On the Range with Iowa men’s golfer Alex Schaake
Last week, Daily Iowan sports reporter Chris Werner sat down with former Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Year Alex Schaake for a conversation on the world of golf.
The Daily Iowan; Photos by Ben A
Iowa’s Alex Schaake poses for a portrait at Hoak Family Golf Complex on Tuesday, April 24, 2018.
August 30, 2020
Redshirt senior Alex Schaake was named Big Ten Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2019 season, and his play has only elevated since then. Find out more about the golfing life of the Nebraska native in the first edition of On the Range.
Daily Iowan: Why do you play golf?
Alex Schaake: For the competitiveness.
DI: What is the most meaningful round of golf you’ve ever played?
AS: The second round of the Korn Ferry event this year when I got up and down on the last hole to make the cut.
DI: What is the most memorable shot you’ve ever hit?
AS: My senior year in high school in the junior match play in Nebraska, I was four up with five holes left and I lost three holes in a row, and then on 17, I made a hole-in-one to win the match.
DI: What is your current swing thought?
AS: Let it fly, man. I’m dialed right now. I’m really not technical at all, I have a very feel-oriented game. So, yeah, let it fly, that’s all I think about.
DI: What is your favorite course you’ve played?
AS: Pebble Beach.
DI: What is your best golf memory?
AS: Winning the Hawkeye Invitational my junior year and tying Matthew Walker, who was my teammate, for low individual score and also winning as a team. It had taken me so long to win a golf tournament in college so that was awesome. I birdied the last hole to win with him and the team won for the first time since I’ve been here.
RELATED: Iowa’s Alex Schaake impresses at Pinnacle Bank Championship
DI: What is your most embarrassing golf memory?
AS: At the Nebraska state amateur last year I had the head rules official for like the head of the Nebraska Golf Association come up to me because I was slamming my club too much because I was so mad he came up to me and told me he was going to give me a two-stroke penalty if I kept doing it.
DI: What is your response to people that say, “golf isn’t a sport?”
AS: Come play 18 with me and you tell me if it’s not a sport then.
DI: What was the lowest point of your golf career?
AS: My freshman year of college I was not very good. I hit draws which is not at all how my game is now. I tried to hit it really far, I did some things freshman year that I wasn’t necessarily proud of. I never really wanted to give up the game but I wanted to get better. When you’re playing bad, there’s definitely some doubt whether you’re going to get there. Freshman year coming to these big tournaments seeing these guys beat me by 25 shots was embarrassing. I was like, “Can I get 25 shots better by next year or two years?” But now where I’m at I feel like I can compete on the PGA tour and I can compete with those guys on the Korn Ferry, obviously, I mean I’ve shown it.
DI: What is the top golf course still on your bucket list?
AS: Augusta
DI: You get paired with a random person at a course and you see that there are headcovers on the irons, what do you do?
AS: I leave. Maybe I ask them politely to take them off and I’m not playing with them unless they do.
