A Sacramento State golfer can walk through the University Union unnoticed. One of Sac State’s golfers, Cody Miller, said he feels the golf team is appreciated by the Athletics Department, but hardly at all by students.

“The only students that come to our tournaments are our brothers and girlfriends,” golfer Kyle Candlish said.

The only time Candlish said he feels noticed is when he wears his golf backpack, but even then, he said students might think he plays golf, but they don’t know he’s on the team.

The Director of Men’s and Women’s Golf, Adam Pohll, is in his third year coaching Sac State’s men’s and women’s teams.

Pohll’s path to coaching Sac State came from being a former Hornet golfer. In his senior season, he won three individual titles to help lead Sac State to the 1997 Big Sky title.

After Pohll’s playing career, Sac State’s men’s golf struggled, which made him want to come back to his alma mater to coach, he said.

Sac State won the Diablo Grande Tournament on March 20, marking the first time the team has won since 1998.

“The team is back to where it was and should be,” Pohll said.Pohll recruited players locally by attending high school and amateur golf tournaments.

At golfstat.com, Candlish and Grant Norton are regarded as the 18th top frosh class in the nation. The team practices 20 hours a week and the players spend about 20 hours on their own time, Pohll said. They also work out three times a week concentrating on core strength for getting distance at fairways.

College golf courses are not often in the best condition with deep roughs and fast greens, Pohll said.

Before each tournament, Pohll maps the course to understand each hole. He will go over problem areas of specific courses with the team.

“When a player loses his game, he has to work harder to get it back,” Pohll said.

“Golf takes incredible commitment. You can’t be distracted when you are out there. You have to be able to clear your mind while on the golf course,” Pohll said.

Harris knows how vital it is to leave personal issues behind when he is in a tournament. “If you lose focus for a minute, you double-bogey,” he said.

Golf is a game full of strings and slumps. Harris’ game was in a rut at the Cal Poly Invitational, so Pohll took him aside and had a putting lesson with him.

“Our coach is great because he tailors to our specific needs,” Harris said.

Harris, a transfer student from UC Davis, feels more comfortable at Sac State and thought UC Davis’ practices were too structured.

Following Pohll’s words of wisdom, Harris had his best score, shooting 213 for 54 holes last week at Ogio-Pacific Coast Intercollegiate.

Golf tournaments usually span the whole day. College golf is both individually and team based. Sac State fields five players. That includes two freshmen and three sophomores for tournaments and, after their rounds, the highest score is dropped.

“Golf is an individual game, but when you are playing for four other guys, it definitely makes it more intense,” Harris said.

Tyrone Bowman can be reached at [email protected]