Golf has always been a sport that flies under the radar in terms of publicity and popularity, despite the otherworldly performance of Eldrick Tiger Woods.

The Sacramento State men’s and women’s golf teams are no different.

The men’s club has won its conference championship two out of the last three years, including the 2008-09 America Sky Conference championship, while the women were Big Sky Conference champions in 2007.

Despite the prestige, golf still plays second-fiddle to many sports at Sac State and many other college campuses.

Head coach David Sutherland said the lack of events close to campus could play a role in the lack of recognition golf receives on college campuses.

“We don’t play any home matches like you do in soccer, basketball, football and baseball,” Sutherland said. “It’s often difficult for the kids and supporters of the school to get out and watch these guys play.”

Golf, as a whole, is never going to be more popular than your major sports – baseball, basketball and football.

University of Northern Colorado men’s head golf coach Chuck Scheinost said the proximity of events contributes to the lack of notoriety for golf.

“It hurts our ability to generate fans on campus,” he said. “Our sport operates a little different than other sports. It’s not a head-to-head match-up.”

Scheinost said Sutherland is a reason for Sac State’s success.

“David’s a great coach,” Scheinost said. “He has lots of experience from playing on the PGA Tour for years. He brings a wealth of experience. He knows what it takes to get to that next level.”

Scheinost also said a lot of the coaches in the conference respect Sutherland and Sutherland’s experience on the tour helps his coaching.

“It gives him a leg up on teaching his student-athletes how to get to that next level, having played there before,” he said.

University of Northern Arizona women’s head golf coach Brad Bedortha said recruiting in California is a big plus for the Hornets.

“They can recruit a lot from the state of California,” Bedortha said. “I would think they’d be able to find players through that avenue.”

The Lumberjacks are the reigning Big Sky champions in women’s golf.

Scheinost echoed Bedortha’s statement.

“California is easy to recruit to,” Scheinost said. “It’s warm and you can play golf year-round.”

Sutherland said Sacramento has a lot of good things that help recruiting, such as a nice campus, good weather and plenty of support.

A significant reason for the success is the good golfing community in Sacramento, Sutherland said.

“We get tremendous support from not just the clubs in town and the public golf courses,” he said.

Depth is going to be an advantage for the women’s team this season, Bedortha said.

Bedortha also said Sac State women’s golf is going to be one of the toughest teams in the conference.

“They’re one of our biggest rivals in the conference,” Bedortha said.

Sutherland said balance throughout the women’s team is crucial for the team’s success.

“What we want on this team is not for one person to be clearly better than the others,” he said. “We want five (women) who, when we go to tournaments, any five of those (women) are capable of being our best player. That’s the absolute key for us.”

Sutherland said people might take notice if Sac State competed well and possibly even beat some of the larger schools in the state.

“We have been able to consistently beat most of the teams in our conference,” he said, “but we have to take that next step and move up to (beating) the Pac-10, Big 10 and the Big 12.”

Dustin Nosler can be reached at [email protected]