Tuesday, February 4, 1997
GOLF:
Success of UCLA hinges on improving mental aspect of gameBy
Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
Inconsistency.
This is what has been plaguing the UCLA men’s golf team
throughout the early tournaments of the season. Much of it can be
attributed to the youth and inexperience of the team.
Through four fall tournaments, the five-player traveling team
was comprised of three first-year players and two sophomores.
It was not uncommon in those tournaments to see the youthful
quintet at the top of the leader board after one or two rounds
 only to shoot itself in the foot during a single 18-hole
stretch, taking the team out of contention.
This was exactly the scenario for the golf team at the Herb
Wimberly Tournament, held in New Mexico during the fall.
After the first round of play, the team was in third place. When
the team completed the second round, it was three shots out of
third place. The team then collapsed in the third and final round
to finish in 10th place.
"We are a young team that’s very talented but we are
inconsistent," assistant coach Glen Toth said.
"It’s frustrating for the coaches and players to know how
talented we are and (to) show it at certain times and then other
times have it disappear."
Consistency most often comes only with experience and age. The
Bruins lost both with the graduation last season of Mike Miller and
Eric Lohman, who were very consistent scorers.
This year, the team is composed mainly of freshmen and
sophomores. Toth believes the Bruins’ inconsistency is mostly due
to the lack of mental awareness within the young team.
"The people that play the best in this level and beyond are the
people who play one shot at a time and don’t let a bad shot or bad
hole or even a bad round bother them too much," Toth said.
Under the guidance of Toth and second-year head coach Brad
Sherfy, the Bruins entered their first tournament of the winter
this week. The Bruins hosted the first Pioneer Electronics/Corey
Pavin Golf Classic, which began Monday morning and ends today at
Industry Hills Zaharias Course.
Twelve teams are participating in the 54-hole tournament, with
UCLA entering two teams in the field.
The course is one of the Southland’s toughest and tightest golf
tests. This tournament will be a measuring stick for the team to
see how far it has improved  both in skill and in mentality
 over last quarter’s tournaments.
In the fall, the team  led by sophomore Brandon DiTullio
in four of the competitions  placed as high as seventh place
in the USF Collegiate Invitational Tournament.
"I expect the performances in the Winter Quarter tournaments to
be better than Fall, and Spring to be better than Winter," added
Toth.
"I see us on a gradually upward curve of improvement."