BOAZ, Ala. – After a solid fall season, the Snead State Community College Men's Golf team is currently considered one of the nation's top junior college programs heading into the spring.
According to GolfStat.com, the Parsons are ranked No. 19 in NCJAA Division I.
Through five tournaments played over the fall, Snead State recorded three top-3 finishes.
In September, the Parsons placed fifth out of 13 teams in the Dan York Invitational at Cross Creek in Cullman, Alabama, and then finished in second place out of 12 teams at the Chuck Kalanick Memorial at Twin Bridges in Gadsden, Alabama.
In October, the team places fifth out of nine teams in the Enterprise State Invitational at Enterprise Country Club. At the Wallace State Match Play held at Cross Creek, the Parsons finished third place out of eight.
Rounding out the fall season, the Parsons competed in the Jeff State Invitational at Musgrove Country Club in Jasper, Alabama, finishing third place out of 15 teams.
Thanks to a solid fall, the Parsons are currently ranked third in the ACCC, closely behind Wallace State (ranked 13th nationally) and Central Alabama (ranked 14 nationally).
Scheduled to play in seven tournaments this spring, the Parsons would qualify for the national championship tournament with a finish inside the top-7 in the district tournament April 24-25 at Melbourne, Florida.
This spring, the team will feature six sophomores and three freshman.
Snead State head coach Sam Holcomb, entering his second season leading the program, is excited for the potential of his team. But, the Parsons will have to fill a void left by Steven Locke, a freshman from Cleveland, Tennessee, who left the program after the fall. He was considered the No. 1 ranked player in the conference.
"We're going to miss him and what he was able to bring to the team," Holcomb said. "But we've got a good group of guys that have a lot of potential and can be really good if they play to the level they are capable of."
The Parsons' top-5 will likely be Andrew Miles, a sophomore from Centreville; Arrington Mooney, a sophomore from Selma; Carson Whatley, a sophomore from Clanton; Tommy Simmons, a sophomore from Southside; and Austin Burnham, a freshman from Pell City.
Holcomb said strengths of the team are their work ethic and consistency, but an area he would like to see improvement in is mental toughness.
"Golf is a mental game," he continued. "You've got to really be mentally tough, not let one bad shot weigh you down and ruin your entire round. You've got to be able to shake it off, and move on."
The Parsons are scheduled to kick off the spring season Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 30-31, at the Titan Winter Invitation in Melbourne, Florida.
Learn more about Snead State Men's Golf at www.sneadathletics.com.