Aaron Hattenbach '09 showed some promise on the golf course during his first two years at Brandeis. In 11 events he had two top-20 finishes and had posted the two best average scores of his four-year career. While Hattenbach's scores have declined in the last two seasons, he has certainly had more to focus on, particularly this past year. "I've been all over the place. I'm not thrilled about my performance these past two years, but the experience trumps any individual achievements I could have had," he said. "It was great to play great golf during my first two years, but it's tough to manage your golf game when you have a lot of other responsibilities on the side. As I started to look more at the bigger picture, it became more difficult to score well."

This season, after the University suspended the varsity golf program for the 2009 to 2010 season to fill a projected $10 million gap in the fiscal 2009 operating budget, the bigger picture became saving the varsity golf team for one more year.

Hattenbach led the golf team's fundraising effort, which produced $22,000 from the time members of the team learned of the University's intention to cut the golf program in February to early April, an amount just enough to keep the team at the varsity level next year.

The rest of golf team rallied behind Hattenbach's positive attitude and relentless effort as they reached out to prospective donors ranging from friends and family to former team members and other alumni.

In the University's initial plan, Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa '90 said, the golf program, which consisted of only nine members, would be terminated as a varsity sport and changed into a club sport because of the minimal damage such a transition would do to athletic staffing compared to the suspension of another varsity sport.

Coach Bill Shipman, who also coaches the fencing team, said that members of the golf team did not want to be demoted to a lower status.

"This group of players has seen the team improve a lot. We've gone from one of the weaker teams in New England to a competitive team at the upper-middle level of New England golf," Shipman said. "While the team can still play some golf as a club team, it's just not same level of competition or the same goals. It would be a poor substitute for the players who are on the team now."

As a club team, the golf team would be unable to compete in the University Athletic Association Championships or the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Regionals, where the team has performed progressively better over the last few years.

"With all of the bad news around campus, we wanted to keep the status we had. Club sports are not the same as a varsity sport. There is a seriousness associated with varsity athletics," golfer Lee Bloom '10 said. "It's nice to be associated with the school, and we get to represent the school and compete against other schools under the school's varsity name."

Team members praised Hattenbach's ability to motivate the team in its effort to save the program.

"[Hattenbach] was very enthusiastic from the beginning. He was always positive that we would raise the money. Even when others were a little doubtful, he was always there to boost our morale," Bloom said.

But Hattenbach's mission extended even beyond a fight for the continuation of a Brandeis team that he and so many others before him cherished. He explained that during his first few years on the team, members played into golf's individualistic nature off the course and did not share strong personal connections like other varsity teams outside of their athletic arena. Through the fundraising effort, Hattenbach said, he felt he could change the culture of the team he was leaving behind.

"During my freshmen year, our captains were generally on their own and [didn't] make the underclassmen feel included. They never really called us up to hang out or do anything, but this team has taken a turn," said Hattenbach. "Everyone on the team hangs out together regardless of their class [year]."

Though this past semester was his last at Brandeis, Hattenbach still remained the key organizer and leader in the efforts to save the varsity program.

"The reason I helped with this fundraising effort was because I had a great four-year experience as a member of the golf team. It made a huge difference in my college experience, and I want them to have the same experience I've had," he said. "I'm very close with [Bloom], [Charles Sacks] '11, [Aaron Cusato] '12 and the other guys on the team, and I want to see them finish off their collegiate careers, especially [Bloom], who had a great fall season."

Now, the team has a new mission at hand: continuing its fundraising efforts to get the team endowed for a longer period. The University estimates that the team would have to raise anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000 to do so.

Fellow golf team members say that Hattenbach played a huge role in the process of saving the team and that his efforts laid the foundation for the rest of the team to build upon in order to continue as a varsity program beyond next season.

"It means a lot to me that [Hattenbach] cares," Sacks said. "It means that I have to take this on after he graduates to work even harder to create the [endowment]. He put the pressure on us to keep it going."


-Ian Cutler contributed reporting