Dalhousie to pursue NAIA national tournament

Dalhousie Golf Club gave college tournament golf a dry run earlier this week.

Make that a wet run.

Storms rolled through the area both nights before rounds of the NAIA Region V tournament, played Monday and Tuesday.

While the wet weather could have put a damper on the whole affair, it only seemed to stamp the course as a legitimate tournament site worthy of more demanding challenges.

"The drainage system on this course is unbelievable," Mc-Kendree College coach Trent Poelker said among other praises. "We played three rounds on this course, and we played the ball down. That's almost unheard of with the rain we had."

Those are encouraging words for a course that is trying to find its way onto the national map. Those are also words that couldn't hurt Dalhousie as the NAIA makes plans for the future.

The NAIA has 289 member schools throughout the United States and Canada, with approximately 175 of those schools fielding men's golf teams. It presents the first opportunity of a nationwide stage for Dalhousie, which has already been awarded several tournaments by the Missouri Golf Association, including the 2012 Missouri Amateur Championship.

The course plans to submit a bid for the 2009 and 2010 NAIA national tournaments, and Lindenwood coach Roger Ellis, the Region V tournament organizer, is one of Dalhousie's biggest advocates.

Ellis is a former resident of Cape Girardeau, having worked at Procter & Gamble as an engineer and later practicing law in Jackson. He's a former member of Kimbeland Country Club and Cape Girardeau Country Club.

Ellis, who began teaching law and coaching golf at Lindenwood in 1998, has taken on an increased role in the NAIA over the past few years. He's the second vice president for the NAIA Women's Golf Coaches Association, and in two weeks he'll also assume the position of secretary of the NAIA Men's Golf Coaches Association.

He's been intent on upgrading courses for the Region V tournament, noting that many of the players are playing their final collegiate rounds at the event. He doesn't want courses players have seen two or three times during the season.

"We want to make it something they'll remember," Ellis said.

Ellis plans on using his increased voice within the NAIA to talk up Dalhousie, and he said he will work with the club in the coming months to formulate a bid.

Dalhousie is eager to become further involved in the NAIA, as it seeks to grow a national image, attract members nationwide and, some day, professional tournaments.

"I think this is the first step, hosting a regional," said Dalhousie general manager Andy Diero. "We'd love to think we could jump straight to the top and host something that would make us all famous on TV. But we're exited about this event. The relationship with Roger and Cape Girardeau was really instrumental in bringing this here, and I think he and the coaches here will certainly put in a good word for Dalhousie as being a host for the next level.

"And having these two things on our resume will only help us when we pursue other events. We'd love to have a professional or a USGA event of some sort."

While the regional tournament included nine teams and was played over two days, the NAIA national tournament has a field of 25 to 28 teams (a maximum of 144 players) and is played over four days.

If Dalhousie is awarded the tournament, Lindenwood would be the host school.

"The board officers make that decision," Ellis said. "We can participate with some of our input."

Ellis sees a good fit, with Cape Girardeau providing a premier course in a secondary market, which the NAIA prefers.

"We were in Albuquerque [N.M.] for two years and nobody knew we were there," Ellis said. "But when you come two hours south [from St. Louis], to a town like Cape Girardeau, then you're going to get better exposure and more community involvement. When we come to town, people will know we're in town."

Ellis said the first criteria the NAIA will consider is the course.

"Will it present a challenge to players at the national tournament?" Ellis said. "And [Dalhousie] is a pretty easy 'yes.'"

After the course, infrastructure items such as lodging and restaurants are considered. The NAIA requires lodging within 15 minutes of the course.

The competitors and tournament staff need a block of 120 rooms and generally stay for five to seven nights. More rooms are needed for players' families.

In general, national tournaments promise to have an impact on Dalhousie and Cape Girardeau.

"We need to have the support of the community, whether its is through the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and they've already expressed interest," Diero said. "They're supportive of us having these events."

As far as the players, they appeared eager for Dalhousie to take a bigger role in the NAIA.

Lindenwood freshman Kyle Gray, who finished second in the tournament, wouldn't mind ending his career at Dalhousie at the 2009 NAIA national championship.

"That would be sweet," said Gray. "I love this course. It sets up real well for me."

Gray said he had played the course four or five times before the tournament, but his teammates were seeing the course for the first time.

"They loved it," he said. "We were all excited to come down here and play. This was the first course in a while that we actually had be in good shape. It's very impressive."