Squire Creek: It’s second to none

Maintaining tradition in the current landscape of college athletics isn’t easy.

Whether it’s conference realignment turning decades-old rivalries into dust or players and coaches alike jumping ship to new schools each offseason, you have to look hard to find consistency anymore. A select few programs and events can say they have staying power, even as college sports seem to demand change.

But thanks to a continued partnership between Louisiana Tech golf and Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, you don’t have to leave Lincoln Parish to find a tradition that shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs will open their 2024-25 season with the Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek for a sixth straight year – showcasing the program’s strong relationship with the championship course and the facility’s quality to visiting teams from across the country. This weekend will also mark the 25th time the Bulldogs host a regular season event at Squire Creek.

For Tech head coach Matt Terry, entering year eight leading the Bulldogs, he knows that level of consistency isn’t afford to most midmajor golf programs. After nearly 20 years at Troy before coming to Ruston in 2017, Terry knows Tech has a gem to call home – a gem worth keeping strong for years to come.

“ It’s one of those deals where this place is great all the time. It’s the number one course in the state for a reason,” Terry said. “ The guys who have played it always love coming back to play. We’re so blessed to have something like this in Choudrant, Louisiana, right in our backyard as our home course.

“It’s second to none with how good it is.”

The 2024 Argent Financial Classic will feature 16 visiting teams from across the South, including LSU, ULM, Southern Miss, Louisiana- Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Houston, Rice, and more from the AAC, Sun Belt and Conference USA. Fiveman teams will represent each school, with groups splitting into A and B teams. The three-day event is free to attend.

“It’s always a large undertaking but the club does it so well. I hope people come out to watch the guys perform. It’s going to be phenomenal weather. And this is really the one chance our guys have to showcase what they’ve been working on,” Terry said. “ A lot of teams get six or seven home games to showcase to fans, but this is it for us.”

But how exactly has Squire Creek and Louisiana Tech golf stayed connected through the years and boosted the program? For starters, Squire Creek has cultivated true pedigree on a national scale.

Golf Digest ranked the facility as the No. 1 course in Louisiana for 2023 and still maintains its ranking. The 7,105-yard, Par 72 course was completed in 2002 and has kept up its premiere status for decades. In Golf Digest’s 2021- 22 and 2022- 23 Best In-State rankings, Squire Creek also ranked as the No. 1 golf course in Louisiana.

The course was created by Tom Fazio, featuring four Par 3 holes, four Par 5 holes, and 10 Par 4 holes, and lush, open scenery to accentuate north Louisiana’s environment.

But beyond the course’s structure, Terry credits the atmosphere on and off the greens as to what’s kept Squire and Tech’s standing in the golf scene in the south as high as it’s been for years on end. He remembers his days at Troy when he brought his squad to Squire to face the Bulldogs – captivated by the experience on the course for its comforting but equally challenging feel.

“I brought my team at Troy here a couple times and always knew how good it was. And then when Tommy (Mc-Clelland) called me up about the job it was stuck in my mind how good it was. And then I get there, and you see how good the community is and the investment level they have in the team. Not every club is like that,” Terry said. “I say all the time, if you’re a player and you want to do special things as a golfer and you want a quality education, why wouldn’t you come to Louisiana Tech? I truly have thought about it before of what we don’t have. We have it. We have what you’d want. We can give our guys an amazing education and an amazing facility.”

The 2024-25 Bulldogs will look to use their home base as a springboard to a strong start to the season, led by 2023 CUSA Freshman of the Year Niilo Maki-Petaja.

Petaja, also named the LSWA Freshman of the Year, won the Aggie Invitational at Texas A&M last season and set the program record for lowest round by a freshman with a 64 in October 2023 at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. Terry knows expectations will only grow for Petaja in year two but wants his young star, along with the rest of the Bulldogs, to focus on steady improvement throughout the year.

“We lost four really good guys for us from last year, so it’ll be a learning curve for us. But we have a lot of talented freshmen that have come in and looked good,” Terry said. “ There will be bumps and bruises and potholes in the road, but I think they’ll elevate quickly, and they’ll see this isn’t much different than junior golf. The only thing that changes is it’s a deeper field every level you go up. But we’re excited to get after it and see how it goes.

“(Niilo’s) really mature. He’s 21 right now as a sophomore. My big wish for him this year is he tests himself and gets in the hunt more, so he has an opportunity to win, just get in the mix.”

The Bulldogs host the Argent Financial Classic starting Sunday at Squire Creek Country Club and will continue competition through Tuesday afternoon.