As head coach Jim Ragan's UC San Diego golf team moves into the final stages of its 2015 season, with this week's Hanny Stanislaus Invitational, the CCAA Championship, and hopefully, the NCAA West Regional, the second-year pilot knows he can count on a steady hand at the top of his lineup. That would be junior Clayton Yamaguchi. The Los Angeles native has already earned All-CCAA honors in each of his first two seasons as a Triton, and showed that he was primed to make it a trio after placing fourth at the recent Pioneer Shootout at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo. He's definitely caught Ragan's attention. "Clayton is a prototypical UCSD student-athlete in that he is extremely proficient as a competitor, and in the classroom," said Ragan. "His golf game has definitely improved since he's come to UCSD. He's a good putter and a great wedge player when he's on." An applied mathematics major and a CCAA All-Academic honoree, Yamaguchi took time recently to discuss his sport, his team, and the remainder of the 2015 season.
Q: Mental or physical? What rules in golf and why?
YAMAGUCHI: I think both the mental and physical aspects play an equal role in golf. Obviously, the physical aspects are important because you need to have the skills to hit solid golf shots. But the mental aspect plays an important role when you need to execute shots under pressure. A lot of golfers focus on perfecting the physical aspects of their game, but fail to recognize the importance of the mental game.
Q: How did you develop each of those skill sets? Was there a time with each that you could identify as a turning point?
YAMAGUCHI: The only way to hone the physical aspects of the game is to practice. Even if you don't necessarily know what to work on, getting out and playing golf will only have positive effects on your skills and ability to score. The mental side of the game is honed through practice as well, especially under the pressure of competition. The more you put yourself in uncomfortable conditions and find a way to execute, the stronger your mental game will be. Golf is a very up and down sport, so I have felt a turning point with my swing and the physical aspects of my game many times. I believe I still need to strengthen my mental game, which will come as I continue to put myself in contention during tournaments.
Q: When did you get your first golf club? When and where did you first play on a regulation course, and what do you remember about that experience?
YAMAGUCHI: I got my first plastic golf clubs when I was still in diapers, and I would go out into the front yard and whack some wiffle balls around. I don't quite remember these moments since I was so young, but it is pretty funny to watch myself on home videos. The first time I played a regulation course was on a family vacation at the Ojai Valley Inn golf course in 2001. I remember having fun riding in the golf cart and shooting 125, so I wasn't exactly taking it low.
Q: What do you consider your greatest strength on the golf course? What's the area where you would most like to be better?
YAMAGUCHI: I think my greatest strength is my chipping and pitching. Generally, when I'm not hitting my best and I'm missing greens, my chipping is the part of my game that is able to bail me out. Obviously, there are lots of areas of my game where I would like to improve. I have been working really hard on improving my iron play this year and I started to hit really solid iron shots at our last tournament in Vallejo, so hopefully I can continue to do the same as we head into conference.
Q: You've been All-CCAA in each of your first two seasons at UCSD. How did you find the transition to collegiate golf, and were you surprised at the immediate impact you were able to have?
YAMAGUCHI: I feel like I was well prepared for college athletics since I was trying to play junior golf at a high level while taking AP classes in high school. But nothing truly prepares you for the challenges of being a collegiate athlete at an academic institution like UCSD. However, I learned a lot my freshman year and things have become much easier since then. I am lucky to have an awesome support system that helps me through rough times and keeps me focused during the good times. I am not surprised that I was able to have a positive impact on the team and I do hope to become more consistent than I've played in the last few years. Consistently getting into contention at tournaments has been one of the goals that is motivating me to work harder than I've ever worked before.
Q: This year's UCSD team seems to be slowly, but steadily, improving. You've got the Hanny Stanislaus tournament this week in Turlock, and then the CCAA Championship. Last year's team was a somewhat surprising third-place finisher at the conference tourney. Is this year's squad capable of the same kind of performance?
YAMAGUCHI: Yes, our team has not been playing near its potential all season, but our guys have been putting together some very solid rounds. We have been working hard and just have not seen the fruit of our efforts. But we are extremely excited for the Hanny Stanislaus tournament and conference. Most teams are probably overlooking us, which puts us in a good position to surprise some people in the upcoming weeks. We are really excited to show what we can do!
Q: This year, the CCAA has revamped its championship event to include a combination of stroke and match play. What are your thoughts on the change?
YAMAGUCHI: I like what the CCAA has done to the format of the championship event. The NCAA Division II Championship has the same combination of stroke and match play, so it only makes sense for the CCAA to do the same in order to better prepare its teams. I think the format is a better fit for our team because once you get past the stroke play portion and into match play, anything can happen. Coach (Ragan) has geared our practices to feature more head-to-head competitions in order to prepare us for the match-play portion of the conference championship, so I feel like if we're one of the top four teams to make match play, we have a good shot.
Q: In a sport as individualistic as golf, does team play and team chemistry come into the equation as far as success?
YAMAGUCHI: Luckily, we have never had a problem with team chemistry here at UCSD. My teammates are awesome and we all get along really well. I would say team chemistry plays an important role for our team during practices. Since we are all so close, we constantly motivate each other to keep improving when we're playing well and pick each other up when we aren't playing our best. However, things are a little different during tournaments. Once we're out on the course, it's every man for himself so we're focused on our own games. But in the end, we know that being selfish and focusing on ourselves during tournaments is only beneficial for the team.
Q: What's the best shot you've ever executed? How many hole-in-ones have you had?
YAMAGUCHI: The best shot I've ever had was on the 16th hole at Oak Valley Golf Club. It's a par 5 with the second shot over a water hazard and into the wind. I remember I had about 240 yards left and I hit my 3-wood to about an inch for the easy tap-in eagle. I have never had a hole-in-one. I've been playing golf so long that it's bound to happen eventually. Sometimes when I step up to a par 3, I do think about how this could be my first hole-in-one, but it just hasn't quite worked out. One day, I'll get lucky.
Q: What do you consider your home course? What is your personal favorite of all the courses you've played? Which course that you haven't played would you most like to play?
YAMAGUCHI: I consider Westchester Golf Course back in Los Angeles as my home course. I've been going to Westchester from a young age, and my high school team practiced there. When I go home to Los Angeles, I still hang out at the driving range with my friends.
My all-time favorite course is definitely Pebble Beach. Words can't quite describe Pebble and only first-hand experience will do it any justice, but Pebble is an enchanted place. Like most golfers, it would be a dream to play Augusta National one day. Watching the Masters for years, I have fallen in love with the aesthetics and design of Augusta National. To be able to play the only course that annually holds a major championship and has hosted many of the greatest golfers to walk this earth would be a dream come true.
Q: Dream foursome? Who are your three playing partners? Why?
YAMAGUCHI: My dream foursome would be Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, and my dad. Tiger Woods because he is my favorite player and without a doubt the greatest player in the modern golf era. Ben Hogan because he is the father of the modern golf swing and has, in my opinion, the greatest golf swing I have ever seen. My dad because he is the one that introduced me to the game and we have shared many great on-course memories throughout the years.
Q: You listed Tiger Woods as your favorite athlete. If you had 10 minutes with Tiger, what would you ask him? Do you think he'll ever be able to return to his former level of dominance?
YAMAGUCHI: If I had 10 minutes with Tiger, I would ask him what his goals are now and how they have changed since 2008. There has been lots of speculation that Tiger's goals are no longer aimed at eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors, and I want to know if there is some validity to this speculation. Watching Tiger Woods when he was dominant was a spectacle that golf fans truly miss. I have never given up on Tiger and believe he does have enough in the tank for one last run in the majors. I really hope he returns to his dominant form because it really is fun to watch.
Q: Last week, you were one of 12 UCSD student-athletes honored as part of 2015 National Student-Athlete Day. What were your feelings about receiving that recognition, and what type of balance do you strive for between golf and academics?
YAMAGUCHI: It was truly an honor to be a National Student-Athlete Day honoree. When I arrived at the event and read the bios of the other Tritons being recognized, I realized what good company I was in. Their academic, athletic, and community service achievements are truly impressive. I try to maintain a pretty equal balance between academics and athletics. On one hand, when I'm having a rough week in school, golf will take a backseat and I'll focus on my schoolwork for the week. On the other hand, the week before a tournament, I will get out and practice a lot more and homework will take a backseat. It's all about maintaining a balance between the two.
Q: You list basketball as one of your hobbies. Give us an assessment of your game? Would you win a team one-on-one tournament? Who would you see as your toughest competition?
YAMAGUCHI: I used to play basketball a lot when I was younger. Up until middle school, I played on a team called the Venice Dragons. I was a shooter so I was always searching for the open shot, but I wasn't that good at anything else. I eventually stopped playing basketball to focus on golf, but I still love to watch basketball and always have fun when I can play a pick-up game with some friends. I haven't played basketball in a while, so I'm probably terrible right now. I probably wouldn't win a one-on-one competition against a few of our guys, especially Mati (Kucz) and Rocky (Hall), since they are 6'3" and 6'5".
Q: You're an applied mathematics major with a computer science minor at UCSD. Is that as hard as it sounds? What's more exciting, applied mathematics or golf? Is there any way you can relate math to golf? What do you hope to do with that degree?
YAMAGUCHI: Yes, it is as hard as it sounds. But luckily, I have a great support system to help me get through tough times. I would definitely say golf is a lot more exciting than math, but the two do go hand-in-hand. I jokingly say they're similar in that they're both really hard and take up a lot of time, which is true to some extent. But both take a lot of focus, patience, and practice. I plan on trying to enter the work force once I graduate from UCSD, but I'm still unsure about the type of job I want. I may need to look into some internships to find out more about the fields that I am interested in.
Previous Triton Q&A Features
McKenna Clewett (Softball) March 16, 2015
Hunter Walker (Men's Basketball) February 17, 2015
Alexis Wieseler (Women's Water Polo) February 3, 2015
Troy Cruz (Baseball) January 27, 2015
Miranda Seto (Women's Basketball) January 6, 2015
Naomi Thomas (Women's Swimming & Diving) December 30, 2014
Cameron Ravanbach (Men's Water Polo) November 21, 2014
Eric Olen (Men's Basketball) November 17, 2014
Mitchell Shulman (Men's Fencing) November 13, 2014
Paul Li (Men's Swimming & Diving) November 1, 2014
Paige Hughes (Women's Cross Country) October 20, 2014
Danielle Dahle (Women's Volleyball) October 14, 2014
Tareq Alwafai (Men's Cross Country) September 25, 2014
David Higginson (Men's Water Polo) September 18, 2014
Matthew McClure (Men's Soccer) September 10, 2014
Caitlin Brenton (Women's Volleyball) September 3, 2014
Michelle Yasutake (Women's Soccer) August 25, 2014
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