Andrew College goes Green

By Andy Brown

Published: June 24, 2008

It’s safe to say that when Lakeside Athletics Director Tom Clements was asked to stop by the school library Thursday for former Lakeside standout Blayne
Green’s scholarship signing, he was a little shocked.

That had less to do with who was signing and more to do with what he was signing to do?

“When I heard he was signing a golf scholarship my first reaction was, ‘Golf?’” Clements said with a smile. “He played football, basketball and baseball for me here, but I didn’t even know he played golf.”

That because until recently, Green didn’t.

“I didn’t play golf growing up,” Green said. “I didn’t really start playing until after I graduated (from Lakeside).”

Since then, the former three-sport standout has played almost every day for a year and has landed a two-year scholarship to Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga.

His signing came as a shock to almost everyone – everyone except himself that is.

“I felt like I could do it,” he said.

Early on his father, Rick Green, had his doubts.

“We had gone to Dothan for a tryout with the Post 12 baseball team,” Rick Green said. “After the tryout (Larry Tubbs), who is very well respected as a coach, told us that if Blayne wanted to play college baseball he could get him a scholarship. On the way home, I could tell that wasn’t what Blayne wanted. He had played baseball, football and basketball all through high school and was just burnt out. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to play golf and get a scholarship. I promise you I fell on the floor and laughed because he had never played, but he worked hard and turned himself into a golfer.”

In fact, Green – who spent the last year attending school at Wallace Community College-Sparks Campus – had multiple offers.

In the end he chose Andrew over Faulkner University.

“It is closer to home, and after two years if I do well I can have the chance to transfer to a Division I school,” Green said.

According to Green, his work around the green is an area he hopes to improve on during his stay in Cuthbert.

“I need to work on my short game,” he said.

“That’s probably the area that needs the most work.”

That doesn’t bother Green one bit.

He enjoys the work, and the challenge.

“Golf is the most challenging sport there is to play,” he said. “I like that you have to be mentally tough to play and that you’re battling yourself and the course. … I just like to compete.”

Clements, who taught Green the finer points of baseball, basketball and football, may now be turning to his former student for some instruction.

“It’s amazing to me that he could just go out there and pick (the game of golf) up like he did,” Clements said.

“When I play, I can tee off on No. 1 and the ball will end up in the No. 4 fairway.

“To not have ever played and in a year be signing a golf scholarship, well, that’s pretty amazing.

“Maybe we can go out and play sometime and you can give me some lessons,” Clements told Green with a smile. “I still have wood woods, if that tells you how far behind I am.”

If the past is any indication, it might only take Green a year to get Clements up to par.