Golf Team Co-Captain: Mental Leadership is Key

By Buffy Clifford

Assistant Sports Information Director

Golf has always played a major part in Joel Radtke's life. A two-time co-captain of the Harvard men's golf team, his passion for the game began at an earlier age than most avid golfers.

"My mom and dad manage a golf course back home," explains the Pontiac, Ill., native. "I started playing golf when I was three or four years old. "My two brothers and I always helped my parents out on the course and I still do when I go home for the summer. It takes a major effort to run a golf course. There's a ton of grass to be mowed," he chuckles.

At one point in Radtke's life, golf meant so much to him that he was seriously considering a professional career in his chosen sport. "Up until my senior year of high school, I planned on playing professionally," he says. "I had a choice to make for college between Stanford and Harvard. I chose Harvard for the education and at that moment, I knew that golf -- although it plays a huge part in my life -- would have a recreational angle for me."

While at Harvard, golf has been a stress reliever for the Kirkland House resident. "Golf takes up so much of your mind and attention, so that everything else just fades away for those four hours," he illustrates. "It's really a wonderful feeling to be out in this beautiful environment where every worry magically fades away, and you're doing something you really love to do."

A government concentrator, Radtke is looking to enter the business field, most likely in the area of finance. "I'm heavily involved in the recruiting process right now," he says. "I would like to get into equity management primarily, but I'm also looking at consulting opportunities. In those fields, I'll be able to apply the analytical thinking ability that I've been taught in my government classes." A young man who clearly enjoys a challenge on the golf course as well as in the classroom, Radtke took a shot at learning Chinese -- one of the toughest languages to master. "I took Chinese out of intellectual curiosity," he explains. "The language is very difficult and necessitates immense memorization, but I've enjoyed the challenge. I would like to continue to learn more of the language in the future and possibly work in the Chinese business community." Another aspect of his golf experience that he will be able to apply in the business world are his leadership abilities. Now in his second year as a captain of the squad, Radtke has a certain knack for guiding his teammates. "I think in golf it's best to be a mental leader," he expresses. "My job is to get everybody into the right frame of mind to play well. I analyze each person's strengths and weaknesses, and I try to find out what they are nervous and confident about on the golf course. I try to play and talk with the guys who need more pointers through the hazards. We discuss the course and possible strategies. It's good to have a solid rapport with my teammates so that it gets them to practice doing it in their own minds. That's half the battle. Something so simple can lead to a big outcome."

Radtke is a quiet leader, who guides by example. "I never think that I'm not going to be the low scorer when I go out to play," he adds. "It's just a matter of getting everyone else to follow along." For a sport like golf that involves an individual performance, one would think that the team concept is not stressed, but Radtke points out that that's not true for the Harvard golfers.

"For us, it's more team-oriented than you'd think," he explains. "When you're out on the course, you see each other on it the whole time. You can catch your teammate's eye to let him know that you're supporting him. Sometimes we point to our hearts or our heads to express that we need to put our hearts into it or use better judgment about a shot. I know that especially for ECACs last year -- a couple of really stressful and anxiety-filled days for us -- team unity kept me focused when I was struggling. It helped me to see that it's just not me out there that I'm working for." Radtke was a key part of Harvard's winning the ECACs in '94 -- the first time in school history. He also copped First Team All-Ivy honors after placing second at last year's Ivy tournament in Bethpage, N.Y.

Radtke and the rest of the members of the golf team are looking forward to the spring after a somewhat disappointing outing this fall. "We reoriented our team goals due to our shaky finish in the fall," says Radtke. "Our goal for the spring is to win the Ivies, which has always been a big deal for us. Princeton, our biggest rival, has won it for the last three years and we know we have the talent level to beat them. We need to take up the gauntlet and go out and beat them."

For Radtke and many golfers, it can be luck as much as skill that helps to win a golf match. "I don't know a golfer who isn't superstitious," he says. "One of the funniest stories about my superstitions occurred when I was playing in a tournament in Illinois. It stemmed from the fact that I grew up on a golf course and was used to picking up any trash that I happened upon to keep the course clean. At one point in this tournament, I found some trash on the course. I picked it up, put it in my pocket and won the hole. So, for the rest of the day I walked around scouring each hole for trash. It really worked, too, because I shot a 69 that day. Sometimes, when you're under that amount of stress you reach for anything."

Golf has given this Harvard senior more than just a chance to compete -- it has become a metaphor for life.

"You're constantly getting by," he explains. "You take advantage of opportunities that serendipitously fall into your lap. You deal with adversity every time you hit one deep into the woods and want to throw your clubs in the lake. You have to calm yourself down and try to make the best of it."