FROM THE TEE

Goodbyes and hellos on CACC's Trojan Golf team

Iam very pleased to share with you the success that our Central Alabama Community College Trojan Golf Team has realized this 2021 fall season. The boys started the year in letting a 36-hole lead slide through our fingers to finish in second place at the Wallace State Dan York Memorial Tournament. At the time it happened, I was disappointed. When we returned, we talked about what happened and worked extremely hard. Since that first tournament loss, CACC Golf has won each of the following four tournaments and launched our national rankings to second in the NJCAA, third in Golfstat and fourth in the Bushnell/Golfweek polls.

After all the years here, I still get excited in the successes of the team and for my players. This fall, along with the four-tournament team wins, we also had two individual wins. Hayden Carner won in Decatur at Burningtree Country Club, and Tanner Guthrie won in Jasper at Musgrove Country Club. This was crazy: In a NCAA D-2 event in September, CACC crushed the one-day low team total in all of college golf records in shooting 29 under par in a single round, in counting the four best scores of five players.

The wins are great, and we strive to achieve wins in every tournament, but there are other things that are always in the works, things that can be more satisfying than the tournament wins. When any of my players makes a clear and determined commitment to the next step of his life, I find a different but greater satisfaction in these decisions. Presently, there are a couple From the Tee opportunities on the table, and a couple of choices have already been made. One of these commitments came a little earlier than I expected, but we will manage. Jarod Edwards of McDonough, Georgia, has accepted a golf scholarship to play for Dalton State University this spring. This is the first time I have ever had a player, who had contributed to the team’s successes in the fall, to leave and not participate with us in the spring semester. I know the coach, the college and the program. There’s

Dave Jennings not a university that would be a better fit for Jarod than Dalton State. Even though he played a big part in our team’s fall success, I believe we will be fine. I have a few players who are ready to step up to fill his spot. We wish Jarod all the best.

The other commitment is Hayden Carner. Hayden will

A Winning Team

Under the guidance of Coach Dave Jennings, CACC Golf Team members Dawson Farni, Ken Goforth, Tanner Guthrie, Jarod Edwards and Hayden Carner rank second in the nation.

be transferring to Georgia Southern next fall. This is another great fit. Georgia Southern has one of the finest NCAA D-1 golf programs in the country, and Hayden will be a starter for them the day he walks on campus. For the other Trojan golfers graduating this spring, offers have been made, visits are being taken, and options are still out there. It’s an exciting time.

We have a big spring season ahead of us and a lot of things to do to prepare for nationals and next year. Our spring season will be busy for sure, and once we get under way, it will fly by.

This spring is going to be an exciting time for the team. For us to stay close to the top in the polls early in the spring, the boys are going to have to be responsible in practice and playing on their own before we start again Jan. 10, 2022. There are a few amateur tournaments available during the Christmas break for them to play. These events could help to keep the edge sharp.

Next year, we will have a lot of spaces to fill on our CACC golf roster. We will have only two of our present players returning, Griffin Dorr from Louisiana and Tanner Brown of Moultrie, Georgia, who will take advantage of the COVID-eligibility year.

I do have a few commitments to CACC for next fall that I am excited to share with you.

From Australia: Cian (pronounced: Sean) Hughes

From Birmingham, Alabama: Elad Sebbag, Joseph Vineyard and Noah Small.

From Hamilton, Alabama: Blayne Armstrong. Blayne comes to us as a sophomore and will only have one year with us, but I feel confident that he will be a great addition to this program.

I have an offer out to a young man and hope he accepts, but should he not; there are still a large number of talented players from which to choose. I also

am looking for one strong 2022 Spring Schedule walk-on. As we enter this Jan 30-Feb. 1; Melbourne, FL; Eastern Florida State College Feb. 13-15; Fairhope, AL; Alabama C.C. Feb. 27-2; Tifton, GA; ABAC Mar. 13-15; Foley, AL; Central Alabama C.C. Mar. 27-29; Decatur, AL; Calhoun C.C. Post-Season Christmas and New Year’s season, we are all so blessed to have many reasons to smile. We can be grateful for those people who have come and gone from our lives that helped to shape us; for Apr. 10-12; Guntersville, AL; Snead State C.C. those who are presently in Conference Championship our lives that maintain us; Apr. 24-26; Cullman, AL; Wallace State C.C. and for those we have not District Championship yet met or encountered May 14-2; Odessa, TX; Odessa College that are sure to direct us. National Championship Yes indeed, we are blessed. I thank all of you for your friendship and support. I cannot thank God enough for all of the blessings He has given me. I wish each of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Stay warm, stay well and stay happy. Go Trojans! ~Dave Jennings is the men's golf coach at Central Alabama Community College.