NORTHEAST MEN’S GOLF LEANS ON PREPARATION AS THEY BEGIN WHAT LOOKS TO BE AN EXCITING SPRING CAMPAIGN

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College men's golf team currently sits at No. 5 in the NJCAA DII men's golf rankings as they prepare to hit the course for the first time this spring Monday morning at Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Ty Heimes is entering his third season as the head coach of the Northeast men's golf program and Heimes is ready to see what his team looks like after practicing all winter.

"Really excited," Heimes said. "We had a good fall. We added a few key additions at the semester break that will really help us out. Adding those guys will be great to what we already have. We have some work to do, but we are excited to get going."

Golf is a rare sport that competes competitively in events that count towards national rankings in both the fall and the spring, and Heimes is hoping that the knowledge gained throughout the fall season will pay off for his squad in the upcoming months.

"We had a lot of freshmen that played," Heimes said. "They picked up some good experience and learned some good things. Our whole team worked extremely hard this winter to be ready to go for the spring."

The 2024-25 campaign was one of the most successful seasons in the history of the men's golf program at Northeast as the team finished the season with two individual winners of tournaments, three event victories, three ICCAC First Team All-Region players, an ICCAC Coach of the Year Award and a player named Second Team All-American.

Building off last year's success is something that Heimes wants his team to use to their advantage.

"Our goal is to get back to the national tournament," Heimes said. "We want to win regionals, and we want to win nationals. We're after both of those goals. Kirkwood has been fairly dominant in the region for the past decade, but we want to be peaking at the right time and paying our best golf at the end of the season when it matters most."

Scheduling is always important in golf to make sure you are playing quality opponents in weather conditions that will simulate postseason play, and Heimes feels that his team will be prepared as ever to compete at a high level down the stretch this season.

"We have a good tournament to start off with down in Oklahoma," Heimes said. "It will be good to see some strong competition. We are then playing in an NCAA DI tournament in Silvis, Illinois at TPC Deere Run, which is a course on the PGA Tour. That will be a great opportunity for our team to play on a course of that level. After that, we'll shift our focus to regionals and nationals, which is when we need to be at our best."

In the fall, freshman D'Arcy Whyte (Moama, Australia) took the individual win at The Battle for the Mississippi against some of the top teams in the nation in Sherrard, Illinois. Northeast also claimed a team victory as Whyte birdied the final hole to give the Hawks a one-shot advantage on the scoreboard ahead of Heartland Community College and Black Hawk College.

That experience paired with a team attitude of hard work is something that Heimes is proud of from his entire group.

"D'arcy was one of our better guys in the fall," Heimes said. "He has been a great leader for us, and the same can be said about Mason Burke (Fort Atkinson, Wis.). I expect them both to have a big spring. Tommy Dredla (Scottsbluff, Neb.) and Luke Bonser (Durham, England) have experience from the national tournament last year that will be nice to lean on. Christian Muldbjerg (Aars, Denmark) will do some good things for us and as will Emilio Lechuga Franco (Puebla, Mexico)."

Northeast has been in and around the top of the national poll all season, climbing to as high as No. 4 and currently sitting at No. 5, and Heimes is thrilled that his team is continually being recognized as one of the best teams in the nation.

"That's certainly cool," Heimes said. "Being in the top five in the nation is great, but at the end of the day it doesn't mean much. We just have to be playing our best golf at the end of the year. Our team works hard, and it's always good for them to be recognized for that effort. They've earned that national ranking, but we need to go out and play our best golf."

Both Heimes and his team have not shied away from lofty goals this season, but there are a few benchmarks he'd like to see hit by the end of May.

"Winning a couple of tournaments would be great," Heimes said. "Seeing our team develop as young men is something we always strive for, both on and off the golf course. Grades are important to us, and this group does a great job with that. We want to keep getting better on the golf course while we gear up for a postseason push."

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