Stacy leads golf team into spring season opener Monday
When Cheryl Stacy heard about the job opening as Central Michigan’s women’s golf coach, she jumped at the opportunity.
Stacy has led an accomplished career as a coach since her playing days ended. As University of Michigan’s head coach, her teams made three appearances at the NCAA Central Regional in four years and frequently earned All-Big Ten academic honors.
Stacy will lead the CMU golf team into its first match of the spring season Monday and Tuesday in the Woman’s Mid-American Conference Match Play Challenge in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
The team had two of its best finishes in the program’s two-year history in its last meet in October, finishing ninth and 10th out of 15 in the Dayton Flyers Fall Invitational.
Coming to CMU, Stacy knew she had an opportunity to build something special.
“We can start traditions and do fun things with the team. It’s like being an artist with a blank canvas to create something great,” Stacy said.
At the beginning of this season, Stacy brought in an old friend to help her with the coaching duties. Lauren Grogan was recruited by and played for Stacy at Michigan before becoming an assistant coach at CMU. Grogan played golf for Michigan from 2011 to 2015.
Grogan said being recently removed from playing collegiate golf will be beneficial for both the coaches and the players.
“I can relay messages to the players about the schedules and things like that, while also understanding the pressure of school,” Grogan said.
At all levels of collegiate athletics, recruiting is an essential factor of success. The recruitment process is different for a young program compared to an established one.
“The main difference is getting the word out that we have a program. We’re trying to get the same caliber of golfer as we were at Michigan. Being a little bit further north and not being established yet makes it a little harder, but it’s just going to take time,” Stacy said.
A selling point for the program is the fact that recruits will have an opportunity to build traditions with the team. CMU’s golfers are creating the standard rather than having to live up to one, which is a unique aspect.
The quality of the facility is also a helpful recruiting tool, according to both coaches. When CMU added women’s golf, Mt. Pleasant Country Club agreed to build an indoor facility to host the team.
The practice facility features a lounge area, locker room, two hitting bays and a large putting green. Also inside the building is a hitting simulator that allows golfers to play a full round no matter what the conditions outside are.
“I was surprised, honestly, at the facility we had. From the standpoint of the MAC conference, we probably have a top two or three facility,” Grogan said.
Golf has a unique season because of the winter break in the middle of it. Technically, it is considered a spring sport, but the team competes in a few fall events as well. After a short hiatus, golf activities resume in January before playing in five tournaments in addition to the MAC championship in the spring.
The Chippewas improved on their results from the 2014-15 season during the fall, cutting down on their stroke average as a team.
Stacy says the team’s goal is to get all of the golfers to have a stroke average under 80. Sophomore Kristen Wolfe was the only Chippewa able to achieve this goal during the 2015 fall semester.
“Our goal for the spring is to continue to improve and build confidence, hopefully getting that stroke average down some more,” Stacy said.
