Feb. 27, 2008

From an outsider's perspective, the life of a collegiate golfer is nice and simple.

How hard is it to grab a set of clubs, walk around some of the most beautiful golf courses in the country and play a nice, relaxing 18 holes during a sunny, bird-chirping, squirrel-running, stunning afternoon.

The reality of life as a collegiate golfer is much more difficult than that of the occasional recreational golfer - who plays for fun instead of playing for a taste of victory. Instead of riding a cart for 18 holes, collegiate golfers walk 36 holes on the first day of competition followed by an 18-hole affair the following day.

To those who play the sport realize that it's all about repetition so add in two-to-three hours a day at the course working on your swing from the drives to the approaches shots to the touch around the green and ending with a series of putts with more breaks and slopes that it would make an insane person crazy.

Now - add in a full load of classes and meetings to go along with vigorous workouts then flying from one coast of the country and beyond to the other, and the life of a collegiate golfer is getting a little more complicated.

While the outsider might think about collegiate golfer in a whole new light, TCU senior Franklin Corpening (Fort Worth, Texas/Paschal H.S.) wouldn't change the life that he's known for the last four years for anything. It's the life he knows, and heading into his final campaign with the Horned Frogs, it's not something that he will ever stop appreciating.

The Fort Worth, Texas, product has been a catalyst for a Frogs' golf program that been nationally-ranked in each of his four seasons with the Purple and White. Corpening has competed in over 30 tournaments during his four-year career and posted his first collegiate victory in the Fall of 2006 at the Memphis Intercollegiate where he drained a birdie on the 18th hole to become the 10th golfer in the last decade to notch a tournament title for the Frogs.

The owner of six top-20 finishes - including a quartet of top-10 showings - Corpening has guided the Frogs to a top-40 ranking during the 2007-08 campaign. During the fall season, the local product used a fourth-place showing at the MacDonald Cup to give the Purple and White a tournament team title.

Now - Corpening is down to a hand-full of tournaments left in his collegiate career before setting his goals to a new direction and path on the PGA Tour following in the footsteps of former Frog standout J.J. Henry.

Who could ask for a better life than the opportunity to play golf for a living - it's definitely something that Corpening wouldn't take for granted.

Corpening sat down with the TCU Athletic Media Relations staff to discuss his life as a collegiate golfer for the Horned Frogs.

As the lone senior on the Frogs - what lessons do you try to teach the younger players?
"At first - I really try to teach them the basics like don't be late to practice or meetings, remember all of your equipment, things of that nature. It's important for them to remember that this is a game that we all love and should have fun at. Coach Montigel has done a great job of scheduling for us where we travel to some of the best courses in the country, and it's important to appreciate what we have and enjoy it while we all can."

How would you explain your collegiate golf experience to an outsider?
"It's been unbelievable. I never imagined that it would be this good, and TCU has been really great to me. We have the opportunity to get personalized tutoring sessions in the academic center, and they make sure that we are on track to graduate - which takes a load off of me. I will never complain for one second about my experience because I get to play golf four hours a day and travel to Hawaii and Las Vegas to play their top courses. It's a dream world for me."

You grew up in Fort Worth and had opportunities to go elsewhere - why TCU?
"I would say that 80 percent of my decision came down to my parents and grandparents. My mom and grandparents made every tournament when I was a junior player, and I have a very strong relationship with my family. It was very comfortable for me to stay here because I still get to travel all over the country, play golf and get a great education and still make it home to get my laundry done or a home-cooked meal if I wanted to. It had the best of both worlds in my eyes."

In order to travel with the team to a tournament - you have to qualify against your teammates. You made the traveling team as a freshman and the rest is history, but discuss what the qualifying round is like?
"It wasn't as bad for me as some of the other players because I grew up in Fort Worth, and I knew all of the courses that we would qualify at like Colonial so I think that I had an advantage. When I came here we were ranked around 11th in the nation and were 1st in the country for a short period of time so we had some really, really great players on the team. It wasn't as much nervous for me as it was fun because if you want to become a professional - you have to compete against the best, and I was getting that opportunity in practice and qualifying rounds so I enjoyed it."

Many believe that golf is more mental then physical - do you believe that's an accurate statement?
"There are doctors and specialists who believe that golf is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical, but I believe that it's the other way around. I think that the physical part is the number-one priority because it's all about repetition and practice in order to get better. It's all about getting your swing down to where your comfortable in every shot, and that comes from practice. I believe that once you have your swing then you just need to go out on the course and have fun."

What do you believe is your proudest individual moment as a TCU golfer?
"I would say last season when I won my first tournament (at the Memphis Intercollegiate) because it was a big step for me in my career. Coach Montigel doesn't put us in easy tournaments so every tournament we go to has some big-time competition against a lot of really great golfers. It's not always to win a tournament so when I won, it was against a strong field and I was able to take my game to a different level. It was also a great experience because it was the only golf tournament that my dad has been able to attend, and I won it so it's something that I'll never forget."

Describe what life is like as a golfer at TCU?
"It's a lot of practice and practice before you begin your round. You usually practice for about two hours on a variety of shots like your driving, putting or short game then you go out and play nine holes - which is another two hours. You spend around four to five hours at the golf course, and you still have a full schedule of class work and meetings to make sure that you attend. You have to be very mature about your decisions so that you can balance golf, school along with your friends and family."

You're coming down to the final tournaments of your collegiate career - what do you want to get out of it?
"I really just want to have fun and work as hard as I can to improve at every tournament. I want to have a good frame of mind, remained focused and stay on task for the goals that I want to accomplish. It would be very easy to get "senioritis" even as a student-athlete so it's important to make sure that I stay focused in my game, workouts and school. It's my last semester of college so I want to enjoy every moment of it and not take anything for granted."

TCU Athletic Media Relations