MSU Heading to the Old Course
By Tom Lang
In one of those rare, once in a lifetime opportunities, the Michigan State men’s and women’s golf teams are breaking away from their traditional October tournament schedules to compete in the 2025 St Andrews Links Collegiate at the historic Old and Jubilee Courses in St Andrews, Scotland, Oct. 13-15.
At first, women’s head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll told the men’s coach, Casey Lubahn, who has been to Ireland and Great Britian 14 times already, that she didn’t want to break away from two major events that have been on the Spartan schedule for years.
“Casey had to kind of talk me into saying yes, quite honestly. My experience (there) is zero. Never been there,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “I’ll have to rely on Casey and all his knowledge of being there.
“He really didn’t give me much of an option,” Slobodnik-Stoll added with a chuckle. “I told Casey I have been going to these certain tournaments at that time (of October) for so long, and it’s a long trip going over there…He said, ‘Stacy, this is not really an option. And I said, okay.’ Everyone agrees and it’s certainly going to be special.”
Lubahn played travel agent for a moment to say to any golfer listening:
“Oh, you’ve got to go. They didn’t just invent the game, they invented how the game is supposed to be played amongst people, with respect to the club. It’s not a snobby thing. They treat it as a very everyman’s game over there, and when Americans come, they treat you completely like gold. Save your nickels and go do it once because it’s the greatest place in the world to play golf.”
The Spartans will be joined in the four-school field by Cal, Princeton and the University of St Andrews. It marks the first appearances in the event for all three American schools, and the second appearance for the hometown University of St Andrews. The Golf Channel will present live coverage of the St Andrews Links Collegiate in the United States beginning each morning at 6 a.m. PT, with encores airing at 10 a.m. PT.
“It’s the hardest invite to get in college golf,” Lubahn said. “Only four teams are invited each year. It’s a little late in the year to go to Scotland but it’s a really special thing to share with your athletes. It will be lifetime memories for the kids.”
The coaches have added another five days to the itinerary to extend the trip and play other Scottish courses.
“Having both (the men’s and women’s) teams there together for an extra five days after the tournament is the kind of thing that Casey and I work hard for, still trying to maintain the tradition of what the Fossum’s started, that it’s the Spartan family and having both teams together,” Slobodnik-Stoll said.
