David Jones was a “laid back guy” who was always honest with his players. (Centre College Athletics Photo)
The unexpected passing of Centre College golf coach David Jones, 36, in early September has forced golf team members to cope with his absence in different ways.
“The first week after his death we really didn’t go to the (golf) course much at all,” said sophomore Grey Goodwin of Nashville. “All our organization was out the window. But now this is the tightest the golf team has been since I got here.”
“It was such a huge shock for us. We heard he had an incident and was in the hospital but none of us really thought it was so serious. He was our mentor and father-like figure in Danville for those of us not from here.”
Senior Will Hacker of Lexington says the team has done more things together since Jones’ passing.
“Everyone has folks to hang out with outside of golf but now we are hanging out together a lot more,” Hacker said. “Going to the golf course is still kind of hard. I have lost family members but it was always kind of expected. With him, it took a few days to realize this was a reality.
Both players, like their teammates, came to Centre in large part because of Jones. Hacker was looking at smaller Division I colleges along with Centre, a Division III school. Jones convinced him that playing golf while getting an education and also maybe joining a fraternity would be fun.
“He was a super laid back guy. Other coaches had 6 a.m. workouts, golf every weekend. Coach Jones had some of that but if you told him you had a frat thing, it was no big deal. He was always honest with you and was straight up the nicest coach I ever talked to.”
Goodwin said he knew whether he was playing well or playing bad, Jones would still make sure he was having a good time.
“He was serious enough to where he had you work on your game and he gave me drills to do but at the same time he was relaxed enough to joke around and have fun with you,” Goodwin said.
The sophomore remembers a fall tournament last year in Orlando that was supposed to be a six-team tournament but ended up Centre against Transylvania in a “Ryder Cup-like match” with team dinners and more. Goodwin beat Jones twice playing pool and the next week when he needed a sleeve of golf balls, Jones said no and then finally told him not to lose them.
“That was his way of getting me back for beating him in pool,” Goodwin said. “He was just like that. On our van rides (to matches) we would always try to get him to play some songs that we probably were not supposed to play. But we knew what music he liked. He could never really get mad at you but you always knew he meant what he said.”
Hacker only saw Jones “visibly upset” once and that was his second tournament his freshman year.
“He got into me pretty good after I had a tough start and I came back and shot 74,” Hacker said. “Later he came up and told me he must have blacked out because he could not remember what he told me. ‘You must have really made me mad,’ he told me. That’s the only time I ever saw him visibly upset. He always did a great job making sure everyone had his head on straight.”
Hacker has been to Jones’ home numerous times for dinner where he would hang out with Jones’ wife, Kotey, and their three young children. He hopes to go watch 6-year-old Kinzley Jones play softball along with his teammates. Kotey Jones recently brought the kids to the golf course to watch the players practice.
“Just letting them hit with us was great. They are so young they really do not understand what is going on,” Hacker said. “They were happy and just running all over the golf course. It was good for us and good for her.”
Goodwin knows Jones will always be missed but his lessons on and off the golf course will not be forgotten.
“The best way for us to honor him is to live every day as he wanted us to and always be grateful for people who help us out in any way and have respect for everyone,” Goodwin said. “Just little things like not turning your hat backwards when you are indoors. He was always teaching us those little life lessons.”
The Colonels have two major fall invitations later this month and Hacker knows they “have to face reality” that Jones is gone.
“But in some ways, he will always be there with us,” Goodwin said. “He was always at the par-3’s in tournaments waiting on you. The range and practice green will be tough without him. That first par-3 is when I think it will really set in that he’s not here but in some ways he will always be with all of us. That’s the impact he had on all of us in so many ways.”
Women’s golf coach Jane Hopkinson-Wood is also the men’s interim coach and both Hacker and Goodwin appreciate the support she has provided.
“David was someone who always brought joy into the coaching world. He truly understood the impact that a coach has on a student-athlete’s experience,” Hopkinson-Wood said. “His ‘team fun’ mindset, joyful energy and pure love for the players in the golf programs is something that I will always remember about him.”
Her focus now is making sure both the men and women are supported properly during this transition period.
“My biggest task is to make sure that we honor David and the legacy that he left behind the way he would have wanted. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re getting through it day by day, week by week, together,” she said.
