Responses from online chat with Houston head golf coach Mike Dirks
conducted Thursday, Mar. 30.
Hosted By UHCougars.com
| Bill North asks Coach, is the team sponsored by any apparel companies like Football and Basketball,and which one? |
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| Right now the golf team is wearing Ashworth Some of Alumni are out there in the PGA Tour and they have assisted in getting the Ashworth line for our team. |
| Bill North asks Can you tell us about the 2 Freshman from Houston and what other schools they were being recruited by? |
| Brett Callas was also recuited by Sam Houston, A&M, Lamar, and Texas. He won the Tom Kite Junior Chrysler Classic and he qualified for the US Junior last year. Drives very straight and we will be working on his short game to make sure he will be playing in every event.
Kevin Hermis is redshirting this year. I think he is one of the players that will help us in the future. He is very enthusiastic - I think playing with the older guys has helped him a great deal and he's learned a lot about playing at the collegiate level. |
| Ryan Monceaux asks Coach -- would you consider this year's team your best shot (so far) of taking home No. 17? |
| I think talent wise this is our best team, one to five. We may not be ranked the highest right now, but talent wise in the the end, I think this is the best team we've had. |
| Chris Hill asks What is the status on building a golfing complex on campus (Driving range, putting green, indoor training facility)? |
| On campus, I don't know. We are exploring the possibilities of a golf course and practice facilities, but this will be nearby off campus. |
| PJ Robin asks Coach Dirks is it true that the Cougars will be on TV? |
| The tournament that we leave for (US Collegiate) on April 5th will be televised on April the 8th. ESPN is carrying the program from 11 am - 1 pm (CT). The final round will be April the 9th from 1 pm - 3 pm (CT). Joel Myers, Bill Kratzert, and Robert Wrenn will be announcing the event. |
| Sally Ride asks There are talks about adding Women's Golf at UH. Would you take on the role of Men's and Women's Head Coach |
| Yes, I have heard that women's golf will probably be the next sport added. The has been no talk as to who will take over and run that program. |
| Ryan Monceaux asks Coach -- can you comment on which school the player from Baytown is from, and if he has signed a NLI, can you give us his name? |
| He has not signed an NLI. He will be a recruited walk-on. |
| Ryan Monceaux asks Coach -- we've heard rumors that C-USA might be stronger than in years past. Who should compete with our Coogs for the conference title? |
| It's still UAB. They are the toughest competition this year. South Florida is in there and probably North Carolina at Charlotte. |
| Shon Mayberry asks Coach, is the rest of Conference USA improving? |
| Yes! UAB is currently ranked 26th or 27th and South Florida just shot 18 under par to win the Beau Chene Tournament. We have about four very competitive teams and that is more than in the past. |
| Peter J.Robin asks Coach Dirks, Tell us more about this new player Simon Robinson? |
| Simon Robinson started in the spring semester of 2000. He is a freshman from England. Simon won the International Foundation for Junior Golf Championship (Doug Sanders International) - this brings together the top two players from each country to compete. He also won the Great Gamitor. |
| Fred Morgan asks What does your recruiting look like for next year? Good luck and keep up the tradition. |
| We have a commitment from one of the best players in Australia. A player from Bay town - they will both be freshman.
Things look good for next season - we will lose two senior, but with the athletes we have coming in I think we will be better than we ever have been. Regarding recruiting - we will look nationally, in the states, and in Texas. We will look to recruit the best that is out there. |