Submitted Photo Recently the St. Bonaventure golf team traveled to the beautiful golf courses in Ireland.

The St. Bonaventure golf program has had some great success since Ryan Swanson, co-owner of Pinehurst Golf Club in Westfield, took over as head coach in January 2016.

The Bonnies have had numerous tournament victories, plenty of individual accolades and jaunts all over the United States.

All of that pales in comparison, however, with the team’s most recent adventure — an excursion to golf courses all over beautiful Ireland in early October.

“About a year and a half ago, I was sitting down with one of our alumni and donors,” Swanson explained. “We were talking about program needs and what it takes to keep moving up the ladder. How can we help with recruiting? What can persuade kids to pick Bonaventure over similar programs? This donor, who is Irish, asked if we would consider a trip overseas. We started planning it right away and between this alum and some other means, we were able to come up with the finances we needed to make it happen.”

It was quite a contingent that made the trip. In addition to the 10 players on the team, along Swanson and his assistant coach, there were four alumni and a host of parents that got to experience some of the world’s greatest golf courses.

“I think we had a total of 28 people,” Swanson noted. “There were 20-24 that played golf every day.”

The trip was not without its hiccups, however. On the day the team arrived in Ireland, the country was dealing with the remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo. While technically downgraded to a tropical storm at that point, ferocious winds accompanied by rain coming in sideways aren’t exactly ideal weather conditions for golf.

“I said, ‘Buckle up, boys! This is why we brought rain gear,” Swanson said with a laugh. “We were scheduled to play Trinity College of Dublin. A few of their guys bailed after a few holes, but we made the best of it.”

That first course the team played was Portmarnock, one of Ireland’s most famous golf courses. The next day, the Bonnies took on The Islands Club before traveling down the Southwest side of the country to play Tralee Golf Links, Waterville and finally Doonbeg.

“They were incredible courses,” Swanson awed. “Each guy had his own favorite. My favorite was probably Tralee. The locals there say the back nine was designed by God.”

Golf was the main reason for the trip, of course, but Swanson couldn’t let the team miss out on the chance to do at least a little sight-seeing.

“The only touristy thing we did was after we played Doonbeg the final day, we went to the Cliffs of Moher,” he said. “My mom actually said we had to go there. They’re 800-foot cliffs and you’re right on the Atlantic Ocean. Massive waves were smashing into these cliffs. It’s one of the coolest sights I’ve ever seen. The guys certainly enjoyed it.”

While the trip was an amazing experience for all involved, it’s also part of the bigger picture for Swanson and the St. Bonaventure golf program as a whole.

“We want to be able to tell recruits about this,” Swanson said. “It’s on the schedule. The way the NCAA rules work is we’re allowed a trip like this every four years. That means that while you’re on the St. Bonaventure golf team, you’re going to get to go on one of these trips.

“It’s not just this trip, though,” he continued. “Our schedule as a whole is pretty great. We go to Florida, California, Virginia, Georgia and back to Florida. We really have a good support system of people that care about the program. We’re in a good spot right now and these are things that we show recruits.”

The future, both immediate and down-the-road, certainly looks bright for the Bonnies under Swanson.

“We have some great players here now,” he concluded. “We’re maybe a kid or two kids away from turning those ‘almost’ moments into something bigger. We’re very close. It takes time, but we already have a really good commit for next Fall. We’re knocking on the door. We just need everyone to click at the same time. Hopefully that can happen for us.”

More information on the St. Bonaventure golf program — including roster, statistics, schedule and more — can be found at https://gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-golf.