The number of MBA competitive NCCGA programs doubled in the past year to two. Yes, that's right, MIT Sloan joined Babson MBA as the only other active MBA club golf team in the NCCGA. I had the chance to catch up with John Mahler, the club president of the team to see how their experience went this fall.
Did the NCCGA golf experience differ from varsity college golf?
I played for a short time at UC Berkeley but never made it to competitive varsity golf. The quality of the people who run the NCCGA tournaments and venues were just as good as any tournament that we would play as a D1 varsity golfer or junior golfer. The courses were great and the tournaments were really well run. The biggest different is that there was a great feeling of camaraderie of people competing against one another. We played with some guys from New Hampshire Club Golf over two days and we felt like we made friends with them by the end of the weekend.
Initial impressions of the NCCGA?
It seemed like a really well run organization from a tournament standpoint. Some guys on my team had never played tournament golf and really enjoyed the experience of getting scorecards with their names on them and the whole feel of the event altogether.
Why did the MIT Sloan Golf Team become competitive?
We had a golf club on campus which many people were involved in but there was an appetite within our membership of the club to have a team that played in something a little more serious. We had a few practices, staid up in New Hampshire in a cabin. I not only saw a lot of improvement in the games of our teammates but it was a great way to spend time with them outside of the classroom and create relationships with people that will be in my network for a long time.
Is your school's MBA club ready to compete?
Where do you guys take advantage of the Nextgen Collegiate Memberships?
All of our practices were held at Nextgen Collegiate courses that offered college rates as you guys have an amazing course network in the Boston area. We played Red Tail on a Thursday as well as Stow Acres. Looking at the normal rates around Boston, the deals you guys have are incredible. A large number of the members are actively using the Nextgen memberships even after the season has ended.
Parting Thoughts?
Especially for graduate students competing in the NCCGA is a great opportunity to get involved in a competitive team sport setting. For a lot of us this is the last time we can play on a competitive college team. Golf is an awesome sport for people in grad school because it's not like you have to be in the greatest shape and other sports for grad schools teams don't have competitive leagues like the NCCGA. For our members this was the coolest way for them to get involved in competitive team sports for last times in their lives.
**Mike Belkin is a Co-Founder of Nextgengolf. Contact him on Twitter @MikeBelkin11
