University of Tennessee Athletics
Renwick's Confidence Has Vols Swinging Big
October 02, 2009 | Men's Golf
Oct. 2, 2009
By JOSH PATE
UTSports.com
The comments begin as soon as his dad, Keith, sees him hit the ball. His friends also remark about how he's changed. It's his swing. It's the way he strikes the ball. But most of all, it's his mind.
Darren Renwick leaves an impression when he returns home to the flatter, slower courses. Nearly everyone who plays golf with Renwick back in his native land of Worthing, England, acknowledges the improvement he's made since coming to Tennessee two years ago.
"A lot of people commented to me over the summer that I seem like a much more confident player," Renwick said. "They just said I looked like a different person out on the course."
With good reason. Renwick appeared in three tournaments last fall as a freshman for the Vols, but since then he's been on a tear. Three of his four spring tournaments resulted in top-20 finishes. He was ninth at the Arizona Invitational and ended up with a 74.19 stroke average to garner Freshman All-SEC honors. He led the NCAA Regional after the first day and helped the Vols to a second-place team finish all while he posted a seventh-place showing individually.
That doesn't include his fiery summer back in England.
Renwick tied for third in the British Amateur Championships in June, pulling out a nailbiting quarterfinal match by a 2-up score. He fell to phenom 16-year-old Matteo Manassero of Italy in the semifinals. A month later, Renwick again flirted with his championship form by finishing second for the Tillman Trophy, another high-profile amateur event in England. He lost by just four strokes to Dale Whitnell.
So yes, one could say Renwick's confidence has increased. And that only helps the Vols.
"He may or may not know or think so, but he's been an enormous help to our team in that regard just by his work ethic - showing up early and staying late for practice," said Tennessee coach Jim Kelson. "He's taking advantage of his time and effort. Our team notices that and it's been great to see."
Renwick does have an explanation. Quite simply, he likes the American style of golf courses.
"Here, they tend to be longer and the greens are bigger and more sloping," he said. "I think here you have to plot your way around the golf course more, and that's really good for me because I'm really good at thinking my way around the course and making good decisions."
Renwick can thank team psychologist Joe Whitney for that. Renwick said he and Whitney have worked on the visualization exercise a lot, allowing the golfer to plan out his execution before actually pulling a club from his bag.
Visualization has been another advantage for Renwick on the American courses. With the rolling layouts that often contrast those flat courses in England, it narrows the game to a planned attack.
"The courses are longer and require a lot more strategy - you have to put the ball in the right place on the green to better give yourself a chance of making a birdie or making sure you can make a par," said Renwick, whose best club is his putter. "You can put it in the wrong place and have no chance of making a par because the slopes are too severe. At home, everything is a bit flatter and more straightforward. You can just hit it where you want.
"I feel more at home putting on the greens here than I otherwise would if I were back home putting on quick greens. It obviously fits my game and it has me playing better here than I play at home."
In Tennessee's first tournament of the fall season, Renwick sailed to a tie for the individual championship and led the Vols to the team victory in the Carpet Capital Collegiate. Renwick fired a closing-round 69 (210 total score). It was just the second time a Volunteer won the individual title at the prestigious tournament in Rocky Face, Ga. The Vols, meanwhile, won by 12 strokes with a back-nine onslaught.
"This is a team that's looking for huge things this year," Kelson said. "We've got some awfully high expectations and goals. I think we have the guys to achieve some lofty stuff here."
Tennessee jumped to No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings after the tournament victory. It's an interesting position for the Vols, but Kelson said he's not worried about the recognition being a distraction. In fact, he didn't even talk about it with the team.
It's almost as if the rankings are only validating what the team already knew: they're good. And they have a solid foundation for the future with Renwick sitting fifth individually in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings.
"One of the reason's I have improved a lot and am shooting good scores is because we have really good players on our team," Renwick said. "Practicing with such really good players every day just improves my game. It improves you by being competitive with really good players. Although we have a really great team spirit, everyone wants to beat each other in practice - a lot. That makes us better, and it makes us a better team as well."
The UT coaches say Renwick's leadership at such a young age is a rock-solid sign of his maturity. He's been coachable. He listens. He's good in the classroom (he made the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll). And, well, he keeps getting better on the course.
"He's been a perfect example of somebody who has taken advantage of all the opportunities that he has been afforded," Kelson said. "He's gotten better and better every day since he's been here."
Players Mentioned
