Spotlight: Ian Luby ’13

Ian Luby, from St. Paul, Minnesota (Central HS), shot a 79  to take third during the men’s golf training trip in Arizona over Spring Break. Additionally, Luby serves as captain of the team.

Photo by Saw Min Maw

How was your spring break?

The golf team goes down to Tucson, AZ. We basically play the whole week. Every day we get up pretty early and go to the range, practice all morning, play a round in the afternoon, and then on the last day we play a tournament. This year we played against Pima College at Skyline Country Club.

What does a 79 mean?

At that course, a 79 was eight over par. The course down there was a low narrower because it’s grass and desert so you have to hit the ball a lot straighter and be a lot more controlled. If you do miss the fairway, you’re going to lose the ball. It’s also faster and drier than courses here.

How did the team do?

The team did well [considering the fact that] Pima College gets to play all year. We lost a lot of people from last year—five seniors from a very small team. We’re rebuilding just a little bit. We have seven guys on the whole team right now. We shot 334. We’d like to be a little lower, but it’s the start of the season. None of the courses around here are open yet, so we hadn’t played outside.

What are your expectations and hopes for the season?

I hope to have a great individual season. I think my game’s ready. Ideally I’d have a stroke average around 80 or below. For the team, I think we can compete for a top four spot in Conference this year; the Conference is down as well. The team has been fifth every year of my college career, so we’re going for fourth this year.

When did you start playing golf and why?

I started when I was really young, like four or five. My neighbor cut down his old adult clubs for me. In high school I really committed and got a lot better then. [Whether I would play golf] was a debate when I was coming into college, but ended up becoming a deciding factor.

What other sports did you play in high school?

I played baseball, tennis and golf leading up to high school, but in high school they were all the same season, so I had to choose. I don’t regret it at all, but that was kind of a bummer.

What do you aspire to do after graduation?

I want to work in the field of international agriculture/international development, so hopefully putting my two degrees together.

What is your favorite Grinnell memory?

My freshman year, the team set the school scoring record of 301 at DMACC in Boone, IA. We also won the tournament that day. Also, when we won the academic national championship, that was pretty sweet.