Second-year coach Vaughn revitalizes golf program

Penn's golf team won more tournaments in Francis Vaughn's first season than it played the year before. After criss-crossing the world from South Africa to Asia, Francis Vaughn's travels took him to West Philadelphia one year ago. He had spent the previous three years globe-trotting as a member of the PGA Qualifying Tour, but he put his quest for success as a pro golfer on hold to take the reigns as coach of the Penn golf team. When he arrived last year, he knew he had some work ahead of him, rebuilding a program that lacked leadership and had only been reinstated as a varsity sport in 1993. However, during his short tenure at Penn, Vaughn, whose team travels to New York for the Army Invitational Saturday, has taken the Quakers from an almost non-entity to a legitimate challenger for the Ivy League crown. "The program when I got here was in a form of disarray," Vaughn said. "There was no coach per se, and the kids didn't really have any direction. There were 12 individuals going 12 different ways." To combat this lack of team unity, Vaughn instituted a more structured practice schedule with the help of a new indoor facility, complete with a carpet and a putting green. He also upgraded the tournament schedule, more than doubling the number and quality of tournaments in which the Quakers played. In addition to physical adjustments, Vaughn also stressed the need for mental and philosophical changes. Vaughn set down three rules for his team to follow -- do what is right, do the best you can and treat others as you wish to be treated. "[The rules] are the cornerstone for what our team is based on and generate a sense of togetherness," Vaughn said. "Those three golden rules I live by in golf, in school and in everyday life," Penn senior captain Adam Bradshaw said. "They're simple. Just living life by those rules makes it easy and can only do good for you." The attitude adjustment quickly brought about a tightly knit team, which placed in the top 10 in more tournaments last year than it played in 1995. The unity eventually spread off the golf course as well. "[The Penn golfers] spend a lot of time together outside of the golf course," Vaughn said. "We even had two teams run in the Penn Relays." Donned in knee socks and knickers and passing a golf club instead of the traditional baton, one golfer/relay team placed fourth in its heat. Vaughn said that giving Penn golf a direction was not as hard as it seemed. "Because [the team] didn't have an ultimate goal, it was easy to give them the three values," he said. "I've really been able to start from square one and build a program around the players that I have." Although Penn's turnaround coincided with Vaughn's arrival, he does not take all the credit. He said that a main source of team policy was the players themselves. One such player-spurred initiative was a spring golfing trip to gear up for the impending season. Another reason Vaughn cites for the newfound cohesion and success is Bradshaw's leadership. Vaughn called Bradshaw's main task as team captain "leading by example." As a junior last year, Bradshaw won three individual tournament titles and kicked off this year with a second-place finish at the Cornell/Colgate Invitational last weekend. "I try to make playing on the team as easy as possible," Bradshaw said. "I know what it takes to compete and do well. Also, I try to help underclassmen compete because the transition is rough, particularly for the freshmen." Despite the growing successes of the Red and the Blue on the golf course, Vaughn maintains an effort to balance sports and life. "I try not to make it just golf," he said. "I want to get [each golfer] to be the best person he can be." "[Vaughn] knows from his own experience that life isn't just about beating everyone," Bradshaw said. "[He says,] 'Life is about learning, not succeeding'." The Quakers remain optimistic that progress will continue this weekend at Army. Vaughn gave a fitting metaphor for the Penn golf program's turnaround under his tenure. "On a hand you have five fingers each going five different places. But if you bring them together you form a very powerful fist," Vaughn said.

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