Welcome to Brandon’s world, where golf at University of the Pacific is suddenly fun, entertaining and something to talk about. In two years, heading into three, Brandon Goethals has made golf at Pacific a cool thing. 
Goethals is the head coach. Thirty-six years old. Old-school motivator.

I dare you to plop a tape recorder on a table, ask him a question, and not have your blood pressure go up 100 points just listening to him unwind. But then again, he never really unwinds. He goes on. And on. And on.
Get ready for the Energizer Bunny on speed.

“When I came from Georgia Tech, my goal was to be a Division I school that was contending for a national championship every year,” he said. “Golf is a sport where that can be accomplished at a mid-major level school. You get two or three talented players to buy into your program and you can get good real quick. It’s a tougher road than Stanford or UCLA, but that’s why I’m here—the challenge. I want to build something that is forever, that sticks around for 20-30 years. I know it will take time and more effort, but it will be our stamp.”
No, it will be The Brandon Stamp.

“In 30 years, I want it to be, “Wow, this started from scratch and we did everything perfect—from recruiting, to how we dress, to how we go to school, to how we attain our grades. Everything we do, the bar is up here.”
He puts his arm above his head.

The process to get there began the day Brandon Goethals took the job.
“Changing the mentality—how we do things—has been the hard part. The kids are now starting to believe, to buy in. I think the people in the community are starting to open their arms to us. Little things like when we go into the gym to workout as a team, we’re the only team to wear the same uniforms. Every one of us. When we run together, we never get out of line. People are noticing those things because we are different. When we travel on the road, we all wear dress slacks and dress shirts. And we do everything professionally. In airports, people stop us and ask, “What group are you with?”

Traditional?
Waaaaaay traditional.

Brandon Goethals should be sitting between the legendary coaches Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) and John Wooden (UCLA). Once, during a UCLA national basketball championship run, center Bill Walton wanted to keep his hair long while playing for Wooden. “Coach, this is what I plan to do with my hair…,” Walton began.
Wooden patiently listened, then replied.
“If that’s the case, I wish you luck at the other university where you will be playing.”
Goethals calls it “being old school.”
We call it “Just Being Brandon.”
“It’s a little odd, I feel like I’m a throw back. And maybe I should have coached 20-30 years ago. But it’s hard because these kids are seeing a different world. They have their cell phones with them all the time; they have the iPods in their ears. I finally made a rule the other day: ‘No more iPods.’ When I’m in the van and talking to them, and five guys have their iPods on and can’t hear me, that’s frustrating.”
No iPods? This is as serious as a heart attack.

“When you look at championship programs, I look at Duke. When they would come to Georgia Tech to play, I used to go watch their players get off the bus. They came off all wearing the same outfits, they walked in unison. What it said was, ‘Hey, we’re Duke and we’re coming in here to crush you.’ There’s something to be said for that. When we eat at a golf course where we play, we make it a point to put our bags side-by-side. It’s miniscule, but when you do all these types of things within the program, it makes us that much better.”
Any negotiations?

“It’s about maintaining discipline in every area. I’m big in teaching how we are going to do it. Not necessarily how it’s supposed to be, but how we—Pacific—will do it.”

In other words, if you want to play in Brandon’s World, you probably want to get that hair cut after all.
But it’s more than golf, it’s growing as a person. Did someone mention education?
“In the spring, they have a luncheon for athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The athletes dress nice, but the golf team shows up in suits. We try to represent Pacific golf to the highest degree. And when the faculty comes over and commends them on their achievements, and the way they are dressed, that just says so much to the players.”

You can change a philosophy, you can change an image and mind-set, so how do you change the winning?
“My first day here, I thought, ‘Man, I’ll have this thing turned around in a year and half.  But that’s not the case. We can go out and recruit the top guys in the country, but are they good students? Are they the kind of person who can go out in the community and represent us well?  We’re looking for the complete package. Maybe it’s not the guy who averages 68, but the guy who averages 70. Yet, when he pulls a 3.7 grade average and represents us well in the community, then in my mind that 70 becomes a 65.”
Whew. Still more.
“The winning will take care of itself, I’m convinced of that. But I want people to graduate and be successful at whatever they do—golf or running businesses. If we do the little things I’m talking about, then all this will happen. What I care about most and what I always ask myself is this: “Did these guys get better while they played golf at Pacific? And I mean in every aspect of their life.”

Jeremy Fletcher has worked along Goethals for just over two seasons. Last spring, he was named assistant golf coach. He sits in a 10 X 14 office right next to Brandon everyday. It was suggested an office in Modesto might be better. Goethals laughed out loud.
“The day we recruit the best players and people aren’t surprised is the day we’ve turned the corner,” said Fletcher.

It has not been an easy road, and when the Pacific Invitational Golf Tourney kicks off on Nov. 4 for the second consecutive year, it’s another step forward with some of the best teams in the country coming to Pacific’s home course.

“It took awhile to get to this point where the kids are buying into what we are doing,” said Brandon. “It was so different from what they were used to, it was hard for them.”

Chris Rosenau is one of those players. A senior, he was a sophomore when Goethals arrived. “We expected changes, but never like this,” he said. “Now we realize he’s not only changed the way we think about golf, but the way we think about life.”

And then with the greatest compliment Goethals could receive, Rosenau said, “Sometimes it’s not easy, but I wish I could be here a few more years to be a part of this, because he’s going to win.”
So where did this Brandon inherit this drive to succeed?

“When I was 13 and used to watch the Final Four, I was crying watching the winning team holding up the championship trophy. I always dreamed of that. And then when I was in college at UNLV, and we finished fourth in the NCAA golf championship, and had a chance to win it, I experienced something I’ll never forget. That’s the passion I have everyday as a coach, for us to win a national championship.”
Uh-oh, another Brandon story.

“In July, we’re walking at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and the best players from all over the country are there. And, here I am, walking down the fairway with Oklahoma State, Oregon, UCLA, Duke, the top programs. I’m jokingly complaining to Casey Martin (Oregon’s coach) that we were the first school to recruit the kid we are following. And Casey says, “Brandon, you are from Pacific and look at the schools you are walking with.”

The message rang clear. Pacific golf has turned a corner.
Brandon Goethals has made it happen. With golf pants that must have cuffs. With club head covers being placed in a certain direction for photos. With team mottos that proclaim:
               

   This is Pacific Golf
           “A New Level of Excellence”It’s stuff that makes a normal person crazy.

But there is nothing crazy about Brandon and his intensity, his enthusiasm, his vision and his talking so fast the words sometimesruntogetherlikethis.
 “What we are doing, and what we are building,” he said, finally slowing down, “is for Pacific Golf to be the standard for everyone else.”
Enough said.

The Brandon File
HOMETOWN: Redding, Ca.
COLLEGE: UNLV (1992)
COACHING EXPERIENCE: Georgia Tech assistant, four years.
ETC: Played in three NCAA Championships at UNLV, finishing fourth as a team in 1992. Won the Bruce Parker Award at UNLV for golfer with highest grade point average.