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Crabtree's Blueprint Works Again
June 04, 2002 | Men's Golf
June 4, 2002
A little more than three years ago, Mark Crabtree packed up the blueprints and winning formula that helped him turn a dormant Colorado State program into a national power and headed to the Derby City with the intent of turning the Louisville men's golf program into a regional, then a national power. Having just put the finishing touches on his third season at helm of the Cardinal program, it looks like Crabtree's recipe for success is paying off once again.
One of several coaches handpicked by athletics director Tom Jurich to help lead the well-rounded and highly-successful Louisville athletics department into the new millennium, Crabtree has had immediate success in his new home. In three seasons, Crabtree's Cards have posted the top three team and individual season stroke averages in school history and the top two career stroke averages. During the recently completed season, the Cards topped the team season record established during Crabtree's inaugural season at U of L while senior Grant Sturgeon broke the individual season stroke record established the year before by Chris Campbell, who twice earned All-Conference USA accolades under Crabtree's direction.
"Watching the success Mark had building the Colorado State program from the ground up, it's comes as no surprise that he has been able to repeat that same process here at the University of Louisville," Jurich said. "Mark is a winner, a leader and a tremendous recruiter ... he has the ability to bring the best out of his student-athletes and I am extremely confident that he will lead Cardinal golf up to the level of the nation's premiere programs."
While Jurich had complete confidence in Crabtree's ability to build a strong program on his own, he went a step further, as he has done with virtually ever sport across the board, and ensured that his new coach would have facilities that could rival any program across the country. The Cardinal Club, the luxurious and state-of-the-art home course of the Cardinals, opened during the fall of 2001 and with it began a new chapter for both men's and women's golf programs.
"With the opening of The Cardinal Club last fall, we've had an opportunity to elevate our program in terms of the quality of the young people who are looking at our program," Crabtree said. "The Cardinal Club offers everything to the young golfer ... it's a great practice facility, a great golf course to play on and it has all of the available amenities to allow our players to develop over their four years here. Additionally, it now allows us to host our own tournament and you cannot put a value on that."
With facilities in place, Crabtree put his plan of action into work and began assembling a squad which could contend in a highly-competitive Conference USA field that houses a pair of national powers in UAB and TCU. Recruiting has always been a strong suit of Crabtree's and that talent is clearly illustrated by the strength of last year's freshman class. Brett Jones, Mark Anderson and Charlie Woo were mainstays in the Cardinal lineup throughout their freshman campaigns and finished the season ranked as the nation's No. 5 freshman class according to the Golfstat Freshman Class Impact Rankings.
That freshman class helped the Cards log four of the school's top 10 single round team scores during the 2001-02 season, including the top two rounds in school history at U of L's tournament victory at the Earl Yestingmeier Invitational. Jones' second-round 66 at the event tied Jay Davis for the second-best single round in school history while Anderson's second-round 67 tied four others for fourth in the record book.
Jones, a former Kentucky state high school champion and C-USA Freshman of the Year, logged three top 10 finishes during the season and finished only four strokes off of Sturgeon's record-setting pace set. Anderson also logged three top 10 finishes, including a third-place finish at the El Diablo Intercollegiate, and recently emerged from a field of 72 competitors to qualify for a U.S. Open Sectional. The duo finished their freshman campaigns with two of the top six single season stroke averages ever at U of L and appear to be a strong base to build upon.
"I was really pleased with the progress that Brett Jones, Mark Anderson and Charlie Woo showed over the course of the season, all three of them were strong competitors and showed the ability to play at a high level," Crabtree said. "We're really excited about what those players will bring to the table next season in terms of their leadership and experience."
With a young and talented squad and top-notch facilities at his disposal it appears that Crabtree's recipe for success is brewing another winner at U of L.
