Loyola Club Golf is entering the year with high expectations and exciting changes under its new leadership. Andrew Degen ‘27 is taking on the role of club president, making him one of the youngest student to ever hold the position at 20 years old. He is looking to bring new energy and camaraderie to a team that has struggled in recent years.
Degen hopes to accomplish many things this year and explained his love for the game, along with his desire to take on more leadership roles.
“I always loved golf. It has been a staple in my life for seven to eight years. Going to school, I wanted to do club golf, but this last year I wanted more of a leadership role,” Degen said.
For his goals, Degen wants to bring back the team spirit, recalling how over the last few years the group has not really felt like a team.
Degen expects challenges this year, particularly in bringing the team closer together. He noted that many players are unfamiliar with one another.
“A lot of the guys don’t know each other. When we see one another on campus, we don’t say hi, and I want to change that. Changing [that] is difficult, but I think this group is doing that,” Degen said.
To change the team’s culture, Degen plans to host more inner-squad tournaments, similar to the format of the Ryder Cup, so that the members of the team can compete against each other and build more chemistry.
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf tournament between two teams, the United States and Europe, that recently occurred from Sept. 26 to 28 at the Bethpage Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York.
The Ryder Cup well displays this inner-squad style of tournament at a larger scale, where the best golfers in the world from the two regions come together on their teams and build bonds with one another, making them all stronger.
Degen also plans to revive the team’s competitive side by playing in more tournaments.
“The past few years, there haven’t been many tournaments throughout the semester, and it has been my priority that there will be more,” Degen said.
The first tournament of the year is scheduled for Oct. 11 and 12 at the Augustine Golf Club in Virginia, marking a new chapter for the Loyola club golf team. George Washington University is hosting the tournament with participation expected from Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and other schools.
Degen brings leadership experience to the role. The junior currently serves as an Evergreen and works at Loyola’s Fitness and Aquatic Center.
Degen recently spoke with Brandon Tuccio ’24, a past club president, who noted that few juniors have held the leadership position. The pair discussed lessons learned from past years and also ways to garner more tournaments, activities, and experience for the team.
Looking ahead, Degen’s vision is centered on team bonding and consistency.
“[My vision is] more camaraderie within the team, competing more regularly, which has been a challenge in the past, but we are going to try everything in our power to be in more tournaments. Consistency is key, and we want to bring that going forward,” Degen said.
Loyola Club Golf is now preparing for its first tournament of the season in Virginia. Keep up with the team and their progress on their Instagram account here.