Scholar Stories: Spring Enjoying Golf at U-M, Sport Management Major
3/11/2020 12:21:00 PM | Men's Golf, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.
By Ethan Tipping
Just as he's enjoying his third year as a student-athlete on the University of Michigan men's golf team, junior Henry Spring also is enjoying his third year in the United States.
Traveling 8,300 miles to Ann Arbor from Whakatane, New Zealand, to play golf and study sport management, Spring quickly realized the truth in the university's rich tradition.
With no prior knowledge of Michigan's impressive ranking among other colleges, he was surprised to see U-M appear as a top result during his initial research.
"I remember reading about Michigan being one of the best," he said, "but it wasn't until the hype video at a Michigan football game claiming, 'We are the greatest university in the world!' that it really made me realize this was the real deal."
From that point, Spring has continued to represent the University of Michigan in the childhood sport that he took up at the age of 3.
"I've had clubs ever since I can remember," he said, "even the plastic ones when I was younger. My dad used to push me around the course in the cart."
Collegiately, Spring led the Wolverines in two events his sophomore year, taking third at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 15-16) and 17th at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate (March 23-24). He also helped U-M set a program record for lowest single round -- a 267 (-17), set in the final round of the Fighting Irish Classic (Oct 7-8).
This year, he finished in the top 30 individually at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 23-24) and helped Michigan to a fourth-place finish at the Baylor Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 21-22).
Academically, Spring initially pursued a business degree from the Ross School of Business after being accepted. However, after a conversation with a teammate who sold him on the unique combination of both sport and business, he made the cross-campus transfer to sport management.
His favorite class was a sport management course focused on sales theory, personable selling and sales management in the sport industry, taught by Professor Ron Wade.
"Most people go to college to study materials they won't continue to use, but the combination of sports and business in the sport management major is unreal."
Despite his prowess in golf, it isn't the only sport Spring has played. New Zealand's culture places an emphasis on playing multiple sports and he's done just that. To this day, he has played rugby, cricket and soccer, the latter of which would've been his primary sport if not for golf.
In high school, Spring made the decision to focus solely on golf and dedicate his time to improving, which can be challenging in high school.
"It was always tough having friends from school go to practice together, and I had to go play a round of golf by myself," he said. "It's a lonely sport, and it forces you to grow as a person and enhance your own virtues and strengths."
Despite the sport's lonesome feel, there is still plenty of room for memories to be made. One of which, Henry might never forget.
"I was in a bunker during a practice round and I shanked it and it came out low," he recalled. "Hit my coach straight in the knee cap. He was down on the ground and I thought I was never going to play again."
On top of the memories to be made, there is a development that occurs over time for golfers due to the nature of the sport.
"Golf is not a team sport, but the individuality of this sport builds you as a person," he said. "You don't have your teammates around to hold you accountable. You have to be self-driven to improve your skills and ability without a constant push."
In lieu of this, Spring is very fortunate for the close friends he has made over the years playing internationally in Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.
When he isn't at school or traveling internationally for golf, Spring is home in Whakatane with his fellow Kiwis, partaking in great food and extreme sports hobbies.
Spring grew up surfing and continues to surf when he flies home for breaks. On a day out with his friends, Spring jumped on his board to ride a wave, but to his surprise, the sunny day suddenly became dark.
"A massive shade fell over me, and I looked up to find nothing but the sun and blue skies," he said."I looked back down and I saw a massive whale in the wall of the wave that was blocking out the sun. It was terrifying, but I was just in awe as I paddled for shore as fast as I could."
He made it back to shore unharmed but continued his memory-making on land just the same. From bungee jumping atop the world's first bungee jump structure or looking inside of active volcanoes, Spring has demonstrated his fearlessness throughout his extreme past-times.
Looking back, Spring is happy he made the international leap to U-M for college and wishes more international students would follow in his footsteps.
"I am a completely different person because of the new culture and environment I have studied and lived in," he said. "It is tough to build up the courage to take such a large leap, but it is worth it in all aspects. Going to college is an opportunity that really only comes once, and it's an opportunity you can't pass up."
Players Mentioned
