Golf Digest Ranks MSU Men's Program in Top-50

The Murray State Men's Golf program was named as one of the top 50 college teams in the nation in the September issue of Golf Digest. The Racers were ranked 49^th, the only Kentucky university in the top-50. MSU scored better than some of the nation's best including, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Indiana and Illinois. The Racers scored higher than every team in the Big-10 Conference except Northwestern.

This is the second year Golf Digest has produced this annual report.

Eddie Hunt, who came on board to coach the Racers in 2001 was thrilled to hear the news.

”I can't take credit for this, because without good players a coach isn't worth much,” Hunt said. “We were able to bring in some guys who had a fire in their hearts for the game of golf and they were not only good players, but good people. I'm so proud of the recognition that Murray State will receive from this honor.”

In the Hunt era of MSU Golf it must be noted his roster has been dominated by Kentucky grown student-athletes.

“Most of our players have come from Kentucky and the western part of the state,” Hunt said. “This says a lot about our program. There is a lot of golfing talent in Kentucky and I'm proud that they made the decision to come to Murray State.”

Golf Digest scored all collegiate golf programs on more than what goes on a scorecard.

The magazine rated college golf teams in criteria involving five categories to determine the rankings. The categories included; team adjusted scoring average, player growth (a measure of a player's improvement or decline from season to season), academics, climate and a rating of the head coach and school facilities.

Golf Digest's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde said the magazine started the college rankings in order to give high school players a place to start when choosing a place to play and attend school. “Our purpose with the College Golf Guide is to promote the idea of playing golf during the college years,” Tarde said. “Technology today has given students the ability to have complete control over the college search process, and for the 225,000 boys and girls playing high school golf, our guide offers a crash course in getting started.”

Here is how the five categories were scored.

Academics: This was the Racers best ranking, tied for 12^th with St. Mary's (Ca.) and Southern California. The academics numbers were taken from U.S. News & World Report's respected “America's Best Colleges” guidebook.

Climate: The ranking was provided by Longitudes Group and measure each school's 30-year average of playable days from September 1 to May 31. The Racers were able to overcome the fact that many schools in the west and south have better climates.

Player Growth: This was a new judging category for Golf Digest. A basic statistic was used here; did a player on the MSU roster the last four years lower their adjusted scoring average on a year to year basis? And did the team lower its scoring average from season to season. In recent seasons, the improvement of departed seniors Will Cox, Jamie Frazier and Kyle Shirley and juniors Nick Griffin and Michael Craft gave the Racers a boost.

The Racers as a team also lowered their scoring average each season over the last three years. In 2004 MSU's scoring average was 152^nd in the nation; by 2005 they had improved to 74^th. In 2006, the Racers jumped all the way to 36^th in the nation when they average 72.5 per player with a team average of 290.38. “Jamie Frazier, Will Cox and Kyle Shirley were the backbone of that first class,” Hunt said. “They certainly proved themselves to be outstanding student-athletes.”

Coaches/Facilities: Murray State recently moved into a brand new clubhouse at their home course, Miller Memorial but this survey was taken before the project was finished. The new clubhouse won't have an effect on MSU's ranking in this category until 2007. Information on courses and facilities was taken from each school and the Ping American College Golf Guide. Head Coach Eddie Hunt just completed his fourth season at the helm of the MSU program has gained experience now that his first recruiting class has played through and graduated.

Team Adjusted Scoring Average: This is the same formula the NCAA uses when selecting teams to the postseason.

With their honor from Golf Digest, it's worth noting how the Racers have shown steady improvement in several areas under Hunt's leadership.

“Our work in the classroom is outstanding,” Hunt said. “Our student-athletes have taken the tenacity they've shown on the golf course and applied it to their studies and it shows with our team GPA being around the 3.0 mark.”

Jamie Frazier led the way academically for the Racers in the 2005-06 school year. The accounting major was selected as an Ohio Valley Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year.

A beaming Eddie Hunt said, “What I found impressive was that this ranking was based on a number of criteria. This all started with my first recruiting class four years ago which was ranked fourth in the country by Golf Stat.”

Coach Hunt welcomes ten returning players and six newcomers when classes begin Aug. 21. The Racers first tournament in the fall will be the Wasioto Winds Fall Kick Off, Sep. 4-5 at Pine Mountain State Park in Pineville, Ky.

Murray State University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos