Glendale is one of only 20 colleges in Southern California that has a golf team; that’s 120 players and out of those 120 players, Mathis Dahl, from GCC is the new No. 1 player.
“He’s a confident player — he’s not cocky — he’s a very confident player,” said head golf coach Greg Osbourne. “He’s never going to shoot a high score, he’s consistent.”
Growing up in Haninge, Sweden, Dahl watched his father, uncle, and cousin play golf. And for Dahl, it became second nature to pick up a set of clubs and take on the green himself.
“When I was little, I pretty much wanted to try everything out and I just like golf,” said Dahl. “I like the fact that you’re trying to put something in a hole from far away. It’s all about you. You didn’t have to care about anybody else, you just play your own game.”
Since he was 5 years old, Dahl has been active in several sports, including golf. He played soccer until he was 10, and played a game call floorball, which is similar to ice hockey but without ice, until he was 17.
Dahl’s life goal is to play on the PGA tour, and the only way he could accomplish his goal was to come to America and play at a school and get a good education.
However, Glendale College was not his top choice. Earlier last year, Dahl took a trip to Texas and Oklahoma and visited division one and two schools. He received a scholarship to play for a school in Oklahoma, but the head coach of the team was fired and his scholarship disappeared.
“I had nowhere to go after that,” said Dahl. “I had a guy back in Sweden, he was kind of like my adviser and he has very good contacts with Glendale College. So he pretty much asked me if I wanted to go to Glendale. I told him, ‘Los Angeles? Sounds good, let’s go.’”
“I knew he was a good player,” Osbourne said. “He was like a blessing in disguise for me, it ended up working out much better than we ever thought.”
In fact, Dahl said that he is happy with how everything worked out, or else, he would not be in Glendale and have not made the friendships and bonds he currently has.
“A lot of doors opened. A lot of good stuff has happened, I met my roommate, Derrik Hubband. I met my teammates, Michael Timpson, and Richard Maloof. And all those three were going to be buddies for life,” said Dahl.
Teammate Nick Quintanilla described what it is like to have Dahl on the team.
“Competitively, it drives you to beat him, but also makes you secure,” Quintanilla said. “If a couple of us play our best, he’s going to play well no matter what; it’s a given that he is going to play well. If you just play good at your own game, we’re all going to do well.”
With the addition of Dahl, his talent and knowledge of the game makes the team stronger when competing.
“We had a strong team coming into this year,” said Osbourne “And when he selected us from Sweden and since he has been here, it’s a blessing in disguise that he came here, but he’s had a great time. He gets along with everybody on the team.”
When Dahl told his parents he would attend college in America and play golf, he received different reactions from his mother and father.
“My dad was very proud of me. He doesn’t like America, but he wanted me to go for golf, go for my goals and do what ever it takes, and [he said] the U.S. might be the best place to do it,” said Dahl.
“My mom was a little bit on the other side, She was more like he’s going away, I’m not going to see him. She was more of the sad side of it. It was a little bit of a struggle for her.”
Dahl said he speaks to his parents every week and is constantly updated on what is happening bank in Haninge.
For Dahl and his future, he wants to continue to improve his game and take it to the next level. As of right now, he is talking to a couple of schools in San Diego and also Arizona State University.
So far, University of San Diego is at the top of his list.
“I want to have good weather, good golf, and a good school. And the University of San Diego fits in all those categories,” said Dahl.
