FAYETTEVILLE — Zach Coats is determined to show his hard work on the golf course has paid off.
Coats, a redshirt freshman at Arkansas, was like many first-year collegiate golfers this past season. After a stellar career at Springdale Har-Ber as one of the state’s top high school golfers, this school year at Arkansas was spent keeping up with the tougher competition.
Coats redshirted this year, but despite missing out on competitive tournaments with the Razorbacks, he believes he needed a redshirt season to improve the most important aspect of his game.
AT A GLANCE
ASGA Stroke Play
WHEN: Today
WHERE: Paradise Valley Athletic Club, Fayetteville
NOTABLE: Two-round men’s stroke play tournament is a designated event on the Arkansas State Golf Association schedule. … Field of 84 players.
“Getting out of your own way and having confidence in yourself, that’s the main thing I’ve worked on,” Coats said. “Your physical game can always stand to improve, but the mental part of your game is what makes the difference.
“You have to have confidence in yourself and be able to get out of your own way, and that’s what I’ve worked on this year.”
Coats won 18 tournaments in his final two years at Har-Ber and was the 7A-West Conference and Class 7A Tournament medalist in his senior season. This weekend, he’s looking to add another victory to his credit when he takes on the competition at the ASGA Stroke Play Invitational at Paradise Valley Athletic Club.
“Coach (Brad) McMakin does a good job of giving us options as far as tournaments to play in the summer,” Coats said. “For me, I’m working this summer so I can’t be out there all the time.
“But really it’s up to us to find these tournaments to play in, and this is a good tournament for me because it’s just down the road. And there will be some good players in this tournament.”
The lessons learned growing up in golf and more particularly in his first year of college are already paying off for Coats. He won a U.S. Open local qualifying event in Raymore, Mo., on May 15. That led to his first appearance in a U.S. Open sectional qualifying tournament, where he squared off against PGA Tour professionals for a spot in the U.S. Open field.
“Playing in my first U.S. Open sectional was a great experience,” Coats said. “When you make it to sectionals, you’re playing against the pros, and that was great for my confidence.”
Tim Aynes had a first-hand look at Coats’ progression on the course as the head golf coach at Springdale Har-Ber. After watching him tear up the local competition in high school, Aynes isn’t surprised how well his former player is developing at the next level.
“I thought probably
by his junior year Zach was definitely good enough to play in college,” Aynes said. “And it wasn’t just the physical tools he had, it was the mental game as well.
“That’s what set him apart. I’ve had other golfers who were good enough to play somewhere in college, but the mental approach was the main difference with Zach.”
No matter the result this weekend at the ASGA Stroke Play, the main focus for Coats is to work his way into the regular lineup at Arkansas.
“It’s really nice being close to home,” Coats said. “There’s just a feeling that you’re like always at home, so there’s no reason to leave. I always wanted to play at Arkansas, so there was no reason to go anywhere else.”