped raining, it was windy and cold the rest of the day.

Taylor Pendrith’s 70 was just spectacular. Out here you are going to make some bogeys. You expect that, but he just played textbook, birdying all of the par-5’s and making some great par-saving putts. He putted very well all day long. 

Really, Taylor lapped the field with the way he was hitting into the par-5’s. On 17, where other guys were laying up short of the water, he was hitting 6-iron into the green.

Josh Whalen’s round was very good, too, in his first NCAA Regional. On 17, he hit a 3-wood right into the teeth of the wind. He knocked to about 35 feet and then made a ender that was just fabulous. 

Those last holes, 15-through-18, are some of the hardest we play. But we played them pretty well. I think we played the par-5 17th like superstars with an eagle a birdie and three pars by our five guys.

I’m also very happy with the way Corey Conners played. He is very, very close. The only difference between his round and Taylor’s was that Taylor made a few more putts. He’ll be fine, though. He is hitting it very, very well. And let’s face it, this course is hard.

Photo by Scott Walstrom/NIU Media Services

Now we need to get five guys in the game. That would be big for us in the next two rounds. 

We go early today, first off at 8:15 a.m. The weather is going to be bad again – rain with a high of about 54. But when we go off early this morning it will be in the 30’s and it will stay that way for most of the front nine. When when we get to the back it should be in the 40’s with more rain. By the time it gets up into the 50’s, we’ll be off the course. 

If we can get five guys playing and get a little protection, we’ll be in very good position. There is not much separation in the leaderboard, so the heat is going to be on. We’ve played in so many of these, that it’s now all about jockeying for position. 

With the way we had been playing over the last couple of months, we are very happy with our position and how we played in round one. I’ll be very happy to be there with nine holes to go on Saturday. 

Ready to go in the NCAA Sugar Grove Regional at Rich Harvest Farms

By Herb Page

Head Coach

We are at Rich Harvest Farms for the start of the NCAA Sugar Grove Regional. This is a beautiful private course about an hour west of Chicago, and of course it is the same course where we won the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2012.

It was pretty cool during our practice round with a high only in the mid-50’s, so we were wearing stocking caps and bundled up for most of the round, which is too bad for mid-May.  It is going to be cold and rainy again this morning when we start the first round.

In fact, the temperature is not supposed to get to 60 for the entire tournament. With it being so cool, the ball may not go as far this week.

Even with the weather, the course is immaculate. It is also very difficult. The greens are running at about 12 on the Stimpmeter. It will be a very good test of golf.

There are seven or eight holes out here where, if you are not careful, you can make some very big numbers. The 18th is a good example. Yesterday it was playing 460 yards into the wind with a hazard left and a hazard right. On holes like that, you have to be very patient. We hope it doesn’t happen, but our guys have to accept it when they hit a bad shot, stay patient and accept a bogey. Our goal is to stay away from those big numbers and understand that if you can make a par on some of these tough holes, it may feel like a birdie. 

Kent State increasing its lead in round 3 of the MAC Men's Golf Championship

Corey Conners tees off at the 4th hole during round 3

REPRINTED FROM: "The Press Box: A blog by Kent State Director of New Media David Carducci"


By David Carducci



CARMEL, Ind. – Kent State is widening its lead over the University of Akron during a windy third round here at Prairie View Golf Club in suburban Indianapolis.

I’m walking with the team and will have updates here and on Twitter at @KSUAthletics.

You can also follow the scoring live at BirdieFire by clicking HERE.

UPDATE – 3:48 p.m. ... The story of today's round is up on the kentstatesports.com website.

Click here for the link.

The Flashes' lead at the end of round 3 is now 23 shots, and Conners at 12-under holds a six shot lead on the individual leaderboard.

The 6-under-par round by Kent State was the only one in red numbers on Saturday. In fact, the next best round was a 9-over-par total by Toledo. Akron stayed in second place, but dropped from five shots back to 23.

There's a quick correction to an earlier blog update... the hole-in-one by Conners was his second in 10 days. His ace at Windmill came in a practice round last week.

Here's a look at the team learderboard and the scorecards for Kent State.

UPDATE – 2:29 p.m. … Nothing like a hole-in-one to add some excitement to a golf tournament. That’s especially so during a conference championship.

Corey Conners ace at the 12th hole of Prairie View Golf Club put a jolt into the proceedings during the third round of the MAC Championship on Saturday. It also offered a friendly bit of one-upsmanship to teammate and fellow senior All-American Taylor Pendrith, who had just missed a hole-in-one by some six inches on the same hole seconds earlier.

“The funny thing is we had all just been talking about holes in one,” Pendrith said with a grin while standing on the 13th fairway. “The whole team was talking about how many we all had. Corey has had a bunch. I’ve only had one, but I’ve also had four double eagles.”

Pendrith’s near-ace at 12 briefly moved him into a tie with Conners for first place on the individual leaderboard at 7-under. Conners jumped ahead by marking a one on his scorecard and then nearly backing it up with another eagle at 13 when he knocked it on in two at the 572-yard par 5.

With only a few holes to play, Conners has the individual lead at 10-under par, four shots better than Pendrith and eight better than Toledo’s Otto Black in third place. Conners began the day tied with Akron’s Charlie Bull at 5-under, but Bull has fallen back to fifth place at plus-5 on the day through 15 holes.

Oh by the way, Conners' ace was his second of the week. He also had a hole-in-one on Tuesday during a practice round at Windmill Lakes Golf Club. That one also came on the 12th hole.

"He likes those 12th holes," said Pendrith.

UPDATE 12:29 p.m. … Kent State has made it through the turn and is the only team in the field under par for the third round.

The Flashes are 3-under on the day, improving their overall score to -9 – a mark that is now 13 shots better than Akron at 4-over-par overall and 5-over for the round.

Individually, Conners and Pendrith are starting to separate themselves a bit from the field.

Conners began the day tied at 5-under with Akron’s Charlie Bull. While Conners has moved to 7-under, Bull has fallen back, turning in a 5-over-par 41 to drop to even par and seven shots behind on the individual leaderboard.

Pendrith is one shot behind Conners at 6-under with Toledo’s Otto Black and Akron’s Ryan Harris six back as the only other players in the field under par at 1-under.

Here’s a look at the front nine scorecard for Kent State:

Kent State had made worked its way to 12-under and prior to a few bogeys and a double bogey on the seventh and eighth holes. 

Here’s a look at the team leaderboard heading to the back nine.

Pendrith hits from left rough on 7th hole in Round 3

UPDATE - 12:13 p.m. … Was there a little positive omen waiting for two Kent State players who grew up just outside of Toronto during the front nine here at Prairie Dunes?

On the par-5 7th hole that is playing more difficult playing into the teeth of a 25-mph wind, both Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners pulled their drives just left of the fairway near a bird feeder that had a swarm of bluejays vying for seeds.

“Yes, Taylor is a baseball fan and a Blue Jays fan,” confirmed Pendrith’s father, who has been walking with every step this weekend.

Pendrith made a nice recovery for to save his par and remain 3-under for the front nine. He followed with two more pars at 8 and 9 to turn in a 3-under-par 33 that had him just one off of the individual lead held by Conners.

Just seconds after Pendrith finished his par save at seven, Conners stuck his approach form the left rough to 12 feet. He just missed the putt to stay at 2-under for his round and 7-under for the tournament.

Corey Conners tees off at the first hole during round 3 of the MAC Championship

Walking with Kent State during its chase for a sixth straight MAC Championship

REPRINTED FROM "THE PRESS BOX: A blog by Kent State Director of New Media David Carducci"

CARMEL, Ind. – I'm at Prairie View Golf Club in suburban Indianapolis following Kent State's Men's Golf Team as it chases a sixth straight Mid-American Conference Championship... Keep checking back for updates this weekend.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m. ... After a shaky finish and what head coach Herb Page called a Jekyll-and-Hyde, the Golden Flashes still find themselves in first place after day one of the MAC Championship.

The coaches and players are just sitting down to dinner, and Page admitted they are thinking just a bit about what might have been.

The lead is currently five shots over Akron, but it was 12 at one point during the second round before an ugly run that included nine bogeys and two double bogeys over the final five holes.

"These things are hard to win," said Page. "The good news is we had a Jekyll-and-Hyde day out there, and still we have a five-shot lead. Our guys know how poorly they started out and how poorly the finished. We could have had a double-digit lead, but we gave it away with too many big numbers and too many three-putts. 

It's hard to get too negative because those middle nines were pretty fabulous. As a coach, a day like this gets very exciting, and then it also gets very frustrating. We have guys on this team who know how to win, though, and they just have to come back out here on Saturday and Sunday and stay away from those big numbers. We haven't played our best golf yet. Not even close."

The story of day one is now posted on kentstatesports.com. Click here for the link. 

UPDATE: 4:43 p.m. … Kent State is rolling in round two of the Mid-American Conference Championship and building a big lead.

Just a few hours ago, the Golden Flashes were struggling on the relatively easy front nine at Prairie View Golf Club and trailing Ball State by eight shots as neared the turn in round one.

Some five hours later, the Flashes have made the turn in round two and hold a 9-shot lead over second-place Akron. The Flashes sit at 12-under for the tournament and are 10-under in round two.

Through nine holes in round one, Kent State senior Taylor Pendrith was struggling at 3-over par and showing some frustration heading to the 10th tee. After a good drive, a 9-iron to three feet turned his fortunes around. That birdie jump started a 4-under-par 32 on the back nine.

Pendrith on the sixth tee during round two

Pendrith followed that with a birdie-birdie-birdie start to round two … and now at 4-under for his second round and 5-under for the tournament, the defending MAC individual champ is back on top of the leaderboard with a one-shot advantage on Akron’s Charlie Bull through 12 holes.

Fellow senior Corey Conners, who had some struggles earlier in his day, is just two off of the individual lead at 3-under, tied with Kent State teammate Kyle Kmiecik, who has been rock steady all day for the Flashes since a birdie at his first hole of the morning round.

There was a fun flurry early in round two that I watched with head coach Herb Page from a mound that sits between Prarie View’s No. 3 green and No. 4 tee. From that spot you can see a big chunk of the course … the green at No. 4, the No. 5 green in the distance and No. 6 fairway, along with several holes on the back nine.

We watched Pendrith hit the par-5 third in two, then two putt for his third consecutive birdie. Just seconds earlier, Kmieck got up and down from the greenside bunker at three for a birdie. As Pendrith made his putt, we watched Kmieck get another sand save, this time for par, from the green at the fourth hole. And in between, we could see freshman Sebastian Bendsen and sophomore Josh Whalen pump their fists as they made birdie putts at No. 5.

As Pendrith walked to the tee at four, Conners hit his second shot at three to 15 feet and made eagle. Kmieck followed with
another birdie at five.

“This is when golf starts getting fun,” said associate head coach Rob Wakeling, as I caught up with him at the fifth green, just as Pendrith hit his tee shot at the 340-yard hole green high.

Watching golf from a perch like that is great fun on a course like this with few trees. It’s a lot like watching golf at a British Open venue where you can see forever. Even with a small crowd like we have today here in Indiana, you can hear the few people out there cheer for a great shot, giving you even more of an indication of what is happening out there around you.

And as I write this, the run continues ... Pendrith with birdie at 13 to get to 5-under on his round just as Conners hits it on the par-5 13th for an eagle opportunity of about 40 feet.

Head coach Herb Page watches Kyle Kmiecik's
tee shot at the par-three fourth hole during round two

UPDATE, END OF ROUND 1, 2:15 p.m. ... Better play on the tougher back nine here at Prairie View Golf Club has allowed Kent State to close the gap a bit as play begins in round two.

The Flashes played the last three holes in 3-under par. That helped them complete the first round with a 2-under-par 286 that has them just two shots off the lead.

I just talked to Herb Page as he hurried through his lunch before heading back to the course.

"This is a resilient group," said Page. "They just kept hanging in there. Three under in the last three holes to keep us close, that is all you can ask for. We have not played our best golf yet. Now we need to go back out there and keep it going."

Kyle Kmiecik (33-38–71) just signed the scorecard on his 1-under-par first round. He led the way for the Flashes all morning long, staying in red numbers while his teammates settled in.

Taylor Pendrith (39-32–71) is currently signing his scorecard after a back-nine comeback put him at 1-under-par after 18 holes. His back-nine 32 included three birdies and an eagle. After a drive of 340-plus yards on the par-5 13th, he hit nine iron to 35 feet and drained the putt.

Corey Conners (38-34–72) is on his way into the clubhouse after a comeback of his own on the back nine. His bogey-free finish after the turn included birdies at 11 and 17.

Led by Charlie Bull's 3-under-par 69, Akron finished with the first-round lead at 4-under. Ryan Harris and Zach Gollwitzer both shot 1-under for the Zips.

UPDATE, 1:41 p.m. ... Back-to-back birdies by Pendrith at the 16th and 17th holes have moved the senior into red numbers at 1-under heading to the final hole.

Those birds have also helped the Flashes close the gap late in round one. Akron has moved into the lead at 4-under as a team, but the Flashes are now just three back at 1-under.

Freshman Josh Whalen has posted a very nice round of even-par 72, playing the final eight holes of his round in 1-under (seven pars and a birdie two at No. 15).

Sophomore Sebastian Bendsen shot a 76. Kmieck is just finishing up with Pendrith and Conners to follow.


UPDATE, 12:45 p.m. ... Just heading back to the course to find Kent State making a bit of a move on the back nine.

After turning in 3-over and showing some signs of frustration heading to the 10th tee just a short while ago, senior and defending individual champion Taylor Pendrith has started to battle back, notching a birdie three at the 10th and the getting an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. He is now back to even.

Fellow senior Corey Conners is also getting his round back in order with a birdie at the par-3 11th to get back to 1-over on the day.

At 1-under, Kent State now trails Ball State and Eastern Michigan by just two shots heading into the final holes of the morning. 

The teams will take a short break for lunch before heading right back out to the course for the second round.

Taylor Pendrith putts for eagle during the first round of the MAC Championships at Prairie View

Kent State senior Kyle Kmiecik tees off at the first

UPDATE, 11:30 a.m. ... The Golden Flashes are not getting too down here on day one of the MAC Championships despite a frustrating start here at Prairie View Golf Club near Indianapolis.

Senior Kyle Kmiecik is playing very well, making the first-round turn at 3-under par. Now through 12 holes he remains at 3-under. The other four Kent State players in the lineup are all over par this morning – Josh Whalen 1-over through 12, Sebastian Bendsen 2-over through 12, Corey Conners 2-over at turn and Taylor Pendrith 2-over at turn.

Four combined double bogeys on the easier front nine have hurt the cause as Kent State chases tries to become the first team ever to win six outright MAC men’s golf championships. 

I’m writing this at noon, and at the moment the Flashes sit at 2-over as a team and in a tie for fifth place, six shots behind the early leader Ball State. Akron is at 3-under and one shot behind the Cardinals’ lead. Eastern Michigan is also under par at 1-under.

The course should be playing a bit easier today with several tees forward of their positions in yesterday’s practice round and some accessible pin positions.  

I spent most of the morning walking wtih Pendrith, who is the MAC’s reigning individual champion,  but caught up with Kyle Kmiecik’s father, Tom, for a bit at the ninth hole. He said Kyle has been playing conservative golf, not taking any big risks, but putting the ball in good positions and then sinking some big putts. 

With former Major League 2B Bernie Allen

He opened with a birdie at the first, added birdies at five and seven, then recovered immediately from his first bogey of the day at 11 by getting his fourth birdie of the day at the par-3 12th.

UPDATE, 10:30 a.m. ... It has been cold and overcast all morning with temperatures in the high 40’s. We are supposed to get up to around 56 by the mid afternoon, and it looks like we will avoid the rain that has been forecast all week. 

I had a nice surprise standing on the first tee, chatting with an older gentleman for a bit and then finding out he was Bernie Allen, the former Major League second baseman who played for the Twins, Senators, Yankees and Expos during a career that lasted from 1962-73. He was also the roommate of former Kent State great Rich Rollins for six years with the Twins. 

Allen is an Indiana native who played football and baseball at Purdue. He is enjoying his retirement and working here at Prairie View. He is a fantastic guy who shared some great stories of his time with baseball greats like Billy Martin, who he replaced at second base with the Twins, and Ted Williams, who was his manager with the Senators. Williams always used to get angry with him for playing too much golf during the baseball season.

“Ted told me golf would ruin my swing. I told him it wouldn’t because I bat left handed and play golf right handed. And I only do that so that I wouldn’t ruin my golf swing.”

It’s worth coming out this weekend just to visit with him.

I’ll check back in with more updates as the day goes on.

The Floridian Collegiate, some warm weather and great courses for spring break

By Rob Wakeling 

Associate Head Coach

We have learned in the first two tournaments of the spring that we are going to rely heavily on Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith at the No. 1 and 2 spots. When you look at last week at Coastal Carolina, those two finished first and third on the individual leaderboard.

The rest of the lineup had some good rounds at opportune times. There were also some struggles, but Kyle Kmiecik shot 2-under in round two, which really bailed us out. Sebastian Bendsen held us in there the first day with a 74 while Kyle struggled a little bit, and then Kody Fry stepped up on the last day with a 73.

We kind of pieced it together bit by bit and had a heck of a chance coming down the last few holes. That was a good learning experience having to deal with so many good things and frustrating things down the stretch. But standing on the 17th and 18th tees with a chance to win is what you want. There is no substitute for being in that position and having the chance to learn from it. I think we learned some important things from that experience, but we also learned that we need to keep getting better.

We’ve had a great week of practice since returning from Coastal Carolina and the General Hackler Championship. We’ve been working hard and using the technology we have at the Ferrara and Page Golf Training and Learning Center. We’ve had everyone on TrackMan and on the SAMputt Lab working on the technical parts of their swings and putting strokes.

On Monday we were finally able to get outside and chip and putt a few on the grass. It’s the first time we’ve been outside here in Ohio all spring. Thank goodness we have as great a facility as we have to allow us to stay sharp and keep improving during the cold weather.

I think you will see us use all seven or eight healthy bodies at some point this spring. That’s what the spring is all about – figuring out what five guys will tee it up at the Mid-American Conference Championships and at the NCAA Regionals.

We’ve been a little lucky, thanks to the change of NCAA rules, the last two tournaments have been played on Monday Tuesday, so we’ve been able to leave on Friday and not have our guys miss any class. That has allowed us to have our qualifiers on the road.

We are getting ready to leave for Florida for Spring Break and to compete at the Floridian Collegiate at Floridian Golf Club in Palm CIty. We’ll leave on Friday and take all eight players with us.

On Friday we will play at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie. On Saturday we will play at the Fox Club in Stewart and we may have an 18-hole qualifier that day. Sunday is a tournament practice round and then Monday and Tuesday is the Floridian Collegiate.

When the tournament ends, we’ll play some great courses over spring break – Trump National, Atlantis Country Club and Lake Nona.

It’s going to be a fabulous spring trip. And then we’ll have a quick turnaround. We get back and have three days at home before we take off for Texas A&M.


CHECK OUT...

Bob Weeks' blog from Mar. 17 "Page has Canadian touch at Kent State."

It's a good read. Here's the link.

Spring tees off with Alumni Trip and visit to Davidson

By Rob Wakeling

Associate Head Coach

We just got back from a trip to Orange County National in Orlando for our alumni trip.

The entire team went down. We took the entire team, the coaching staff, five alums and some boosters. The weather was great, right around 80 degrees every day, and that gave us a chance to get a lot of great practice in.

A lot of the boosters and alums said this was the best trip yet, and this is a trip we have been doing for seven years.

Our players competed in a 72-hole qualifier for our first tournament next week at the Davidson College Invitational in North Carolina. And then for some extra holes, we mixed it up a little bit. The kids love playing with the alumni and the boosters, so it is a fun four days.

The three seniors were exempt from qualifying for the first tournament, so that left two spots available. Sophomore Kody Fry played very well, shooting a pair of 70’s on the first two days. And our transfer, sophomore Sebastian Bendsen, battled back strong after struggling the first day when he may have been a little nervous. He shot 74 and 72 in the last two rounds on a pretty good golf course. We played the Crooked Cat course for the qualifier, and played it from 7,400 yards. That’s where they had the finals of Q School. 

It was really good to see Sebastian and Kody step up and win those spots. 

All four days were great for practice. We got to play in some wind, and playing long golf courses like that when your guys is very encouraging.

Orange County National and the Crooked Cat Course

Corey Conners played great. He won the qualifier by shooting 7-under for four days. Taylor Pendrith shot 5-under. They played off to see who would play No. 1 next week, so there was a little something on the line and they were grinding pretty hard.

Since we were in Orlando, we had a lot of our former players who are down there playing golf just show up. Jon Mills showed up. Bryan DeCorso showed up. David Markle showed up. Brett Cairns showed up. And Kirby Dreher, who played on our women’s team, showed up. 

This weekend we will head to Davidson, N.C. 

One of our alums is getting us on Trump National in Charlotte, which will be a nice treat and a good warm-up for our guys. Then we compete on the River Run golf course just north of Charlotte. That’s where they played the Web.com Tour Championship, so our guys have seen the course on television. It looks very, very good and really hard, which is good for us.

The weather looks like it will be cool in the Charlotte area. They are saying it will be in the high 40’s and low 50’s. We’ll have a couple of days to practice, then we’ll get the guys right into it. We play 36 holes on Monday, then 18 on Tuesday. Two days later we turn around and head to the TPC of Myrtle Beach for the General Hackler Championship. So, we will be going pretty hard right at the start of the season.

There are good fields in both tournaments. I know Tennessee will be at Davidson. Then we’ll see Coastal Carolina and we’ll get exposed to some ACC schools that we don’t usually see in Myrtle Beach. Wake Forest and N.C. State are usually there. 

Then we are home for eight days before going to the Floridian Golf Club for a who’s who of college golf at Palm City, Fla.

In the next four weeks, before we start our Texas A&M-Purdue-Ohio State swing, we should have an idea of the direction our spring is going to go. Right now we are No. 23 in the nation in Golfweek and No. 26 in Golfstat.