COVER STORY
Martin Roache's consistency paves
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wav for big win in Cleveland
If familiarity breeds contempt, then
South Carolina State's Martin Roache has
done himself a disservice by adopting golf as
lis main game.
Fact is, Roache's approach to the sport
:omes closer to being an obsession rather
than a love/hate thing. His dedication to finely
tuning all pans of his game is what separates
him from his college counterparts. Deper still,
attention to detail is the reason he emerged
triumphant in last month's National Minority
College Golf Championship held at
Cleveland's Highland Parte Golf Course.
Roache's victory, his first as a collegian,
was a study of consistency. Yeah, he had a
Few errant shots. But when it counted the
most, he stayed on course to win by one
stroke over Florida A&M's Leo Bennett.
Roache's two-day total of 141 set a new
record for the five-year old tournament
The Orangeburg, S.C. junior set the
course on fire. But what's most pleasing (if
you're an avid SC State golf fan) is that
Roache was in position to shoot even better.
The first day, for example, he led the field
with a sterling 2-under par 69. He would have
Finished at 67 had he not bogied 17 and 18. In
the final round, he held steady at par until the
18th hole, when he bogied again and carded a
one-over 72. ~T~
Given his sizzling first round, you'd
think that as the leader, he'd feel comfortable,
M4
almost unreachable for the rest
of the field. Martin confirms that
such thinking is self-defeating.
He never allowed himself to
believe that he had everything
under control.
"I didn't think about that,"
Roache told Black College
Sports Review. "When you start
thinking about the other golfers
and what they're doing, that's
when you start to mess up. To
play well, you have to worry
about what you're doing. You
really have to have that kind of
concentration in order to win
consistepilyr
Lyman Foster has coached
Roache for the past three years.
The Bulldogs mentor has
witnessed continued growth in
Roache's game during that time.
In his mind, the black college
champ will only get better.
"Consistency is Martin's
strong suit," says Foster. HIn the
past, he showed flashes of
excellence. Now he's playing more evea He
doesn't like to be second-best. Martin's
success is due to hard work and self
confidence, He works on his game
constantly."
Constantly? Now that's an
understatement.
In basketball, there are folk you can
average and inconsistent. Learning how to
play the individual course instead of the
individuals he's paired with has produced
very satisfactory results.
- "Playing to beat the course is vital,"
Roache acknowledges. "That's where your
real competition is. If you can match par for
the course, you'll always be in the lead or
" Consistency is Martin's strong suit. In the
past, he showed flashes of excellence. Now heys
playing more even. He doesn't like to be
second-best. Martin's success is due to hard
work and self-confidence. He works, on his
game constantly" ? - ? _ ....
- Lyman Foster, S.C. State golf coach
always find hangin' out at the courts, alias the
gym rats. Roache does the same, but he
chooses the golf course instead. He has an
ongoing case of fairway fever.
Roache's fever runs a higher temperature
than usual during the summer months. Over
the past two years, Roache has practically
been a full-time resident at golf courses in
Myrtle Beach, SC. He gets his hours in as a
cart attendant, greens attendant, or driving
range coordinator, whatever needs to be done
for that particular golf course. During non
working hours, he's on the course, refining
everything from club grip to sand strap shots.
It's not unusual for him to spend as many as
six to seven hours a day on the course when
he isn't working.
The endless hours are anything but
continuous labor for the Bulldogs top golfer.
He is the fust to realize that the extra hours
have made a difference.
"My swing is improved and so is my
confidence,** Roache says. This is a game
where you can improve as you get more
experience. The more experience you get, the
more you feel that you can play at a high
level all of the time."
Roache has always had a mean game
once he hit the green. But he's reached a new
level by improving in more than just two or
three other aspects of his game.
"He has the ability to get up and down
the course." Foster adds. "He has good length
coming off the tee and is especially good with
the long iron. Phis, he focuses well on getting
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par.
Getting par is the key to Roache's
approach. Without that focus, he becomes
close to the lead. Par is really hard to beat"
With one college season remaining, Foster
plans to enter Roache in tougher tournaments to
bring out the best that's in him. Doing so, the
coach explains, puts Roache in a situation where
hell be tested constantly by the top players at
highly regarded golf programs.
Roache will get a full taste of that in
tournaments such as the Palmetto Invitational,
a South Carolina college tournament which
features some of top powers in the southern
region (Clemson, South Carolina, North
* Carolina, Wake Forest). Foster is confident
that his guy will get an invite for the ' 92
event.
Given that level of competition, along
with the battles Roache has to face on his own
team, it seems that he should continue his
ascent to national prominence. He's the
Bulldogs No. 1 player, but on any given day,
there are three other SC Staters who he knows
can beat him.
It's no automatic for Roadie or anybody
else to make to the black college nationals.
The Bulldogs always have a 36-hole
qualifying play-off to determine who makes
the trip. If you don't finish in the top five, you
don't travel.
For now, that's something to worry about
for next year. Roache, an economics major, is
only concerned about the present
"I just want to continue to work hard," he
says, "and be the best college golfer I can be. ;
It's a matter of taking things one step at a
time. If I continue to play well, then maybe
HI have my chance to turn pro. But for now,
ni focus on the present"
-Craig T.Greenlee