University of Georgia Athletics
Ralston Poised For Big Finish
August 29, 2019 | Men's Golf, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
There is a rotating photo gallery that goes with Spencer Ralston's bio page here on GeorgiaDogs.com. They're all shots from what has already been a great golf career with the Bulldogs, a career that begins its final quarter in 2019-20.
The senior from Gainesville, Ga., and his teammates are in Pebble Beach, Calif., this weekend for the season-opening Carmel Cup.
"I think it's felt like it's gone by quickly," Ralston said this week of his Georgia career, "because we do the same thing most of the year, so when you kind of get into a routine of things you sometimes lose track of time. But it's been all fun. I guess it feels short but it actually hasn't been."
The Ralston that I chatted with in the Bulldogs' locker room Monday looks a bit different from the one in those photos. He's more fit these days and sports a sharp-looking beard. Ralston has a relaxed and confident air about him, and for good reason: he's played the best golf of his life over the past year.
As a junior, Ralston played 26 rounds for the Bulldogs; he shot par or better 22 times, shot in the 60s 13 times, posted top-10 finishes six times and top-20 finishes in 10 events. Ralston earned his first collegiate victory last March at the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga., finishing 11-under for the event after a final-round 66.
Ralston's spring scoring average was a team-best 69.9 and he was named an honorable mention All-American for the second year in a row.
"He had a really good fall his sophomore year and then didn't play very good in the spring," longtime men's golf coach Chris Haack said. "This past year, he played good in the fall and the spring, and kept that momentum going in the summer."
It was a summer spent on the golf course, a summer spent playing well on the golf course. The highlight was a come-from-way-behind win at the Players Amateur at the Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C., in July. Ralston began the day 11 strokes behind 54-hole leader Stewart Hagesttad before firing a final-round 63 to win by a stroke at 19-under.
"You learn from experience that you don't have to play perfect golf to win," Ralston said. "I kind of found that out in the Players Am; now I had a great final round, shot 63 the final round which was a great day, but the first three rounds there were definitely shots that I lost that I could have picked up."
In a lot of ways, that tournament represented Ralston's game to a tee. When he's not playing his best, particularly with the driver in his hand, he still finds a way to shoot a good score or at least avoid a big number, fellow senior Calum Masters said. And if the driver is working well, very good things tend to follow.
"If he's hitting his spots you know he's going to take it deep because he putts so well, he's going to make everything," Masters said. "And then it also helps because the days he's not hitting it well, he's going to scramble his tail off and probably shoot even par or even 1-under or something.
"Just with his short game and putting, he's never really out of it. And once he gets rolling with the ball-striking, you better watch out for sure."
Watch out, like that 63. That day he had eight birdies and an eagle on his round when he got to the 18th hole. A bogey on the final hole after driving behind a tree shrunk his two-stroke lead down to one, but he held on for the victory.
A couple of weeks later, at the U.S. Amateur held earlier this month at Pinehurst in North Carolina, Ralston played his way through the stroke-play portion and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the match play, capping off his summer and sending him into his final fall with the Bulldogs with a lot of momentum.
"I think his biggest strength is his demeanor on the golf course, his confidence — he just knows how to play the game," Haack said. "One of the things that you realize when you recruit kids and see them play, you see a lot of great golf swings and see a lot of guys that can just hit it like the pros — but then the real guys that stand out are the ones who can really play and understand that the game is about getting the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes. And he seems to get that about as well as anybody we've ever had."
Ralston is currently No. 25 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, this after finishing his junior year ranked in the 40s in the two NCAA Division I rankings. When we talked, Ralston said he hadn't yet sat down and pondered his goals for his final year at Georgia, though he hoped to before teeing off at Pebble Beach.
He'll have some big goals, of course, but it's the small ones and checking those off your list that, as they start to add up, can really make for a great year.
"I think it's better to set kind of small goals; if you set small goals you can achieve those more often and you can get some satisfaction in that," he said. "Obviously I'll have some big goals but the small goals kind of get you ready to do the things you want to do in the end."
Staff Writer
There is a rotating photo gallery that goes with Spencer Ralston's bio page here on GeorgiaDogs.com. They're all shots from what has already been a great golf career with the Bulldogs, a career that begins its final quarter in 2019-20.
The senior from Gainesville, Ga., and his teammates are in Pebble Beach, Calif., this weekend for the season-opening Carmel Cup.
"I think it's felt like it's gone by quickly," Ralston said this week of his Georgia career, "because we do the same thing most of the year, so when you kind of get into a routine of things you sometimes lose track of time. But it's been all fun. I guess it feels short but it actually hasn't been."
The Ralston that I chatted with in the Bulldogs' locker room Monday looks a bit different from the one in those photos. He's more fit these days and sports a sharp-looking beard. Ralston has a relaxed and confident air about him, and for good reason: he's played the best golf of his life over the past year.
As a junior, Ralston played 26 rounds for the Bulldogs; he shot par or better 22 times, shot in the 60s 13 times, posted top-10 finishes six times and top-20 finishes in 10 events. Ralston earned his first collegiate victory last March at the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga., finishing 11-under for the event after a final-round 66.
Ralston's spring scoring average was a team-best 69.9 and he was named an honorable mention All-American for the second year in a row.
"He had a really good fall his sophomore year and then didn't play very good in the spring," longtime men's golf coach Chris Haack said. "This past year, he played good in the fall and the spring, and kept that momentum going in the summer."
It was a summer spent on the golf course, a summer spent playing well on the golf course. The highlight was a come-from-way-behind win at the Players Amateur at the Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C., in July. Ralston began the day 11 strokes behind 54-hole leader Stewart Hagesttad before firing a final-round 63 to win by a stroke at 19-under.
"You learn from experience that you don't have to play perfect golf to win," Ralston said. "I kind of found that out in the Players Am; now I had a great final round, shot 63 the final round which was a great day, but the first three rounds there were definitely shots that I lost that I could have picked up."
In a lot of ways, that tournament represented Ralston's game to a tee. When he's not playing his best, particularly with the driver in his hand, he still finds a way to shoot a good score or at least avoid a big number, fellow senior Calum Masters said. And if the driver is working well, very good things tend to follow.
"If he's hitting his spots you know he's going to take it deep because he putts so well, he's going to make everything," Masters said. "And then it also helps because the days he's not hitting it well, he's going to scramble his tail off and probably shoot even par or even 1-under or something.
"Just with his short game and putting, he's never really out of it. And once he gets rolling with the ball-striking, you better watch out for sure."
Watch out, like that 63. That day he had eight birdies and an eagle on his round when he got to the 18th hole. A bogey on the final hole after driving behind a tree shrunk his two-stroke lead down to one, but he held on for the victory.
A couple of weeks later, at the U.S. Amateur held earlier this month at Pinehurst in North Carolina, Ralston played his way through the stroke-play portion and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the match play, capping off his summer and sending him into his final fall with the Bulldogs with a lot of momentum.
"I think his biggest strength is his demeanor on the golf course, his confidence — he just knows how to play the game," Haack said. "One of the things that you realize when you recruit kids and see them play, you see a lot of great golf swings and see a lot of guys that can just hit it like the pros — but then the real guys that stand out are the ones who can really play and understand that the game is about getting the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes. And he seems to get that about as well as anybody we've ever had."
Ralston is currently No. 25 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, this after finishing his junior year ranked in the 40s in the two NCAA Division I rankings. When we talked, Ralston said he hadn't yet sat down and pondered his goals for his final year at Georgia, though he hoped to before teeing off at Pebble Beach.
He'll have some big goals, of course, but it's the small ones and checking those off your list that, as they start to add up, can really make for a great year.
"I think it's better to set kind of small goals; if you set small goals you can achieve those more often and you can get some satisfaction in that," he said. "Obviously I'll have some big goals but the small goals kind of get you ready to do the things you want to do in the end."
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Georgia Men's Golf NCAAs Regionals Recap
Wednesday, May 20
Georgia Men's Golf SEC Championship - Quarterfinals - Postmatch Interview - Coach Haack
Saturday, April 26
Georgia Men's Golf SEC Championship - Round 3 - Video Recap
Friday, April 25
Georgia Men's Golf SEC Championship - Round 2 Video Recap
Thursday, April 24