“I was lucky enough to travel with the team as the sixth guy. I wasn’t expected to play. But we went out and played the practice round, and Coach went up to me and said, ‘Hey, I trust in your golf game. I want to see you go out there and have fun,’” Hollenbeck said.
The Mason product went 67-76-67 for a 6-under 210 to tie teammate Andrew Flynn for first and help the Raiders to a whopping 18-stroke victory.
A playoff loss to Flynn for medalist honors didn’t dampen the experience.
“There were definitely some nerves on the first tee. But once you’re out there, it’s just a matter of having fun and rooting on your team while you’re playing for yourself,” Hollenbeck said.
“I was just trying to stay calm. Attitude is a big thing in golf.”
Hollenbeck is blessed with physical tools, having grown about five inches to almost 6-7 in his two years in college. But while that height helps to create a wide swing arc and enviable distance, mastering the mental part of the game has been a challenge.
Midway through the spring, while the team was mired in a slump, he was pulled from the lineup at North Carolina Wilmington — even though he still had the Raiders’ best average.
Lash said of the decision to bench his star: “He played like crap (in the weekly team qualifier), and I looked at him and said, ‘You need some time to get away from competition and get your game together.’ He agreed. That’s what’s good about him. Not all kids would say, ‘I agree with you, coach. I’m not playing well.’
“He took that time serious. He doubled down on his work and got his game in a good spot. That’s what I hoped would happen.”
Hollenbeck won the Wright State Invitational last month and then went 74-73-71 in the HL tourney to finish tied for fourth and spur the Raiders to a 10-stroke win — their fourth in the last six years (they finished second in the other two).
They earned the league’s automatic NCAA bid and will play in the regionals May 12-14 at Big Ten power Illinois.
Hollenbeck and Raider junior Shane Ochs were named HL co-players of the year.
“I think he has a ton of talent. He’s confident in his swing. He’s not afraid what the hole looks like. He can make a bunch of birdies and go low,” Lash said.
“These next couple years — even this summer — it’ll be cool to watch him progress.”
Hollenbeck first picked up a club at 7 and “fell in love with the sport.”
His parents, Chris and Kathy, are golfers. And his grandfather, Ed Stubenrauch, who still gets out and plays nine holes in his 80’s, was especially influential.
Hollenbeck’s first organized golf was playing for his youth group at church. He competed in middle school and then made the Mason varsity B team as a freshman.
He took a jump after that, winning the sectionals as a sophomore and senior and helping Mason to three straight state trips.
But recruiters weren’t necessarily looking at him as college material.
He actually had to convince THEM.
“I reached out to a lot of programs. I kind of wanted to stay local. I had a couple calls with coaches, but a lot of them were D-II and D-III schools,” he said.
“(Wright State) took a chance on me, and, luckily, it’s paying off.”
Luck, of course, has had little to do with it.
“Last year as a freshman, he obviously was a good player, but you felt his course management was lacking a little bit. He was a very aggressive player — and I love that — but he had to figure out golf courses,” Ochs said.
“His golf swing is phenomenal, and he stays positive, which I love. He can go very low. When he’s on, he’s on.”
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