An Invitation from Paul Schock: The Jackrabbit
This note is to introduce you to an exciting opportunity to take part in this fall’s The Jackrabbit at the end of September. It’s not simply an event for college players, but one for us amateurs, as well.
The Jackrabbit is an elite college golf tournament hosted by the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and their head coach Casey VanDamme. This is the second year of what we expect to be an annual tradition for many years to come at The Prairie Club. Casey and his staff have done exemplary work with this event so far.
For the 2016 playing, there will be 11 college teams, including our Nebraska Huskers, as well as top-ranked teams in Clemson, Tennesse, and Missouri. There are a few up-and-coming teams in Oregon State and Central Florida, both in our field.
A flavor of what to expect…
In last year’s event, among other notable participants, we had both Arizona State, coached by Tim Mickelson (Phil’s brother) and Oregon, coached by Casey Martin. This spring, Oregon won the NCAA championship, and their best player, 2016 Jackrabbit champion Aaron Wise, won the NCAA individual title (you can read more about it here). It was exciting to see their successes on the big stage after playing alongside them in the fall.
The ASU Sun Devil golf team included Jon Rahm, who at the time was the number one ranked amateur in the world. You may remember Jon’s name on account of what he did recently in his first professional event on the PGA Tour: he finished third at Congressional and won over $400,000.
Last year I played with Jon Rahm, and it was an experience I will never forget. He was humble, respectful, and made a great impression on not only me, but our entire group. I have a feeling he’ll go on to do very special things in golf, expanding on what he’s already done.
To be able to watch players of this caliber on our own course with small crowds is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. In addition to watching them in the event, there is also a “College-Am” event on the day of the practice round. In this event, sponsors have the opportunity to play 18 holes with the top amateurs in the field.
The dates and sponsor/participant opportunities are listed below.
Please note that the event will be played on the Dunes Course, which means that during the event, you will have regular and unlimited access to the Pines and Horse courses. A portion of the proceeds for participating go to support the golf program of South Dakota State.
All of that information and more can be learned from Mandi, our Membership Director.
I hope to see you there. My guess is that if you come once, you will come again as often as you can. It’s that good!
It’d be great if you could join us,
Paul