Silver City, N.M. - Golf is a sport that requires time, patience, and class. For the 3rd "Meet the Mustang Coaching Staff" we introduce a Head Golf Coach Kent Beatty, who has been at WNMU for 24 years. 
 
Beatty coaches alongside two graduate assistants, John Gallegos and Shelby Turner. "They both played under me for 4 years and they understand what I want and look for. They understand the players personality being around their age and communicate with me on what is going on."
 
The journey of becoming the head coach at WNMU took some time. Originally from Ruidoso, NM, Beatty coached high school golf from 1986-1997. In 1995, he made the leap of joining the PGA and becoming a club pro at Ruidoso. At Ruidoso, one of Beatty's former players was also a club pro and mentioned WNMU was looking for a coach. 
 
Beatty started coaching at WNMU in 1996, winning countless tournaments, recruiting and developing individuals to get to nationals, and winning the the conference tournament three times (06-07; 13-14 - individual champion David Metz; 14-15).
 
With a year that has been unlike any other, Beatty's leadership is still the same. He looks to recruit smart players who want to continue to learn and grow as a student, an athlete, and as a person. After a spring of cancellations due to Covid-19, the expectation of these seniors are to perform and lead. The men have three seniors who have helped set the tone for four freshmen, winning their first tournament of the 2020 campaign and pushing to get to the postseason.
 
The women have yet to tee off in 2020, but Beatty has high hopes for the future of the women Mustangs. "We lost two of our best all time players in the last two years. It will be a learning curve for the girls as they are a young team. If they work hard and continue to improve, they will compete with anyone."
 
"John and Shelby are extremely important to the player's success as they are from the same generation as the players and can communicate in different ways to help their development" acknowledges Beatty.
 
While studying for his Masters of Business Administration, the former Mustang (2016-2020) and current Men's Golf Graduate Assistant, John Gallegos was a two-time state champion at V.Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, NM. Gallegos who had played with much of the team is excited about this team because of the depth. "We have a team of guys who go out to compete and get better everyday." 
 
Gallegos appreciates Coach Beatty for helping him develop as a player and a leader saying, "I am super appreciative of coach for allowing me to pursue something that I am passionate about. It's an opportunity like no other and I couldn't be more thankful."  
 
The Women's Graduate Assistant who is getting her Masters in Educational Leadership, Shelby Turner, calls Deming, NM home. Turner has been at WNMU since 2015, where she held a 3.92 GPA, double majored in business management and marketing, and graduated a semester early, all while achieving records at WNMU.
 
"Coach Williams in Deming helped me tremendously and helped get me to WNMU. Coach Beatty helped me grow and advanced my game and motivated me to strive for even more" Turner credits her two golf coaches.
 
The 2016-2017 All-Scholar has 4 records at WNMU:
-Player Career Par or Better rounds: 8
-Player Career Birdies: 145
-Player Season Par 5 scoring: 5.0233
-Player Season Average Score: 76.68
 
Looking to share her knowledge and experience, Turner looks forward to the women's team saying, "We have a closely knit team of girls who have grown up playing together. They have a lot of potential and I believe they can easily compete with the other teams in the LSC."
 
Turner acknowledges God and family for being there and supporting her in her aspirations for greatness as a golfer and pushing her in my academics to be a  valedictorian and earning her degree. 
 
The women are off the Amarillo, TX, this weekend (10/04-10/05) playing in the West Texas University Women's Fall Invite. The men will look to continue their success at the Midwestern State Invitational (10/12-10/13) in Wichita Falls, TX.