The 2012 fall campaign was a bit of a roller coaster ride for both the men’s and women’s LSU golf squads.

Headed by coach Chuck Winstead, the men’s program had plenty of growing to do over the course of the season.  

Without a senior presence in the lineup, the Tigers regularly sent underclassmen into the fire.  

But LSU seemed to handle it well, finishing first in two of the squad’s four competitions.

Players like sophomores Curtis Thompson, Stewart Jolly and Myles Lewis and freshman Zach Wright could be seen golfing next to junior teammate Andrew Presley in the majority of the team’s tournaments.

Presley, Thompson and Jolly all finished first overall individually at one point in 2012, proving the program has a bright future.

Winstead credited the program for bringing the younger players along at a fast pace.

“We have a way that we go about developing our players,” Winstead said. “The ones that really work hard on the areas that we define for them have been able to see a nice increase in their ability and thus a lower scoring average.”

The men’s squad also made news on the recruiting front, as Brandon Pierce of Covington and Eric Ricard of Shreveport are prepped to join the team next season. Pierce is the No. 10-ranked recruit in the nation for the Class of 2013 in the Polo Junior Golf Rankings, while Ricard is Golfweek/Sagarin’s No. 15-ranked recruit.

The Lady Tigers competed in four tournaments in 2012, though they would finish no higher than eighth in any competition.

Under the direction of coach Karen Bahnsen, LSU trotted out a young lineup, with only one senior on the roster.

Bahnsen looked to junior Lindsay Gahm and Swedish sophomore Madelene Sagstrom to help push the program forward.

“Lindsay Gahm and Madelene Sagstrom are the two leaders on our team,” Bahnsen said. “I’m expecting big things out of them, and now we’re just looking for the younger [golfers] to step up.”

Even with the poor finishes in competitive play this season, Bahnsen is encouraged about the future.

“Three of our five starters are new girls,” Bahnsen said. “They’ve moved up every single day. We wanted to work on our short game and on making more putts. We wanted to start having confidence and believing in ourselves.”

Both the men’s and women’s squads will return to competitive play in late February.