An interview with golf team’s Tyler Kaman
By Jimm Alley – Sports Editor
Senior Tyler Kaman of the Cameron University golf team said that his relationship with his father led him to find his passion for the sport of golf.
“My family would go to church every Sunday,” Kaman said, “and my Dad would leave everytime and not come back until five or six at night. So I figured I’d ask him if I could go with him one day and he took me to the golf course, let me drive the golf cart and we had a really great time.”
It was from this early age that he began learning the sport from his father that would start his journey into the world of golf.
Growing up in the small town of Fredericksburg, Texas Kaman began playing golf competitively in middle school and would continue to high school.
“It was a fun experience,” Kaman said, “great environment, everyone kind of knew everyone and always wanted to help.”
Kaman decided to continue his practice of the sport and attributes much of what he knows to the help of the Lady Bird Johnson, and the Boot Ranch golf courses.
“I’m really grateful for the folks at Lady Bird,” Kaman said, “Which was my original home course and then later on more in high school Boot Ranch took me Under their wing. I owe most of my successes to them.”
The advanced facilities helped Kaman to perfect his craft and learn the ins and outs of golfing. The knowledge he was able to gain from training at these courses not only helped him to figure out how to be a better golfer but also helped him learn to believe in himself as a person.
Kaman is a Senior but will be using his extra year of eligibility due to Covid-19 to come back and play at Cameron for another year. Kaman is a business major with a focus in marketing.
He hopes to find some sort of career path in golf, whether it be as a player or in a management or advertising role.
“Well, first I would like to follow my personal dream of making it on the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) Tour,” Kaman said, “but if that doesn’t work out I’m want to use my degree to either start my own golf retail store or maybe get a job teaching at a golf course.”
Kaman has a long list of goals that he would like to accomplish in his future career and he does not want to be tied to something he does not want to do.
“I am a huge believer in if you do something you love you will never work a day in your life.” Kaman said. “I have always believed that was a very true statement.”
Golf can sometimes be a very unpredictable sport. No two courses will ever be the same and you will always have to find the best strategy that fits you individually for success.
“Everytime I look at a course I just see the one thing I have to right at that course,” Kaman said, “whether it’s having good accuracy off the tee, or having a really good short game, it’s all just about fine tuning all those aspects and putting them into good use.”
Kaman also had a few words for where he thinks the sport of golf will go in the future.
“I would say that golf is a game that is on the rise.” Kaman said. “You have a lot of explosive players who are fun to watch and I think that will make the sport more entertaining.”
Kaman’s life has been built around several things that tie into each other, including his family, his faith, and his golfing.
“My ultimate goal is to win an individual or team championship,” Kaman said, “and I can’t do that without my team and without being here, so we will see where this takes me.”