First-year Will Hemauer, a Wauwatosa native, started playing golf as soon as he could pick up a club.
“I came from two golfing families, so I got involved right away,” Hemauer said.
Hemauer’s uncle, Steve Johnson, has played on the amateur tour in Wisconsin.
“He is my favorite person to play with,” Hemauer said. “He always has fun and is a positive player.”
Hemauer, a Marquette University High School graduate, didn’t have to travel far from his family to play collegiately. In fact, he had to just head east on Wisconsin Avenue.
“Being so familiar with the area and being just down the road made my transition easy,” Hemauer said.
While at Marquette High, Hemauer earned an All-State Second Team honor his senior year and was named a captain for his junior and senior years.
In the off-season, Hemauer filled his golf craving by entering into tournaments, such as the 2019 Junior Masters.
“I always wanted to play college golf and it was a dream of mine,” Hemauer said. “I played in a lot of summer tournaments to get looks from college coaches.”
As for his school of choice, he reached out to Marquette head coach Steve Bailey looking to receive an offer after his high school coach had already called Bailey to set the two up.
“I had heard great things about Coach Bailey and Coach Long and I wanted to be a part of the program,” Hemauer said.
First-year Hemauer said he is not content being on the bench this season. As a high school senior, he medaled in regionals and sectionals with scores of 65 and 70 respectively.
“I want to be in the lineup and compete for a Big East Championship,” Hemauer said. “I also want to be the best human I can be and positively influence the team.”
To do that, he said that he needs to become a follower.
“There are a lot of role models and mentors on the team that have helped me already and I need to buy into the system that the coaches have set up here,” Hemauer said.
Outside of some work around the green, Bailey said he is excited about what Hemauer brings to the table.
“He is above average in his ball-striking and has a very repeatable swing,” Bailey said. “He is consistent off the tee and he is a great iron player. He stripes the ball.”
Senior Aidan Lafferty said he is eager to watch Hemauer adjust to collegiate play.
“Coach is incredible at bringing in guys that feed our culture and he is a great addition as someone who fosters our culture,” Lafferty said. “Him being here is a testament to how good of a player he is.”
Hemauer said he is aware of the improvements that he needs to make.
“The biggest thing that separates high school and college players is the short game because people in college know how to get the ball in the hole,” Hemauer said.
Bailey said he agrees with that.
“He is learning pretty quickly that it doesn’t matter how pretty it is but it’s about getting the ball in the hole,” Bailey said.
In order for Hemauer to succeed this year, Bailey said he will need to do the little things right.
“He needs to create habits that allow him to grow every day. He needs to commit to that process and be disciplined in his habits,” Bailey said. “He’s like the new baby of the family. It is going to be an easy transition for him because he has the guys around him willing to feed him information.”
Hemauer is not creating these habits on his own, he has his teammates.
“It’s not that we are holding his hand guiding him, it’s that he is helping us as much as we help him,” Lafferty said.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected].
