By JON WEBB
GLASGOW — Kent Bulle and his Middle Tennessee State teammates never seem to get off to a good start. But this fall, they’ve had no problems finishing.
The Glasgow graduate helped lead his golf team to its first top 25 ranking (“25 on the numbers”) since it joined Division I, and the ascension came in dramatic fashion.
The Blue Raiders overcame a 12-stroke deficit on the last day of play to win a playoff against then third-ranked Georgia Tech and 10th-ranked South Carolina at the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate Tournament.
Middle Tennessee also beat 18th-ranked Chattanooga in a tournament after trailing by nine strokes.
“For some reason, we’re always behind the eight-ball from the get go,” Bulle said. “But we have a really tough group of guys. A bunch of guys that don’t like losing.”
Losing isn’t something Bulle and the Blue Raiders have had to worry about this fall.
The team posted a 54-7 record in fall play, a far cry from the performances the program turned in when Bulle first arrived four years ago.
“(The program) has changed tremendously,” Bulle said. “I went in there my freshman year, and we were ranked somewhere around 100th in the country.
“It’s crazy how we were one of the teams that just showed up (at tournaments). But maybe around my sophomore or junior year, that started to change.”
Bulle has been a big part of that change.
The senior earned medalist honors at the Aldila Scenic Invite in Chattanooga to notch his second career win. He also was the low man for the Blue Raiders in the fall, averaging a little more than 71 per round.
Bulle said he expects his team, and his own game, to improve once the spring season begins.
“I expect us to keep getting better,” he said. “We can’t practice as a team anymore, but (winter) is the most crucial time (for a player).”
According to Bulle, he obtained that knowledge the hard way.
He said he used to neglect golf in the cold, Midwestern months and assume he could keep pace with golfers who practice year round. Now he knows better.
“I used to take winters off and play high school basketball. I wouldn’t touch my sticks for months,” he said. “But you’ve got guys in Florida or Arizona, where they have warm weather year round, and they’re still working on their games, so it’s a crucial time.”
The spring golf season begins in February, and will serve as Bulle’s last as a collegiate player. He said he plans to turn pro after the conclusion of the NCAA finals in June.
After that, Bulle said he’ll play some professional events over the summer before returning to Middle Tennessee for a fifth year of school, where he’ll serve as “kind of graduate assistant” to the golf program.
Bulle’s last season officially begins Feb. 21 at the Jaguar Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala.
