A familiar face around Bison golf, men’s head coach Dustin Howell has now taken over the women’s golf program as well. Entering into his eighth season with the men’s team, Howell was presented the opportunity to replace Christy Morgan, who coached the Lady Bisons for three years.
According to Howell, the biggest challenge has been the additional time commitment that coaching both teams requires.
“The biggest thing is the balance of time; we’ve had to modify (the) schedule as I’m gone with the men’s team or women’s team on different occasions,” Howell said.
He also said that there are differences in coaching female athletes as opposed to male athletes.
“They’re different as men and women; things that guys might not even notice are a big deal to the women,” Howell said.
Junior CharlesAnn Freeman, the lone upperclassman, said that having already been around Howell has allowed the transition to be a smooth one.
According to Freeman, a change in practice facility has provided a refreshing mentality for the women’s team.
“We get to practice with the guys at the (Searcy) Country Club and that makes it competitive sometimes,” Freeman said.
Freeman and her four teammates, sophomores Katelyn Walker and Kaleigh Ramey and freshmen Taytum Billington and Delaney Bowles, finished sixth at the Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) Fall Invitational this week. As a team, the Lady Bisons shot 45 strokes better than at their first tournament of the year in Olathe, Kansas.
According to Freeman, confidence and a friendlier course were the biggest factors in the dramatic improvement.
“I think the course was more of the type of course that we are comfortable with,” Freeman said.
Freeman also noted that the younger players felt less pressure since it was their second college tournament.
“All freshmen come in to their first tournament and have a hard time, but they came into the (OBU) tournament with more confidence,” Freeman said.
According to Howell, the Lady Bisons’ improved mental composure was the key.
“You’re going to have some adversity, a shot that didn’t go your way, and being able to pick yourself up from that and not let small mistakes turn to large mistakes is important,” Howell said.
Freeman said the team is looking to continue to improve through its last two tournaments of the fall.
“Our goal was to shoot in the 340s and we met that goal at this tournament,” Freeman said. “Hopefully we will continue to meet that goal for the rest of the tournaments in the fall.”
Coach Howell and the Lady Bisons will play next at the University of Central Oklahoma Class in Oklahoma City on Oct. 5th and 6th.
