By Colin Rajala
Continued.......
That internal drive and competition was evident in the season’s opening tournament as six Seton Hall golfers recorded rounds at even or below par.
“We have a lot of capable guys and what makes a great golf team is depth. If our top guy is having a bad round, we have faith our fifth guy is going to have his back. I think that's the type of squad we had last year and that’s the type of squad we have this year,” Harper noted.
The Hall’s win in its first tournament of the season was also Harper’s first career win as head coach.
Harper, who played for the Pirates from 2013 to 2015 and served as an assistant from 2019 to 2021, succeeded Clay White, who stepped down from the helm of the program after 18 years, just weeks before the tournament.
White, who Harper revered for his “character and integrity,” left to take over as the head coach for the University of Pennsylvania, which finished the Lagowitz Memorial 11th out of 14 teams at 18-over-par.
“He [White] had been here for such a long time and I didn’t expect this to happen at all. He helped us get to this point. I was looking at being his assistant for a while, but I am fortunate to have such a good set of young men that have taken the work ethic of the program to an entirely new level because they want it so bad. That’s what carried the team to the Big East Championship last year and that’s what Gregor Tait, Andres Acevedo and Clay White left the program to continue on with,” Harper said.
Harper took over a group of five returning players and three newcomers that he describes as “racing to practice” whenever there is opportunity to improve their games.
He finds that the biggest asset he can bring to current and future Seton Hall golfers will be “instructing the golf swing,” something he has been doing since 2017 at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J.
“A lot of our guys have their own coaches, so I tread carefully when it comes to some of my players and their golf swings. I’ve spent the last six years instructing golf swings, so I’m trained enough to know what they're trying to accomplish to fill in for their other coaches’ ideas,” Harper said.
“I think it is good to have somebody that they trust and relay what their coach is saying and working with them. The guys on the team are super smart and know their golf swing and we’ll be on the range and they’ll be helping me as well,” he said, noting that he is a proponent of individualized instruction and coaching one player entirely different from the teaching of another player.
Harper also believes his experience and intangibles having been around the sport for so long will benefit current and future Pirates.
“Through my failures and successes and growth, I became a better golfer probably two years after I graduated. If I can fast track that for our freshman, growing the amount that I grew in college in say five years, in their first two years, then that's when they get to blossom their junior and senior seasons and play the kind of golf that our seniors played last year and Wen and Xie are off to this year.”
While he wants the best for his players, Harper is also looking out for their best interests off the course in their academic and personal lives.
“Clay’s focus on the individual is something that I wanted to continue to carry on. It is all grooming great young men who graduate and do things the right way. It’s the importance of being on time, working hard, being respectful and appreciative. I learned a lot about that playing for him and coaching alongside him,” Harper said.
Ultimately, Harper’s goal is to build Seton Hall into “a force to be reckoned with.”
“ I think we made a name for ourselves last year and we are off to a good start this year, but we have more to do to be the prominent Northeast school. I don’t think that is out of reach with the golf facilities we have surrounding campus, the talent we've been able to bring in and our graduates and alumni who are supportive. Building the program into a powerhouse is not going to happen overnight, but I will look at big picture things and fundraise and create as much buzz as I can to get to where we want to be, tops in the Northeast.”
Harper is off to a good start in that quest as evidenced at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial.
