Growing up in Sperry, Iowa, just about an hour away from the University of Iowa’s Iowa City campus, Charles Jahn was a Hawkeye fan that dreamed of playing sports for his favorite collegiate team.

Jahn went to Peoria and teed it up as a member of Bradley’s golf team after a distinguished career at Mediapolis High School. When Jahn made the decision to play elsewhere for his fifth year of eligibility, the Hawkeyes were at the top of his list.

“My dream growing up was to be a Hawkeye,” Jahn said. “I had a really good summer last year and I want to play professional golf and playing with the Hawkeyes and using their facilities, our team this year is really good. Playing with these guys every day is going to make me better. It was a risky decision because transferring is always risky, but it turned out to be a great decision.”

Jahn followed up last summer’s strong play with another offseason of impressive work, he won three events in quick succession before making his way to Iowa City.

He has certainly stayed true to his word and used the Hawkeyes’ facilities a lot, whether it be the Hoak Golf Complex at Finkbine Golf Course or the weight room.

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“He works harder than most of the people on this team,” fellow fifth-year senior Alex Schaake said. “He’s out there in the 30 mile-per-hour winds hitting balls for hours. He definitely has the dedication and that’s something you want in a teammate. Even if they don’t play top-5, there are always those guys that are pushing each other, being leaders and I can tell you that Charles leads by example for sure.”

In the team’s most recent event, the Zach Johnson Invitational, Jahn finished fifth on the team and sixth overall. Hawkeye junior Gonzalo Leal Montero won the individual title.

All eight Hawkeyes that competed in the event did so unattached from the UI and its men’s golf team as to avoid Big Ten restrictions on organized team competitions.

Even though the Zach Johnson Invitational was just the second event Iowa players have competed in, many members of program have actually played more golf than usual.

With many UI classes going strictly online, players have more time to go to the course, and because of the restrictions on many of the popular spots around campus, players are flocking to Finkbine more than in other years. Jahn has been able to play with his teammates nearly every day.

“I’ve played more golf this year than I have any other semester I’ve been at Iowa,” Schaake said. “We all live in the same apartment complex and we all live within four doors of each other on the same floor, so I wake up or someone wakes up we all message each other or goes to each other’s rooms, ask what we want to do that day. If we want to play, we’ll call Blue Top [Ridge] or Finkbine and get a few tee times for us to play.”

Although Charles Jahn’s first few months of being a Hawkeye have been unique to say the least, he has loved competing in Hawkeye colors alongside his teammates, even if it is technically as individual players.

“We have a really good team and good camaraderie,” Jahn said. “We push each other every day. Playing with these guys makes you better because if you’re playing with guys that are beating you, you want to beat them, so it makes you want to get better too. It’s lived up to my expectations, but it would be nice if we could have a team tournament to compete in and see how we stack up against other teams. Hopefully, we’ll get that this spring.”