November 8, 2019

Mesalands Community College has a nationally ranked intercollegiate rodeo team and will now have an intercollegiate golf team, competing in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA). Mesalands has also hired a new Golf Coach, Marty Garcia, who is currently recruiting new members for the spring 2020 semester.

“This is a new endeavor for the College and I look forward to the challenge. I want to help Mesalands build a quality program and recruit some competitive golfers,” Garcia said. “Students will have the chance to continue their golfing career, advance themselves athletically and academically. We can also help them if they want to compete at the university-level.”

Garcia is from Tucumcari. He retired from the City of Tucumcari in 2010 as a Finance Director. He has been coaching for nearly 20 years. He coached baseball, basketball, soccer, and golf. For the past 10 years, he was the Golf Coach at Tucumcari High School, where he led them to multiple district championships.

The Mesalands Golf Team will compete in the Desert Region of the NCCGA, which will include tournaments in Arizona and Nevada. NCCGA tournaments are held on the weekends. Each semester, players will have three tournaments and the chance to compete at NCCGA Regional and National Championships. Practices will be held at the 9-hole Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course. To be eligible, players must be a full-time student. Players cannot compete in NCCGA tournaments during the same season as other intercollegiate golf tournaments.

Mesalands is offering athletic scholarships and out-of-state tuition waivers for members of the golf team.

Garcia will also be teaching HPE 116: Learning Golf, during the spring 2020 semester. This one-credit hour course is designed for aspiring golfers, both beginners and veterans. The course prepares students to experience a lifetime of ease, enjoyment, and fascination with playing the game of golf.

“Golf is a game of a lifetime and you can play at any level,” Garcia said. “I think the new Mesalands Golf Team will bring some excitement to our community and bring more people to our community.”

For more information about the Mesalands Golf Team, visit: mesalands.edu/golf