University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Smith Previews Gophers' Fall Season
9/6/2018 2:57:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Minnesota men's golf team opens the 2018-19 this weekend as it hosts the Gopher Invitational. In advance of it, associate head coach Justin Smith sat down with GopherSports.com to give his thoughts on fall expectations, who he thinks will make important strides this year and much more.
Q: What are your expectations for the fall season?
Justin Smith: "Well I think there's no doubt, since I've been here, this team is the most excited I've seen, and not just from the players' perspective but from the coaches' perspective. We're young, we lost two starters that played for four years, but we've been able to suffice that with talent. The talent hasn't dropped off, but obviously the experience has. Sometimes they surprise you in incredible ways and sometimes there are bumps in the road, and we'll expect to have both. But from a coaching perspective, this is the future of the program and the future is in great hands. It's our job as coaches to make sure that we're putting them in a position to succeed and giving them the resources and tools.
"With our schedule, we're coming right out of the gates and paired with Texas and Oklahoma (at the Gopher Invitational), two teams that contend to win the national title almost every year. But that's what we recruit to, that's what we're excited about and that's what these guys are excited about. From that standpoint and from an attitude and love of what we're going to go out and do every week, this is going to be as high as it's been since I've been here."
Q: Were there certain things you stressed to the team to work on after last season?
JS: "(Director of Men's Golf) John (Carlson) always talks about predictability – you can never predict golf, as soon as you do it'll come back and slap you in the face – but the reality is we'd love to have guys that are going to go out and do the same things and have the same routine. It doesn't guarantee that you're going to play great every time, but that's all we're trying to do: put ourselves in a position to play great every round and make sure that when they get out on the course they're ready to go. I think we ran into it a little last year where every day was a little different, whether it was weather-related or it was school work or just the state of their games and where their confidence was. That's what we're going to impress upon them this year, a lot of discipline. We're going to have shorter practices, but in that timeframe we're going to make sure our consistency and determination are there and have a sense of accomplishment to make sure that when we leave practice every day that they've gotten a lot done and gotten better. We want to be able to look back and gauge that a lot more. I don't know that we did that too well last spring, which is one thing we learned on our end and what we learned from the players. And that's how we know to succeed and how we've won championships in this program's history, so that's what we're going to get back to."
JS: "We come out of the gates fast; we have four days before our first practice round. To make sure we have the right five guys going out there and competing is going to be crucial. We've been doing all kinds of things throughout the summer and playing close attention to our guys to make sure we know what the state of their games are coming in. We have a really good feel about how that's shaking out already and then we'll put it to the test. The fall season is always what we tried to load up on from a northern program's standpoint. Coming out of the gates we've scheduled really difficult. That's always the number one priority within our schedule, if we're not the best team in the country right now then we're going to play against the best every week. We have five incredible tournaments. We're going to play one more Midwestern tournament over at Erin Hills in Marquette, which we haven't done yet, but that's a nice touch that John has worked hard on. The reality is we're going to be figuring out exactly what we have from the first round of the fall when we're paired with these two teams (Oklahoma and Texas). We'll see where we are, but there's no better way to gauge feedback and set the plan after that based on how that lines up.
"We haven't done a very good job at the Gopher Invitational of claiming our home ground and protecting our home course. We need to do a better job of that, which we're going to press upon our guys that we need to be more prideful and not let these teams come in here and shove us around. We'll protect that, we know Windsong as well as any course. We just have to go execute."
Q: What is it going to take for someone on the roster to claim one of the open spots in the rotation?
JS: "There's no doubt it's going to be a different feel. That's not to take anything away from the guys last year, but there was this sense of 'Here we go again, it's another tournament, let's go do it.' From our standpoint as coaches, we pulled back a little bit because they've been doing it for so long and they know what they're doing. So more coaching is going to have to take place this year, getting them prepared and thinking the right way and putting them in positions to succeed. They've done an incredible job up to this point in junior golf, but now they're starting a whole other chapter. From an experience standpoint, there are going to be some growing pains, but it's going to be exciting through those coaching moments.
"But at the same time, with golf, you do all the preparation before to get them in the right mindset and then you just let them go compete. That's all I ask for. I want to be the team that competes the hardest every week. If our execution is what keeps us from finishing in the top, that's okay. That's part of golf and part of the process and we'll get better every day because of that. We're going to go compete as hard as anybody. As a coaching staff, we can be extremely proud if we do that. There are going to be some "deer in the headlights" moments. When they're paired with a guy who just made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, they're going to be thinking about that; I would, anyone would. But from those moments is where we're really going to learn and grow a lot and become ready for the future. I think "excitement" is just the word everyone is using to really get this thing going."
JS: "He had a great fall and just an okay spring. For someone who just traveled halfway around the world to go to school in a place he's never really been, he adjusted really well and did really well in school. He had an incredible summer, a very consistent summer. He was always a player that had a game where he could shoot as low as he wants, but then have some rounds that would get away from him, so we always stressed that consistency. Well now he's got it because a lot of different parts of his game have developed to allow him to always be in the rounds. I saw him over the summer and tried to tell him to play to play great, don't play to hide from mistakes or not having a great round. I really expect to see some low rounds from him this year. He's got the ability to beat anybody on any given week. As soon as he starts believing that and takes that at this level, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with the next three years.
"Same thing with Thomas Longbella. I want them teeing it up every week to try to win a golf tournament individually – and they know that then helps the team – they're that good. They've come a long way and still have a lot of years left and a lot of maturing to do, but they know that. They're good enough to go win every week, they've proven that this summer so we just want to keep that rolling."
Q: Other than Angus and Thomas, are there other guys you're hoping to see make a jump this year?
JS: "Evan Long is ready to do that; he's had an incredible summer. He played in the Big Ten Championship last year and had two really solid rounds. It was a great experience for him knowing that he should be fixture for us the next three years. He's got an incredibly consistent game; once he believes on the greens a little bit more there's no doubt he'll be able to challenge those other two guys for our top stroke average at the end of the year.
"Peter Jones is a senior coming back that has played a ton and has a large amount of experience. Thomas Longbella is a junior, and we have two sophomores. We could play two freshmen, so I can't wait to see the competition within everyone and how everyone gets better because of that. That's the mark of great teams; they're always competing all the time. That's the culture we want to have. We're going to have a lot of fun, but we're going to work hard, be disciplined, have great attitudes and represent our school well."
Q: What are the expectations you have for the four newcomers for the fall?
JS: "We have a group where it wouldn't surprise me if everyone played at some point. We have 11 guys competing for those five spots. Some have dominated at the junior level and that's all they know so they're coming in expecting to do that. We have guys on this team that have qualified for events and competed for our team and others that have been very close to qualifying. You never quite know until you're a couple weeks into it and everyone's got settled, but with our newcomers, I have every expectation they're going to play and have an impact on our team. They're experienced, love being here and want to be a Gopher. Lincoln Johnson is from Chaska, Noah Rasinski is from Burnsville, and so they're doing it for the love of the school and wearing the "M". Will Grevlos is from South Dakota, and he's won two high school championships. These guys know how to win, so I can't wait to see them get into the lineup and show that to everyone else."
Q: Losing four seniors from last year, who are you looking toward to fill that leadership void?
JS: "We're taking a little different approach this year. Within our team we've taken from one individual from each class, aside from the freshmen, who has shown leadership qualities in different areas. In the past we've done a captain or two captains, but we really want to educate these individuals, help them grow and give them the tools necessary to be great leaders, which will help us now but also help them later in life when they decide to go play professional golf or get a job.
"But Campbell Fisher is the ringleader of this team; he's as passionate as anyone and no one exemplifies a student-athlete more than him. He's been a Student-Athlete of the Month here before, so the whole department loves him, we love him and his teammates love him. He's going to play a huge role in making sure the cohesiveness is there. Thomas Longbella is a junior that we see as a future leader. He's already a leader in certain areas and has developed great relationships. Angus, who was the captain of his team in England at one point, has developed leadership roles on the course and on the road, being there for his teammates and trying to be the best teammate possible. They're not the only ones to take a big leadership role, we're going to challenge everyone to be a leader in their own way, whether it's in our strength and conditioning program, academically or at practice. I want 11 leaders, but I feel like these three possess different things that not help not just right now but keep molding for the future kind of like the Ryder Cup captains are set up. Years go by and they develop qualities so that we then will have a group of incredible young men that can lead in so many ways."
Q: What are your expectations for the fall season?
Justin Smith: "Well I think there's no doubt, since I've been here, this team is the most excited I've seen, and not just from the players' perspective but from the coaches' perspective. We're young, we lost two starters that played for four years, but we've been able to suffice that with talent. The talent hasn't dropped off, but obviously the experience has. Sometimes they surprise you in incredible ways and sometimes there are bumps in the road, and we'll expect to have both. But from a coaching perspective, this is the future of the program and the future is in great hands. It's our job as coaches to make sure that we're putting them in a position to succeed and giving them the resources and tools.
"With our schedule, we're coming right out of the gates and paired with Texas and Oklahoma (at the Gopher Invitational), two teams that contend to win the national title almost every year. But that's what we recruit to, that's what we're excited about and that's what these guys are excited about. From that standpoint and from an attitude and love of what we're going to go out and do every week, this is going to be as high as it's been since I've been here."
Q: Were there certain things you stressed to the team to work on after last season?
JS: "(Director of Men's Golf) John (Carlson) always talks about predictability – you can never predict golf, as soon as you do it'll come back and slap you in the face – but the reality is we'd love to have guys that are going to go out and do the same things and have the same routine. It doesn't guarantee that you're going to play great every time, but that's all we're trying to do: put ourselves in a position to play great every round and make sure that when they get out on the course they're ready to go. I think we ran into it a little last year where every day was a little different, whether it was weather-related or it was school work or just the state of their games and where their confidence was. That's what we're going to impress upon them this year, a lot of discipline. We're going to have shorter practices, but in that timeframe we're going to make sure our consistency and determination are there and have a sense of accomplishment to make sure that when we leave practice every day that they've gotten a lot done and gotten better. We want to be able to look back and gauge that a lot more. I don't know that we did that too well last spring, which is one thing we learned on our end and what we learned from the players. And that's how we know to succeed and how we've won championships in this program's history, so that's what we're going to get back to."
Q: How does the schedule this fall set you up for success?"That's always the number one priority within our schedule, if we're not the best team in the country right now then we're going to play against the best every week." -- Associate head coach Justin Smith
JS: "We come out of the gates fast; we have four days before our first practice round. To make sure we have the right five guys going out there and competing is going to be crucial. We've been doing all kinds of things throughout the summer and playing close attention to our guys to make sure we know what the state of their games are coming in. We have a really good feel about how that's shaking out already and then we'll put it to the test. The fall season is always what we tried to load up on from a northern program's standpoint. Coming out of the gates we've scheduled really difficult. That's always the number one priority within our schedule, if we're not the best team in the country right now then we're going to play against the best every week. We have five incredible tournaments. We're going to play one more Midwestern tournament over at Erin Hills in Marquette, which we haven't done yet, but that's a nice touch that John has worked hard on. The reality is we're going to be figuring out exactly what we have from the first round of the fall when we're paired with these two teams (Oklahoma and Texas). We'll see where we are, but there's no better way to gauge feedback and set the plan after that based on how that lines up.
"We haven't done a very good job at the Gopher Invitational of claiming our home ground and protecting our home course. We need to do a better job of that, which we're going to press upon our guys that we need to be more prideful and not let these teams come in here and shove us around. We'll protect that, we know Windsong as well as any course. We just have to go execute."
Q: What is it going to take for someone on the roster to claim one of the open spots in the rotation?
JS: "There's no doubt it's going to be a different feel. That's not to take anything away from the guys last year, but there was this sense of 'Here we go again, it's another tournament, let's go do it.' From our standpoint as coaches, we pulled back a little bit because they've been doing it for so long and they know what they're doing. So more coaching is going to have to take place this year, getting them prepared and thinking the right way and putting them in positions to succeed. They've done an incredible job up to this point in junior golf, but now they're starting a whole other chapter. From an experience standpoint, there are going to be some growing pains, but it's going to be exciting through those coaching moments.
"But at the same time, with golf, you do all the preparation before to get them in the right mindset and then you just let them go compete. That's all I ask for. I want to be the team that competes the hardest every week. If our execution is what keeps us from finishing in the top, that's okay. That's part of golf and part of the process and we'll get better every day because of that. We're going to go compete as hard as anybody. As a coaching staff, we can be extremely proud if we do that. There are going to be some "deer in the headlights" moments. When they're paired with a guy who just made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, they're going to be thinking about that; I would, anyone would. But from those moments is where we're really going to learn and grow a lot and become ready for the future. I think "excitement" is just the word everyone is using to really get this thing going."
Q: What are you expecting to see out of Angus Flanagan heading into his sophomore season?"I want them teeing it up every week to try to win a golf tournament." -- Smith on Angus Flanagan and Thomas Longbella
JS: "He had a great fall and just an okay spring. For someone who just traveled halfway around the world to go to school in a place he's never really been, he adjusted really well and did really well in school. He had an incredible summer, a very consistent summer. He was always a player that had a game where he could shoot as low as he wants, but then have some rounds that would get away from him, so we always stressed that consistency. Well now he's got it because a lot of different parts of his game have developed to allow him to always be in the rounds. I saw him over the summer and tried to tell him to play to play great, don't play to hide from mistakes or not having a great round. I really expect to see some low rounds from him this year. He's got the ability to beat anybody on any given week. As soon as he starts believing that and takes that at this level, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with the next three years.
"Same thing with Thomas Longbella. I want them teeing it up every week to try to win a golf tournament individually – and they know that then helps the team – they're that good. They've come a long way and still have a lot of years left and a lot of maturing to do, but they know that. They're good enough to go win every week, they've proven that this summer so we just want to keep that rolling."
Q: Other than Angus and Thomas, are there other guys you're hoping to see make a jump this year?
JS: "Evan Long is ready to do that; he's had an incredible summer. He played in the Big Ten Championship last year and had two really solid rounds. It was a great experience for him knowing that he should be fixture for us the next three years. He's got an incredibly consistent game; once he believes on the greens a little bit more there's no doubt he'll be able to challenge those other two guys for our top stroke average at the end of the year.
"Peter Jones is a senior coming back that has played a ton and has a large amount of experience. Thomas Longbella is a junior, and we have two sophomores. We could play two freshmen, so I can't wait to see the competition within everyone and how everyone gets better because of that. That's the mark of great teams; they're always competing all the time. That's the culture we want to have. We're going to have a lot of fun, but we're going to work hard, be disciplined, have great attitudes and represent our school well."
"That's the mark of great teams; they're always competing all the time. That's the culture we want to have. We're going to have a lot of fun, but we're going to work hard, be disciplined, have great attitudes and represent our school well." -- Smith
Q: What are the expectations you have for the four newcomers for the fall?
JS: "We have a group where it wouldn't surprise me if everyone played at some point. We have 11 guys competing for those five spots. Some have dominated at the junior level and that's all they know so they're coming in expecting to do that. We have guys on this team that have qualified for events and competed for our team and others that have been very close to qualifying. You never quite know until you're a couple weeks into it and everyone's got settled, but with our newcomers, I have every expectation they're going to play and have an impact on our team. They're experienced, love being here and want to be a Gopher. Lincoln Johnson is from Chaska, Noah Rasinski is from Burnsville, and so they're doing it for the love of the school and wearing the "M". Will Grevlos is from South Dakota, and he's won two high school championships. These guys know how to win, so I can't wait to see them get into the lineup and show that to everyone else."
Q: Losing four seniors from last year, who are you looking toward to fill that leadership void?
JS: "We're taking a little different approach this year. Within our team we've taken from one individual from each class, aside from the freshmen, who has shown leadership qualities in different areas. In the past we've done a captain or two captains, but we really want to educate these individuals, help them grow and give them the tools necessary to be great leaders, which will help us now but also help them later in life when they decide to go play professional golf or get a job.
"But Campbell Fisher is the ringleader of this team; he's as passionate as anyone and no one exemplifies a student-athlete more than him. He's been a Student-Athlete of the Month here before, so the whole department loves him, we love him and his teammates love him. He's going to play a huge role in making sure the cohesiveness is there. Thomas Longbella is a junior that we see as a future leader. He's already a leader in certain areas and has developed great relationships. Angus, who was the captain of his team in England at one point, has developed leadership roles on the course and on the road, being there for his teammates and trying to be the best teammate possible. They're not the only ones to take a big leadership role, we're going to challenge everyone to be a leader in their own way, whether it's in our strength and conditioning program, academically or at practice. I want 11 leaders, but I feel like these three possess different things that not help not just right now but keep molding for the future kind of like the Ryder Cup captains are set up. Years go by and they develop qualities so that we then will have a group of incredible young men that can lead in so many ways."
Follow Men's Golf
Support Men's Golf
Support the University of Minnesota Men's Golf program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now
Crousore Bunker Shot: 2025 B1Gs
Monday, April 28
Galdos Hole-in-One: 2025 B1Gs
Friday, April 25
Gopher Golf Facilities
Sunday, August 18
Cinematic Recap: Gopher Invitational
Monday, September 18