by Brittany Messuri
“Any human being with a set of clubs can join”
Steve McFadden, a senior, created the Golf Club this year. The idea came about in the summer of 2016 when McFadden realized he was no longer playing collegiate baseball.
McFadden was shocked when he discovered there was no golf club on campus. In February 2017, he decided that had to change. Together with Bryan Cavallier, the Golf Club has 19 official members and over 30 people interested in joining.
McFadden says, “any human being with a set of clubs can join.” Their environment is leisurely, players can come to the practice course on Mondays or Fridays after 3:30p.m. The club’s main focus is to have a good time while improving their golf skills. To become a member, there is a fee of $20 per semester. This payment puts you on the practice roster and gets you time on the green.
The Golf Club played in its first NCCGA (National Collegiate Club Golf Association) tournament this past spring, and had “an absolute blast.” He says the club’s goal for the next tournament is “to not come in last place, and have great attitudes no matter what happens”, which is exactly what they did.
This year, they came in 10th place out of 12 colleges. The Golf Club faced difficult conditions of narrow holes along with extreme wind and leaves all over the course. Despite the challenging conditions, the club enjoyed the two-day event.
Since McFadden is graduating this winter, he will be leaving the Golf Club with goals to get “more females to join, maintain and improve the legitimacy of the club, and attract more avid golfers for a competitive tournament roster.”
McFadden urges anyone interested in joining to search “Fitchburg State Golf Club” on Facebook or Instagram. From there, they can message Steve their student email if they would like to become an official member.