With the start of the spring season of 2025, the Whitworth men’s and women’s golf teams are getting ready for a season of competition and comebacks. With the men’s team attempting to earn redemption from this fall’s season and the women’s team adjusting to leaving seniors, the spring is a time for change and challenge in the program.
David Fern, women’s golf coach, outlines the women’s team’s goals for the season as bidding a farewell to seniors, while also attacking the competitive season ahead. Fern states that the 2025 spring season will usher in the final appearance of this unique team, as four seasoned seniors are leaving this spring. “They are a very special group,” said Fern in his description of the team.
At the competition level, the team is targeting the Northwest Conference (NWC) team runner-up. Fern stressed that the team currently lacks players who can consistently shoot the mid-to-high 70s, a range that often determines tournament rankings.
The men’s team also has its own set of goals and challenges for this spring season. In his final year of college golf, Jacob Rawley expressed he is eager to “have fun with the guys on the team” and enjoy playing on the course after a long winter of indoor practice.
Rawley expressed that the men’s team is determined to achieve success in the Spring Classic and NWC conference tournament. Rawley expressed that he hopes to win one more tournament before the end of his college career. However, Rawley admitted that the team is struggling to finish, especially on the back nine. Rawley stated, “We’re working on using our good rounds to build momentum and play more relaxed.”
Gabriel Cach, a graduate student in the men’s golf program, expressed his personal goals for the 2025 season, stating, “I’m focused on improving my adaptability to different courses and staying mentally sharp throughout the entire round.” Cach explained that the fall season was a difficult season for men’s golf, with the team finishing 5th out of nine teams in the 2024 NWC Fall Classic.
However, the Pirates are hoping for a comeback in this spring season. Cach expressed a similar view to Rawley on the men’s goals for improvement, stating, “We are focusing mentally on trying to use that good round that we are having to build more momentum off of the good shots we have hit to help us get over that final stretch of holes.”
For the Whitworth men’s and women’s golf programs, the spring season holds a double expectation: to adjust to the loss of seasoned seniors and finish on the back nine. With their goals in place, the programs are hopeful in their pursuit of success in the 2025 spring season.
