Tee Talk: Q&A With Josh Mackin

CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University sophomore Josh Mackin spent some time to talk about his transition to the United States and more in an interview with SIUSalukis.com. The native of Dundalk, Ireland, transferred to Southern Illinois by way of Maynooth University in April and is looking towards a hopeful spring campaign.

Generally speaking, how's the adjustment to the United States been going for you?

It's been some weird times. It's been hard. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a homebody. So, the first few weeks hit pretty hard. But, I've really started to settle in nicely. It's an environment that's very good for my academics and my golf. I've never been in such a competitive environment before. Everyone keeps pushing you and Coach Fetcho keep pushing you to improve every day. It's good because I feel like I've gotten better in every aspect in my life. I've done a lot of growing up as well since I've been here. It's been good and I'm enjoying it.

What was the experience like to represent Ireland at the Home Boys International?

It was pretty sweet. It was probably one of my proudest moments in junior career. My mom and dad were there as well. I feel as if I have the easy part just playing golf. My parents have the hard part because they've sacrificed so much. I'm also proud just doing it for them. Playing at the tournament was obviously quite special for myself as well because it's so rare to represent your country. I was extremely grateful. Obviously, we didn't win but just to put on the green jersey was pretty nice.

How important was it to you to partake in some of those high-level tournaments? What did it do for your development?

I played pretty well at the Home Boys International. I got four and a half points out of six, which is pretty good. We still lost, but it was about the team. I still felt as if I performed well on a competitive level. It definitely was just a bit of an eye-opener. It's been the same over here, I suppose. I played in a qualifying tournament in Florida last summer and one thing that I learned was that it's just a different type of golf over in the United States. There's just more guys who can hit it far over here. I thought I could hit it pretty far, but guys just bomb it over here. It's been good just to be able to see where I'm at from a competition standpoint.

What are you most excited about entering your first year at Southern Illinois?

Ever since I started to play, I always thought how I would love to go to America for a scholarship. Coach Fetcho was really good to me when we started talking. He's really good at recruiting. He made me feel wanted and made me feel as if I'd have an important role in the program. The facilities are great and the academics are pretty strong. I did my research on the academics quite a bit because at the end of the day you're here to get your degree. I did have my doubts because I am a big homebody. But, I'd just have way too many regrets if I didn't come and give it a shot. It's such a good environment. I feel like once I go back to Ireland this summer I'll be a far better golfer than before I came to Southern Illinois.

What are you most excited about with your first year at Southern?

Obviously, I'd love to play in a few tournaments but hopefully we get our season started first. I do have an individual tournament in three weeks in Indiana, but hopefully we get a full schedule next semester. I'm just looking forward to competing. I didn't come over to not compete. I came over to be the best. I just want to win. I also want to play in the conference and hopefully we can win it all. We just have to take it one step at a time.

What kind of things have you been working on to prepare yourself for the upcoming season?

Coach has a golf system called DECADE which shows where your strong parts of your game are and where you need to improve on. That's helped me identify what I need to do pretty quickly. There's different types of grass over here. I've been known in Ireland to put in on the green pretty well, but there's all the different types of grass over here so I sort of struggle at that. So, that's something I'm working on pretty hard. Just going to practice and getting better everyday is what I'm focused on. Since there hasn't been many tournaments, Coach has helped us work more on our technique and the fundamentals of golf.

What's the biggest goal you have for your golf career as a Saluki?

My number one goal is to get my degree. I have certain goals within my golf career. I just want to look back over the four years and have no regrets. The end goal, if golf works out, would be to play on the PGA tour. However, the thing I like about the college system in the United States is that if golf doesn't work out, you have your degree to fall back on. Whether it's golf or my academics, I want to be successful in whatever I do.

Has anyone acted as your mentor or inspiration in golf?

There's a few. My coach from Ireland at my home club is a big one. He was at Wake Forest University for a year so he's been helping me out quite a bit. Otherwise, I've sort of been my own person and that's what I've been known for. I don't know if it's a good quality or not, but I've been known for my stubbornness. I say things as it is. I just feel as if I try my best, I can always be proud of myself. Birgir Magnusson has been pretty nice and welcoming. He's shown me around and helped me get to know people. I really can't pick out a single person though because everyone on the team pushes each other. That's the one thing I've really picked up on. We just have such a good team and we have such a healthy environment between us all.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS

For all things Saluki golf, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Josh Mackin

Birgir Magnusson

Scoreboard

Upcoming Events