As Colorado State University men’s golf junior Elijah Knudsen said, basketball is all about the fast-paced nature of the game, whereas golf is one single moment, waiting for the next.
Knudsen, a former basketball player at Colorado Mesa University, is learning how to blend the two mindsets after accepting a walk-on spot with the Rams for the 2024-25 season.
He did not leave basketball because he couldn’t play. At Division II CMU, he ranked second on the team in 3-point shooting at 45.5% and posted multiple double-digit scoring performances.
Despite things going well on the court, his relationship with basketball began to change.
“I loved basketball in high school,” Knudsen said. “And then college basketball, the first two years were good. But I had a semester where coaching made me not like the game anymore.”
From then on, golf became his outlet. Knudsen let go of his frustrations on the court and found an escape on the green, still competing but without frustration and pressure.
“I was using golf to distract myself from how challenging basketball was for me at the time,” Knudsen said.
Knudsen didn’t boast a competitive golf background, but after spending hours on the course, his scores lowered and his confidence boosted. In 2024, Knudsen walked away from basketball and committed to golf.
The switch wasn’t easy, but he was ready to make it.
“I never played (golf) competitively before the last year and a half,” Knudsen said. “I moved home, started working and just focused on my golf game.”
He began by playing in amateur tournaments and wondered where he might land given his newfound focus.
What Knudsen didn’t know was he had an audience at the Tournament Players Club in Berthoud, Colorado. In the audience was CSU’s men’s golf head coach Jack Kennedy, who noticed Knudsen’s dedication and efficiency through swings, putts and drives.
Knudsen received a call from Kennedy days before the semester began asking if he wanted to tour the campus. During that visit, the born-again college competitor received a walk-on offer.
“I don’t know how or why, but I appreciate him giving me the opportunity,” Knudsen said. “And it’s been great.”
Kennedy joined the coaching staff at the start of the 2024 season and helped lead the team to one of their best performances in recent years, closing the 2024-25 season ranked No. 56 in Division I men’s golf. For Kennedy, it’s not just about building a competitive program; it’s more about developing the players behind the club.
“(We want) people who are hard workers, people who have professional aspirations on the golf side,” Kennedy said. “Golf is a very small, intimate group. We’re looking for guys who have the work ethic but also have the personalities.”
That mindset is something both Knudsen and Kennedy recognize.
Kennedy, like Knudsen, brings with him a basketball background. He formally played in college and was a graduate assistant coach at San Francisco from 2008 to 2010, where his transition into golf led his team to eight team tournament titles and the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2023.
“Golf is an individual sport, but college golf is a team sport,” Kennedy said. “There are a lot of similarities between a free throw and a six-foot putt. It’s you, your thoughts and executing under pressure.”
After being offered a spot on the team, Knudsen’s commitment to golf grew. Even though he had prior experience playing college basketball, learning how golf worked at the collegiate level was a change he had to mentally adjust to.
“I’m different from everybody else,” Knudsen said “I’m thinking about where the team’s at 100% the whole time because that’s just all I’ve known my whole life.”
Transitioning hasn’t been easy — going from relying on others to make plays or have your back to being alone in golf takes time. As the season closes out for Knudsen, he’s showcased his skills in two spring tournaments, with 310 strokes, averaging 77.50 strokes and just six over par per round.
While those numbers reflect a learning curve compared to more experienced competitors, they speak to his commitment to the sport and indicate nothing will deter him.
Knudsen continues to find ways to make himself better and continues to adjust, a quality that stands out even when the results aren’t exactly what’s being aimed for.
“There’s no time off for me,” Knudsen said. “I’m behind where everyone else is at, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to catch up. The results haven’t been amazing, but that was expected. I’m taking from every round, every tournament.”
With time, that growth will yield results, something Kennedy persistently tells his athletes. Building a tournament-winning team takes time and patience, a quality Kennedy said he wishes to find in every athlete who wants the opportunity to grow.
“(It’s) our job, as coaches, to challenge them,” Kennedy said. “Even if we were playing really well and won five tournaments in a row, the message is still the same no matter what: just trying to help them grow and learn.”
Reach Abigail Wood at sports@collegian.com or on social media @Abigaiil_Wood.
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