The Royal men, who expect to field a full team this year, will open Sept. 16-17 at the Tom Kinder Memorial hosted by Bridgewater College at Lakeview Golf Course in Harrisonburg.聽 After an off week, they have back-to-back meets.聽 Averett hosts the VSGA Intercollegiate on Sept. 29-30, and ODAC opponent Randolph-Macon welcomes 91短视频 to the Ted Keller Memorial on Oct. 6-7.

The women play a separate schedule, opening at the Radford Invitational on Sept. 22-23.聽 The other two invites are hosted by conference opponents Washington and Lee followed by Bridgewater.聽 The Generals host on Oct. 1-2, and the Eagles host a two-day event on Oct. 15-16.

91短视频 will add the spring season later, which generally starts in late February.聽 The golf programs, coached by Wendell Eberly, will use as their home course.

In recent years however, women have started picking up clubs and taking a crack at the sport with some serious success (we’re not talking Rene Russo in the movie, “Tin Cup,” here).

Harrisonburg’s female golfing phenom and recent Harrisonburg High School graduate Brittany McDonaldson is one of these golfing girls. When she graduated this past spring, Brittany was the only female to play golf at HHS in the history of the program.

“They had a men’s team, and I just played on the men’s team. At first, [the guys] didn’t really know what to think about me, but after a while I became one of the boys,” said McDonaldson.

She has been playing with the boys since she was a kid; in fact it was her father who sparked her interest in the game.

“My dad started playing and had me caddy for him, and I liked it. I wanted to play myself, so I got into First Tee,” explained McDonaldson. First Tee is a local program that couples golf lessons with life skills and, through her participation, she moved from caddy to golfer.

Her experience as the only female golfer at HHS will come in handy this fall when McDonaldson starts as the sole female golfer on the brand new 91短视频 . She’s not too concerned about being the only girl on the squad so far.

“From high school, I was the only girl there, too; I’m kind of used to it,” she said.

If 91短视频 hadn’t added a golf program for the upcoming year, McDonaldson may have looked elsewhere to keep playing the game she loves. Luckily, this fall both McDonaldson and the university golf program will start their freshman year.

, who will be coaching both the men’s and women’s golf teams, explained how important it is to add the golf program.

“We’re hoping this program will bring the student athlete to 91短视频 that wouldn’t compete in another type of sport … We’re hoping there are students that will consider [91短视频] now who wouldn’t have otherwise,” Eberly explained.

McDonaldson said 91短视频 was attractive for two reasons.

“[91短视频] was getting a women’s golf team, and they have a really good ,” said McDonaldson.

She followed in her father’s footsteps with golf, but it will be her mother’s profession she’ll pursue. “My mom is a nurse, so I’ve been around it. I like taking care of people,” she explained.

“Brittany is a very good student, she’s going to go into the nursing program, she’s very intelligent and a good golfer,” Eberly said.

As the only female golfer on the team, the , which 91短视频 belongs to, must score Brittany a bit differently. Typically for tournaments five players compete, with the top four scores compiling the total. A one-player team will change the process.

“I’ll just have to play as an individual,” she explained.

McDonaldson doesn’t seem concerned; she’s used to standing as the only female on the green, but Eberly is hoping to fill five remaining slots on the team.

The golf program will call Heritage Oaks its home green and McDonaldson’s no stranger to the course; she works there and it’s her favorite in the area. She uses the course to keep sharp in the off-season.

“I mainly hit balls every day and play a few times a week,” she said.

McDonaldson has no plans to retire her clubs after school, saying, “I’ll definitely keep playing after college.”

Courtesy Daily News Record, July 10, 2012

He recently retired from a position with Rockingham County, spending more than 30 years with the county鈥檚 recreation department, including the last 28 as director.聽 Eberly coached the boy鈥檚 golf team at Eastern Mennonite High School this past year and also works at in Harrisonburg, which will be the home course for the Royals.

Further building on the connection with the city-owned course, David Johns, the head professional at Heritage Oaks, will provide additional instruction for the 91短视频 golfers.

91短视频 Director of Athletics feels the combination of the two men will be perfect for the start up of the program.

鈥淲endell brings a familiarity with the university, the Harrisonburg community and Heritage Oaks that will help him fit into the collegiate coaching role and get the golf program up and running,鈥� King explained.聽 鈥淒avid’s familiarity of golf programs, including his collegiate playing days at James Madison University, will help in establishing the golf program.聽 The combination of Wendell’s administrative experience and David’s teaching expertise and experience provides the foundation for a great start to our golf teams.聽 That combination will also be an attraction to recruits who want to improve their game.聽 The availability of both Wendell and David at the golf course will greatly benefit the players during their practice sessions.鈥�

Eberly was pleased to see 91短视频 add the sport on the varsity level.

鈥淭he more I started talking about this opportunity the more excited I got,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淚 love golf and it鈥檚 a great program for 91短视频 to get involved with as it provides a lifetime activity for the student-athletes.鈥�

Immediately after graduating from Eastern Mennonite in 1975, Eberly coached the women鈥檚 basketball team to three winning seasons on an interim basis preceding Hall of Honor coach .聽 He now brings his involvement with his alma mater full circle.

鈥淚鈥檝e been involved with 91短视频 for many years,鈥� said Eberly.聽 鈥淚 graduated from here, my wife graduated from here and we鈥檝e had two daughters graduate from here.聽 So I鈥檝e been involved with the community for many years and stayed up on their sports activities.聽 It鈥檚 a good institution and I鈥檓 excited to be a part of it.鈥�

The collegiate golf season spans all year, with events in both the fall and spring leading up to the ODAC Championship in April.聽 King knows that with the timing of the hiring, the majority of 91短视频鈥檚 first team members might already be on campus.

鈥淲hile we are really late in the recruiting process, we are hopeful that as Wendell gets started this week, we can still find a few student-athletes that would like to be a part of this new program,鈥� King said.聽 鈥淲e have a lot to learn about the golf program, but having Wendell and David working together, I believe that we can make up for lost time.聽 We are grateful to the Loyal Royals who have provided funding so Wendell can begin working immediately.鈥�

Eberly begins his work as 91短视频鈥檚 first golf coach this week.聽 He and his wife Carol live in Harrisonburg.聽 They have two grown daughters that live in the area along with two grandchildren.

The 2012-13 schedule will be released later this summer.