With almost one year of coaching under his belt, Casey Martin is settling in to his role, a fact that seems to be a help to his team as well.
“It’s getting better. It’s getting real fun here; we’ve had a great stretch,” Martin said.
That stretch includes an upset win over a field that featured three teams in the top 20 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational and a third place finish in the Duck Invitational last month. Oregon will return to the site of that tournament this week for the Pac-10 Championship at the Eugene Country Club April 23-25. The Ducks will look to add a good finish to their coach’s successful rookie campaign, a season that boasts two tournament wins after Oregon accomplished just one victory in the 2005-06 season.
“We’re just starting to gel and starting to play well, Martin said. “That’s just kind of how golf is; you kind of go in ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys.”
When Martin joined the team after the end of last season, he brought to Eugene the weight of both his name and his experience, which featured more peaks and valleys than most.
Arguably the most famous golfer to come out of the state of Oregon, Martin is a veteran of several professional golf tours, including the PGA tour. His career highlight came at the 1998 U.S. Open, where he finished in a tie for 23rd, one stroke back of college teammate Tiger Woods. Martin only played in that tournament after doing what he is best known for, successfully suing the PGA to allow him the use of a golf cart during play. The Eugene native needed this accommodation because of Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, a vascular disorder in his leg that would have been aggravated by long walks around a golf course. After the ruling, Martin continued to play the PGA and after 2000 on minor tours before agreeing to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Steve Nosler as head coach. Martin cites Nosler and former Oregon associate athletic director Jim Bartko as instrumental in convincing him to take the job.
“A couple years ago, I wasn’t quite ready to do it because I was still going full gun with golf, but I thought a lot about it for the last few years and just felt the time was right this last summer to do it,” Martin said.
It appears the time was right for the Oregon team, too, as they enjoy both improved results and the tutelage of a veteran player.
“It’s been a great year; Casey’s brought a lot of experience to the table,” Oregon junior Zeke Reyna said. “When we’ve gotten (the) lead in tournaments, he told us what we should expect. For the most part, we’ve pulled out most of the tournaments we’ve been in the lead.”
Part of the ability to hold on to leads, like at the Thunderbird Invitational last week, comes from being solid around the green. The short game has become a point of emphasis for the Ducks this season, a directive that’s come down from the head coach.
“(He’s) ingraining it in our heads that we need to be better chippers and putters,” senior Matt Ma said. “A one-foot putt is just as important as a 350-yard drive. They’re both one on the card.”
Apart from his influence on the game of his players, Martin is also looking to shape the future of the program.
“I’ve been out on the road a lot, just kind of writing kids and looking for talent,” Martin said. “That’s been a big deal for me.”
Martin’s recruiting efforts have been aided by the fact that Nosler agreed to serve as Martin’s assistant and has assumed some of the day-to-day management of the team. On those recruiting trips, Martin doesn’t hide his past successes and status.
“I think it can’t hurt,” Martin said. “I think it has opened some doors, but we’ll see if we can wrap ’em up.”
As his team prepares to wrap up its season, Oregon’s coach wants his team to focus on something more important than a simple result in a tournament.
“I just want them to come and play with the passion they’ve been playing with, and get focused, and if they do that we’re gonna do fine.”
The chances that the Ducks will fulfill Martin’s hopes this week seem to be high. Oregon is playing good golf, and playing on a course that they know well, but also because of the impact Martin has made on the team.
“Whatever he says, we listen and we obey,” Reyna said. “I guess the results have been pretty good.”