Men’s golf team gets a break to rest and train before season resumes in February

Following a heavy workload over the last nine months, the UCLA men’s golf team will look to balance relaxation and training during its upcoming offseason.

In addition to competing in team events in the spring and fall, many of the players were busy playing in individual events during the summer.

“I haven’t had a break since the last offseason, so the offseason is a time for me to put the clubs down for a little bit and focus on school and working out,” senior Alex Kim said.

While the three-month break provides the Bruins with much needed time to rest and recover from their grueling schedule, it also gives players an opportunity to improve their game in preparation for the spring season.

“I’m obviously going to spend some time with my family and enjoy the fact that I’m not traveling, but it’s really an important time of the year to get down to work,” said junior Pontus Widegren, who will be returning to his home in Sweden for a portion of the break. “This is what I want to do for a living someday, so I kind of view it as a job even though it’s the offseason.”

Throughout the offseason, UCLA will focus mostly on training off of the course, doing both physical and mental exercises.

Their training consists of traditional exercises such as weight lifting, but the Bruins have also adopted less conventional ways of improvement, including seeing sports psychologists and practicing yoga.

“Yoga has been great to help control your breathing, focus and concentration. A golf round is four or five hours long, you’re out there for a really long time, so if you can control all that you’re going to have an advantage,” Widegren said.

The Bruins enter the offseason following a somewhat disappointing fall, in which UCLA won only one tournament. Kim hopes that the work the team puts in over the next three months will lead to success in the spring.

“The fall is like a preseason just to get your feet wet, spring season is the one that matters the most,” Kim said. “Our goal is to get our team to be playing best at the end of spring.”

Recruiting trail

National signing day for high school golfers came and went on Nov. 13, and UCLA received signed letters of intent from five recruits, including Jonathan Garrick, the No. 7 junior golfer in the country.

“We’re really happy with the guys that are coming to UCLA,” head coach Derek Freeman said. “We try to do a good job of screening and identifying guys that will fit in well with our program and how we do things here, and I think we identified a great class.”

The five players, who will arrive at UCLA next fall, look to bolster a team that has competed in the NCAA championships in all four years of Freeman’s tenure as head coach.

“They’re excited about the future, and that’s what we’re looking for, people who are excited about UCLA and want to work as hard as they possibly can to achieve their goals,” Freeman said.

What offseason?

Widegren joins 27 other collegiate golfers today in the final round of the All-America Golf Classic in El Paso, Texas.

Although the field is filled with talented players from around the country, there isn’t much pressure on the competitors.

“All the best players from last year are there, so naturally that’s going to be very competitive,” Widegren said. “But it’s not the same as the National Championship and the other tournaments we play in throughout the year.”

Following the tournament in Texas, Widegren plans to depart for Orlando, Fla., where he will attend a practice session with the Swedish national golf team.