Update from Head Men's Golf Coach Mike Binney -- December 2024

Dear Bison Golf Nation,

As we close the books on the 2024 Fall semester, I want to wish everyone in Bison Golf Nation a hearty Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

The team has already started departing campus as they finish finals and leave for winter break. Each semester is a mix of semester-ending projects, papers, and final exams, and it never ceases to amaze me how dedicated these guys are to their academic pursuits. On top of that, I am continually amazed at the abilities of these student-athletes to juggle a rigorous academic load and play a Division I sport at the same time (…and for four years!). The payoff at the end of the road, degree in hand, is hard for them to wrap their arms around, but each year, two or three players graduate from the program with a Bucknell degree and go on to do great things on Wall Street in Finance, Accounting, Wealth Management and maybe even a little professional golf! I’m proud of what these guys have been doing on and off the course over the past 11 years.

The spring season will be here before we know it, and we talk regularly during our team meetings about our upcoming tournament travel. This spring, we’ll again travel to Phoenix, Myrtle Beach, and Sand Diego as part of our “northeast cold-weather mitigation program!” The trip to Phoenix is always highly anticipated since it’s only three short weeks after we return for the start of classes, and everyone knows that getting out of Lewisburg in mid-February for warmer climates is good for the soul!

Only a few weeks after getting back from Phoenix, Bison Golf takes its show on the road again to Myrtle Beach and Appalachian State’s event at the Surf Club, 9 – 11 March. As anyone who has traveled to Myrtle Beach for golf in the middle of winter knows, sometimes you get nice weather, and sometimes, not so much! The past two years, we have experienced some challenging weather, but we always manage to have a good time while we are down there. Spring Break is kind of a hybrid week as we spend the first four days in team mode, and then the boys cut loose from Myrtle and venture home or to warmer climes for the remainder of break so they hopefully get the best of both: competition and some relaxing downtime.

Without much delay after Spring Break, the team heads back to San Diego and UCSD’s event at Torrey Pines. For the past two years, we’ve played the event on the North Course, but this year, for the first time, the event will be hosted on the South Course, which has hosted decades of PGA tour events as well as the 2008 U.S. Open when Tiger and Rocco battled it out in an historic playoff. Those are the first three events of the spring season, and when we return home, the team has a pair of events locally, at Maryland and Penn State, before we finish the 2024-25 season at home with the Patriot League Championships at The Bucknell Golf Club!

If you’d like any information about any of the events in the spring, please do not hesitate to shoot me a note, and I can get you the specifics of our travel if you want to come out and support the team! Thank you to those who have already supported our program with a gift this year. If you would like to make a gift before the end of the calendar year, you can do so HERE.

I wish everyone the very best during the holidays and look forward to keeping in touch with everyone throughout the spring season.

Go Bison!
Coach Binney

Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu

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