Stephen Slezak, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor
The 2025 men’s and women’s golf seasons are just around the corner as the teams prepare to play in the Savannah Invitational. Both teams compete during the fall and transition the seasons to the spring where the conference championships take place.
The men finished second in the home tournament at the Stonebrigde golf course in Rome. The Vikings also took fifth at West Pines last year, rounding out the top five finishes. Senior Kevin Verrill also earned Southern Athletic Association (SAA) athlete of the week honors after the final tournament during the fall. Last year’s men’s team was ranked 17th in the country after an impressive season. The men also have two returning second team All-SAA members, Kevin Verrill and sophomore Noah Farland.
The women also had a fall season with some notable moments. The team finished third at the TWU fall invitational. The Vikings also finished sixth in the home invitational at the Stonebridge golf course. Senior Sydney Bowes was named the SAA athlete of the week for two straight weeks to cap off their fall season.
Brian Farrer is the head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, and has been the head coach since 2002. Farrer has coached a total of 15 All-Americans over his time and 16 academic All-Americans. Farrer has won two SAA titles, one in 2015 and one in 2018 with also qualifying for three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament appearances. Farrer also won women’s SAA Coach of the Year in 2018. Ferrer is assisted by Chris Wilson, a former professional golfer who has won over 25 mini-tours.
“I am excited and proud of the men’s team for their improvement over the last several years,” Farrer said. “They have been working hard and working well together to find ways to get better. As it stands, they are ranked just inside the top 20 nationally. I would love to see them break into the top 15.”
Farrer also spoke confidently on the women’s team for this year.
“We have a great group of upperclassmen and a solid freshmen class,” Farrer said. “Excited to see this team grow and continue to move up.”
For the men’s team, sophomore Cam Baker has high hopes for the team’s goals and expectations that have been set for this year. After finishing third in the SAA championships last year, the team looks to win the SAA this year.
“This season I expect the team to progress and build on the solid foundation that we started to build last year,” Baker said. “I think we have a chance to win the Conference Championship this year and I would like the team to show up and compete every week this season.
A couple names to watch for this upcoming season are junior Jay Sanders and senior Sydney Bowes.
“[Sanders] is in a great spot, hitting the ball really well and seeing a few putts fall,” Farrer said. “[Bowes] is hitting the ball well and making good decisions. We recently put a new driver in her hands, and I think that will really help her kickstart the spring season off.”
When competing during a golf tournament, each coach cannot follow every shot of every golfer that the Vikings have. The coaches have to be able to pick and choose what shots that they want to be at to coach their athletes on.
“Our goal as a staff is to find three to four areas on the course where we feel like we can help the most,” Farrer said. “Maybe it’s a tough tee shot with options, maybe it’s a second shot into a Par 5 that needs to be talked about. Depends on the course, love to find areas where we can see multiple holes.”
Both men’s and women’s teams are provided with very good resources and facilities for the team to work on their game. The team is provided with a golf simulator and access to several different courses as they practice for their competitions.
“The facilities that we have access to are very important to us,” Baker said. “When the weather is bad, having access to the simulator bay is so key to be able to keep working on our games in bad conditions. I love the access we have to Stonebridge, Coosa and Barnsley. Given the differences in the style of golf courses I think that these different courses help us practice and get comfortable on any situation we will see in tournaments.”
The 2025 men’s season starts March 3 at the Savannah Invitational, with the women starting the following week on March 10 also at the Savannah Invitational. The SAA championships take place April 25 through April 27 for both teams.