1. Ryan Hackman
Golf R.H.
Spotlighting the North Central Women’s Golf team
“Atmosphere” matters according to Alyssa Gaudio, graduate assistant women’s golf coach at
North Central College. Gaudio says that she has been golfing since her freshman year of high
school, adding that her favorite part of golf is, “the mental aspect of the game.”
She also said that golf is both a team and individual sport and that it is a “contagious
atmosphere,” meaning if one person is motivated to succeed, others will be motivated to follow.
When she is on the links, Gaudio cites her favorite moment as when teammates work together
and all players set and achieve their goals.
Golf can be a sport that can take a while for someone to get into mid-season form especially at
the beginning. Thus, she says that her best tip for current and future golfers is to never give up;
don’t feel bad, others may be struggling as well. “Every shot counts,” Gaudio says.
Gaudio notes that her favorite moment in golf was in the 2008 Masters when Tiger Woods made
a shot for birdie for either the 16th or 17th hole.
North Central student Mary Kate Rohn said one of her favorite places to golf around Chicago is
at Cog Hill in Lemont, where she also works. She noted that Cog Hill has held many
professional PGA tours. She said she also enjoys golfing outside of Chicago. “Back in January, I
was in Jamaica and I played at a golf course called Cinnamon Hill and that was the most
beautiful place I have ever been” said Rohn.
Rohn said that her favorite moment since joining the College golf team is when she was one of
the five that represented the NCAA Division III National Tournament at Mission Inn resort in
May 2011 near Orlando, Florida.
North Central student Kayla Hutcherson said that what got her into golf is, “I played softball as a
child but then my father was kind of overbearing, so I decided to do something that he couldn’t
coach me in” said Hutcherson. She said that she has played golf since high school.
Hutcherson said that her best tip to be successful in golf is that golfers cannot take a day off
because things can go south quickly. Furthermore, she said that it’s important to constantly
practice instead of “practice makes perfect,” its “perfect practice makes perfect.”