From ace player to coach
By Cristian Alardin
Bridge contributing writer
Published Friday, Feb. 4, 2022
He was the 2019 Southern Texas PGA Amateur of the Year and now he’s preparing the Dustdevils golf team for victory in the upcoming spring championships.
New assistant coach and former Dustdevils golf player Parker Holekamp, could be the catalyst the Dustdevils need.
Assistant coach and former Dustdevils golf player Parker Holecamp stays with TAMIU.
“[The transition from coach to player] was pretty easy,” Holecamp said. “I’ve always had an eye with what people were doing with their own golf games because I was an accomplished player. It made it easier to see what other people needed help with.”
With the experience Holekamp garnered since high school golf, he earned a knack for understanding the stakes and the plays of the sport.
“I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations on the golf course, and I think being a coach goes with being a mentor,” he said. “It helps knowing the situations and being able to give first-hand accounts [to the team].”
When it comes to his coaching style, Holekamp prefers to help when the players ask for it rather than offering it.
“I’m hands-off on the golf course,” he said. “I help with the preparation but let them do their own things, because they’re the ones ultimately doing the work.”
That approach is not the only thing Holekamp approaches differently.
“Golf is a bit different when it comes down to the team,” he said. “It’s so different in golf because we’re an individual sport turned into a team sport–so to get better as a team, [they] have to get better individually … Training to be better athletes, a lot of people don’t think we should train like athletes but we do–all around strengthening and conditioning. I think if we get in better shape–stronger, faster–that’s something that’s going to pay off in the long run.”
Coach Rudy Gonzalez shared his thoughts on Holekamp becoming the assistant coach.
“He was the most successful player in our program’s history, so he understands the division and what it takes to play at that level,” Gonzalez said. “He’s been on the team for five years, so he learned my coaching style as a player. Typically there are 16 personalities on the men’s and women’s golf team [that we] have to bring together to perform as one.”
