Prairie View – Prairie View A&M University senior golfer Joah Bramwell can’t escape the feeling of being home again on The Hill.
It’s definitely a different feeling when, a couple of years ago, the Cypress native made the difficult decision to uproot his game and himself from Prairie View to head to the University of Central Oklahoma. But two years later, a new coach and a new outlook led Bramwell back to where his collegiate career began.
“It’s been cool,” Bramwell said recently while standing on the range at Sand Hill Farm Golf Club in Waller County. “It’s a lot different than it was my freshman year here. I was the new guy on campus, didn’t know anybody.
“But as I’ve been here more and more years, I’ve met a lot of friends, a lot of really, really cool people. All of the professors I used to have know who I am. I’m walking in the hall, and the business professor is like, ‘I saw what you did last week. Congratulations.’ That’s like a really cool feeling.”
It’s a feeling Bramwell never dreamed he would have again. That was until a conversation with then-first-year Prairie View golf coach Kortland Ware at the encouragement of some of his old teammates, including best friend Gage Gallo.
“I like the composure. I like that he doesn’t get too flustered and get upset. He knows that his score is not who he is as a person. A lot of times, people pour so much into, `If I don’t shoot this score, then I’m not this type of person.’ And then they are trying to prove to other people. But it does not seem like he is trying to prove anything. He seems like he wants to be the best golfer he can be.”
Kortland Ware, PV Golf Coach
Their conversation intrigued both parties and led Bramwell to return to Prairie View this past January.
“When he went to his next school, it didn’t quite work out,” Ware said. “But talking to him, talking to his family, and seeing what they embodied, it made sense.
“I also looked at his golf game. That really, really matters. It’s not just about all of the other things. We still want good results.
“We get along well because of the way he thinks about golf.”
That connection went both ways.
“A big part of the reason I came back was because of Coach Ware. I had one conversation with him on the phone, and I knew that he was going to help a ton. That was part of the big decision, why I came back was because Coach Ware was here. Talking to a lot of my old teammates who were still here, they obviously love Coach Ware a lot.
“Being able to come back and get under his wing was honestly really huge for me, and it’s helped me a lot.”
Bramwell spent much of the spring season reacclimating and played only the final four tournaments. This summer, however, Bramwell dedicated himself to improving his game, absorbing the new culture around the Panthers’ program, and reconnecting with his new and old teammates.
Ware has been so impressed with Bramwell that he has named him team captain.
“Being selected as captain is a great honor,” said Bramwell, a finance major. “The fact that Coach Ware wants me to lead this team is something I always dreamed of; being a leader, guys looking up to me, guys texting questions, `Hey, when do we have workouts?’ and stuff like that.
“It’s a job that he obviously felt that I was fit for, and that is really rewarding to me.”
The decision paid off immediately, as the Panthers came out of the gate earlier this month with a victory at Jackson State’s TheeILoveCollegiate Invitational, led by Bramwell. The Cy Ranch High School product captured the three-round individual championship with an 8-under-par score, while the Panthers opened their season with a 4-under-par for the first-place overall finish on The Refuge Golf Course in Flowood, Miss.
“It’s always something you dream of, winning college tournaments with your team, best buds, guys that you see more than your family,” Bramwell said. “You spend countless hours with these guys, and you learn to love them like family.
“You put in all the hours together, you work your butt off every day, and to get the reward and win a tournament is always the ultimate goal. But it’s one of those things you never expect to happen, but at the same time, when it does happen, it’s the greatest thing in the world.”
Ware says he wasn’t surprised his team won its first tournament. That was his expectation and vision, and he shared as much with Bramwell and the team.
“I felt like a piece of me was missing when I left for Oklahoma, because my best friend Gage Gallo) was here and I was there. So coming back and reuniting with him his obviously really cool. I really loved Coach (Kortland) Ware’s philosophy when I talked to him on the phone. So I was really excited to hit the ground running and get under Coach Ware’s wing. It was really cool.”
Joah Bramwell, PV golfer
“Coming out of the gate the way that he did, I told him, ‘You’re going to play well here,’” Ware said. “I could see it in the practice round; I could see the focus. We just had to get everybody thinking the exact same way, and that’s what happened.”
The hope is that the season-opening win is a precursor to what is to come, as the men’s golf team looks to replicate the success of the women’s program, which won the SWAC Championship in the spring and earned a spot in the NCAA Regional in Waco. The men came close in the spring, and now, with an infusion of young talent and the return of Bramwell, there is a sense that bigger things are awaiting.
“We started the season off pretty hot, and I was able to get the individual win, which is super cool,” Bramwell said. “But the goals are still the same. We want to keep winning, we want to keep winning, we want to keep having a good time is most important.
“Being able to win early on is kind of setting the standard for the rest of the year. The standard was set really high, and we have to keep pushing ourselves to meet that standard.”
Being in a position to do just that has made Bramwell’s decision to return to Prairie View all the more sensible. He didn’t want to just return. He wanted to come back for impact.
“To be able to do it when I’m here and back with the team is obviously something that is so cool. It’s almost like you are dreaming. It’s so rewarding,” Bramwell said. “It’s something that you always work towards. It’s something … you aim for the stars.”
