University of Minnesota Athletics
Get To Know: Tom Vining
11/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
By Joey Erickson
Athletic communication intern
Tom Vining got his collegiate career off to an impressive start, finishing fifth in his debut at the Gopher Invitataional and featuring for the Gophers in all of the fall season tournaments. GopherSports.com caught up with him to talk about the first half of the season, what he is expecting for the second half, and his plans for the upcoming holidays.
GopherSports: What made you decide to come to Minnesota?
Tom Vining: The program, the whole program. The schedule, coaching staff, and team. It was just the whole package for me.
GS: You got off to a great start finishing fifth in the Gopher Invitational, what did that do for you going forward?
TV: I did really well but it kind of set high expectations for myself, so it did hurt in a way. I didn't play as well as I would have liked to, but I just try to keep getting better each tournament and each day. It didn't make me worse, it helped me learn a lot about myself and about my golf game.
GS: You wound up playing in all four fall season tournaments, does that give you confidence going into the spring?
TV: It does, yeah. It gave me a lot of learning experience. I know how to handle myself better in the spring. I know what to expect. I have some time off to think about what I can improve on. It'll be good for the first event of the spring.
GS: Now that you've got a few months off over the winter, is there any specific aspect of your game you are looking to work on?
TV: Mentally. We can work on a lot of wedges. I know I'm going to play in a tournament over Christmas break so it'll keep my competitive nature going. I'll be ready to go [in spring].
GS: What tournament will you be playing in?
TV: It's in Arizona. It's called the Saguaro. It's an amateur.
GS: What about off the course over break? How will you spend your time? Is it a lot of sleeping or Netflix or what?
TV: Yeah that kind of stuff and hanging out with family, I'm excited to see them again. I'm going to Arizona for about a week and a half, that'll be good to get some warm weather.
GS: Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up pretty soon, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
TV: Just getting together with the family. It's always so funny. To see them, especially being away from them. In high school you're always with them so it's not as anticipated but I'm really going to enjoy seeing them.
GS: What about the food? What's your go-to holiday food?
TV: Turkey for Thanksgiving. Usually ham for Christmas. Those are the go-to ones.
