For the past four years, Iowa men’s golf has had anchors in Alex Schaake and Benton Weinberg. Now, they’re making their senior years count. 

Schaake, the reigning Les Bolstad Award recipient for the Big Ten Golfer of the Year, noted how much he has changed and grown since stepping onto campus and the college green four years ago.

“I’ve matured a lot. I wasn’t as good [at golf] as I was. I feel that I’ve grown every single year thus far, that’s in part to the senior leadership I’ve had throughout my career. That role has been passed down to me, and I really want to make a big impact on this team.”

And that big impact includes anything from giving his teammates advice on courses to mechanical techniques to picking up and driving the freshmen to practice.

“I’ve been most excited to see how he interacts with the younger guys, teaching them, and being such a great role model for them on and off the golf course,”

head coach Tyler Stith said. “Alex isn’t complacent, even with the year he had last year. We’re lucky to have him on our team.”

Through Schaake’s four years with the program and his accomplishments, including holding the school record for lowest strokes last year, one person has been a constant: Weinberg. 

“I’ve learned so much in just four years at Iowa — everything from managing time in balancing school and golf,” Weinberg said. “We travel almost every weekend and miss a lot of class, so over the years you learn how to balance all of it.”

Having a teammate there through their entire collegiate careers has been important, but the addition of other members of the team makes or breaks the atmosphere. 

“We have a team that has so much chemistry, we’re always there for each other when we need it,” Weinberg said. “We encourage each other, motivate each other — it’s just a great atmosphere to play in.”

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Weinberg and Schaake live together, so learning from each other not only on the golf course but in school and life, as well, has matured them through the years.

“Benton is actually my roommate, too, so I see a lot of him,” Schaake said. “We learn from each other everyday, from on the course, to what to eat, how much to sleep — both of which we could be much better at right now.”

It’s no doubt that the future is bright for the two seniors, and Schaake has big plans for after graduation: he wants to go pro. 

“I had a talk with Coach Stith before the season, and I was possibly thinking about [qualifying]-school for this year,” Schaake said. “I ended up deciding not to, and at the end of this school year, near the Big Ten Championship, I might do Canadian q-school and have a job with golf in Canada.”

And for Weinberg, he’s just focused on the present.

“After the season, I’m not sure,” Weinberg said. “I’m just focused on the season and trying to meet our goals.”