University of Minnesota Athletics
Justin Doeden's Preparation Pays Off
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Justin Doeden has a winner's mentality.
The senior found himself playing at Cardinal Stritch University, a small school in Milwaukee, three years ago. After six individual tournament wins, a conference championship and NAIA All-American honors, Doeden knew it was time to jump to the next level.
"Playing in the NAIA really gave me a lot of confidence," Doeden said. "I knew I was ready to move up to a bigger stage."
After meeting with the Gophers' coaches, the Prior Lake, Minn.-native knew it was time for him to come home.
Doeden had to step up to a new level of competition, coming from a NAIA school. The lowest scores he faced at Cardinal Stritch would be some of the highest he would see at Minnesota.
"I knew it was going to be tough," he said. "I knew I was going to have to work for it."
His preparation began before he hit the course in the Maroon and Gold, during the summer. Doeden practiced daily and got ready for the season to come.
"Summer here in Minnesota is our best time of the year," Doeden said. "The work I put in translated into high confidence during the year."
The work he put in during the offseason came to fruition during his first fall season as a Gopher. He finished in the top-20 two times and led the team in scoring average with 72.55 strokes per round. Though Doeden did not finish in the top 20 during the spring and his scoring average dropped to 74.25, he set himself up for success going into his senior year.
Doeden credits much of his success to Jon DuToit, a former Minnesota golfer, taking him under his wing and teaching him what Division I golf was going to be like. When DuToit left, he told Doeden he had to take charge and he did just that.
Another summer of preparation later, Doeden was back on campus for his final season and ready to get working. It was clear Doeden worked on multiple facets of his game, improving his average score by over three strokes to 71.40. These improvements quickly translated into results. The senior shot rounds as low as 67 and carded 69 three times during the fall. He finished his first four tournaments of the year in the top 20, doubling those finishes from his junior year.
While Doeden is happy with his performance over the fall, he is not content with everything he has accomplished. He is looking forward to the spring and trying to grow from the mistakes he made.
"There are a couple rounds I would like to have back," he said.
Even with his four consecutive top-20 finishes, Doeden felt as though he was competing to win every tournament.
"I had a cold putter," he said. "If I had a hot putter, I could've ended up winning a few of those tournaments. I'm one of the hardest critics on myself. I am always looking to win the tournaments I compete in."
However, Doeden knows what he accomplished was no easy feat.
"Those consecutive weeks were a step in the right direction for me," he said."It was fun to see the hard work pay off. At the end of the day a top-20 is a top-20."
