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A Letter from the Director...
Happy New Year!
As we ring in the New Year, it is always nice to reflect back on the previous year – and what a year it was!
Shortly after sending out our inaugural issue of “The State of Golf”, we learned of Rod Perry earning his second consecutive PGA Player of Year! What a tremendous accomplishment; we are all proud of Rod’s success.
In the Spring, Mississippi State hosted Sam Houston State in our annual Heritage Cup matches. The teams enjoyed great camaraderie and competition during the 54-hole match play event played at the MSU Golf Course. Mississippi State won its 5th consecutive Cup with a match record, 17-5 victory.
During the summer, we hosted, in conjunction with the PGA of America, the PGA Golf Management Summer experience. Six students from around the country spent a week on the Mississippi State campus attending meetings, classes, touring campus, visiting with alumni/students, and playing golf. In short, getting a feel for being a PGA Golf Management student at Mississippi State. The participants had a wonderful time, leading several attendees to enroll in the PGA Golf Management program.
As a result of generous contributions from alumni and friends of the program, we were able to purchase a Trackman. The benefits of integrating the Trackman into our player development program surfaced quickly! We had a 50% pass rate for the fall PGA Playing Ability Test conducted at the MSU Golf Course. Students also enjoy competing with each other through the Trackman combine feature, with the leading score currently at 83.8. The Trackman is also proving to be a valuable tool in the classroom. Students are much more engaged in classes and discussions related to golf instruction. Thank you for those who supported this effort!!!
The Fall 2014 semester will go down in the
The Fall 2014 semester will go down in the record books at Mississippi State! The football team created a buzz not only on campus, but around the country. As I traveled around the country through the fall, I was constantly asked about the excitement on campus. It was truly an amazing time!
As promised, we hosted an Alumni Weekend you didn’t want to miss. It was so big, even ESPN’s College Game Day made their first trip to Starkville!! The Alumni event was hosted in conjunction with the MSU Women’s and Men’s Golf Teams and was sponsored by Ben Nelson Golf Cars. We had over 70 attendees from all of the programs! Unfortunately, the students once again defeated the alumni in our four-ball match play event played at the MSU Golf Course. A few weeks later, we hosted nearly 200 family members and friends for our annual Family Weekend. A great time was had by all as Mississippi State continued their winning ways on the football field. Amazing what a #1 team does for excitement on campus!
We once again hosted our Co-Op Interview Day in October. This year we moved the date closer to Alumni Weekend and added an Employer Panel discussion prior to the social event. We were excited to see an increase in employer attendance, with some employers attending for the first time. Nearly 200 interviews were conducted during Interview Day!