Chadwell reflects on Clemson invite, preparing for SEC Championships

The No. 17 Texas A&M women's golf team will be heading to the SEC Championships on April 12-16 in Florida after back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Mountain View Collegiate and Clemson Invitational. Head coach Gerrod Chadwell joined TexAgs Radio on Tuesday to discuss.

Key notes from Gerrod Chadwell interview

• Vanderbilt had a good weekend at Clemson. They might have been the difference at the end. We didn't play great in our final round but had a dynamic finish, which we hadn't had the last two weeks. When I was making the turn with Adela Cernousek, we might have been in fifth. Jennie Park birdied a hole, and that ignited us.
   
• This prepares us by giving us some familiar faces. We've been battling a lot of SEC teams. A couple of years ago, we weren't battling. We're moving closer to playing our best golf of the year. We haven't put two or three rounds together. We've had good individual moments. I'm still excited that it feels like we're moving forward rather than needing to flip a switch to really get going.
   
• You could not have scripted a better game plan vs. Houston in basketball. They got them into foul trouble early. We just didn't hit a bunch of free throws. Our team just figures out how to get it done. That's similar for us. There is more good than bad happening. We just have to clean up some sloppiness, and once we do that, we'll be very hard to beat. That's where our team is at. We have two important weeks ahead. I'm still encouraged and excited that we have over a month and a half left in the season.
   
• We have two weeks before the SEC Championships. There is still plenty of time to clean up the things I don't feel are majorly broken.
   
• Adela is just on repeat. She's impressive to watch. Physically, she hits it far and high. She's starting to become a better putter and is starting to manage things around the green better. She has been a rock for our team, and she's growing into a leadership role off the golf course as well.
   
• We have three seniors in our traveling five. Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio is growing too. She has been impressive in helping out with luggage and little things like that. You might take things like that when you have a veteran team. Cata had a good weekend. Blanca Fernández García-Poggio had a good final round. Zoe Slaughter had a good first round. It's a team effort. Once we put it all together, it's going to be a lot of fun.
   
• The one thing interesting about Clemson is what we did topography-wise. A bunch of adulation. College Station is pretty flat. That prepares them. Champions Retreat is the first course they play their first few rounds for the opportunity to play Augusta National, and I think that course is harder. That's no disrespect to Augusta. They set it up where the young ladies will score well on TV. Champions Retreat is very tough, and playing at Clemson should help them.
   
• Vanderbilt had been having a bunch of great final rounds, but they hadn't had great starts. They put a good week together and won. That might be what we're missing. You can't get away with two good rounds and win at the level we're trying to get to. We're close. Six shots can be made up in two or three holes.
   
• We've been grinding to make up those inches. It might have come easier last year. People see us as the SEC Champions with two final-four finishes. This team is still very humble. They don't brag or boast.
   
• I would love to just sit back and watch them play great. The girls might say I'm very chill on the golf course. I don't like losing. I'm trying to be better at that. You still have to encourage your team. I'm trying to get better with my body language on the course, too. We're that close. Watching coaches on the sidelines, they're emotional. Golf is just a little more interesting in that the even-keeled approach is better. You can be emotional, and sometimes I love that. Cata is an emotional player. The others are more even-keeled. I don't know, but I'm mindful of body language affecting the players.
   
• Watching the players around the facility vs. on a ping pong table is completely different. Trying to compete makes them better. I see us as a great ball-striking team. I wish we'd take the next step around the green, and the way to do that is to make practice a competition.
   
• The hardest thing we're trying to do is encourage them to do the things they're not good at. You have to pass the putting green to get your clubs and go to the range. If we could shift our focus and clean up a thing or two on the green, it doesn't take much to shift your ball-striking. Practice should be hard. The competition itself shouldn't be the hardest part, but you want to feel good when you leave practice. What makes the great ones great is knowing that practice is the place to refine your skills so that when you're name is called on the first tee, you know that the hardest work is already done.