Fore! Lively native hoping for top 10 at NAIA golf nationals

There is but one chapter to be written in the post-secondary story of Lively golfer Alex Watier, yet he has already begun the sequel, kicking off the next phase of his life.

Overall, the 22-year-old is more than a little pleased with the novel that is unfolding.

Just completing his final year of studies in Sports Management at Michigan's Davenport University, and a senior captain on the Panthers men's golf team, the graduate of Lively District Secondary School has enjoyed a steady progression during his four-year stay at the Grand Rapids (Michigan) institution.

"My freshman year, I didn't really have a great year," said Watier last week in the dining lounge of the Lively Golf & Country Club. "I had a couple of good tournaments, but overall, it wasn't a great year."

"Every year, I got more comfortable with the other players. This year, I felt like I was right at home. Even if you look at my scoring average, it's actually about a shot less each year," Watier continued.

"Tournament performance-wise, there were more top 10s, more top fives in my third and fourth year. This year, I won two tournaments and finished second in the conference event individually."

Even more important for Watier and his teammates, the Panthers captured their NAIA conference crown (Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference), earning a berth at the nationals in Daytona Beach from May 19-22.

This will mark the second trip to the event for Watier, with Davenport having qualified in his sophomore season. But with three of the Panthers top five golfers graduating next month, it was time to put the improvements of the past few years to one final test.

"I kind of revamped my swing a little bit, going into my third year," explained Watier. "Something that I had seen, and that (former Lively golf pro) John Hastie had noticed. I wanted to be more consistent, and the only way to do it was to get my swing more consistent."

"My swing was all about timing at first, and if my timing was off that day, it was hard for me to score well," Watier continued. "Now, my timing still has to be on, but it's a much more natural swing."

"My strong suit is definitely that I keep the ball in play," he said. "I don't spray the ball a lot, so it avoids high numbers. And I pick up a lot of strokes in chipping and putting."

But even as he focuses on the challenge of nationals ahead, Watier has other things on his mind. With the departure of Hastie, who joined up with Sam Yawney and the Golf Sudbury crew over the winter, opportunities became available in Lively.

"John was GM and Director of Golf," explained Watier. "I have just taken over the golf side, Mark Taylor is our new GM."

Watier will have the whole summer, and beyond, to help care for the course on which his love of golf was born. In the meantime, there is one final item to be take care of before his time at Davenport is behind him.

"We would like to go to nationals and compete," said Watier. "We didn't play very well two years ago, didn't make the cut. We would like to finish in the top 10." That would provide an end to his post-secondary chapter that Watier could easily live with.