Logan Sutto, Luke Kruger and Johnny Creamean join the roster. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
NHU-HAN BUI | STAFF REPORTER | hbui@butler.edu
“Welcome to the Team” is a Q&A series where the Collegian sits down with first-year
student-athletes who are entering their first season at Butler University. These articles will
address why they chose Butler, what they hope to get out of this season and some personal
tidbits that you won’t find anywhere else.
This week, staff reporter Nhu-Han Bui sat down with three first-years from the men’s golf team: Johnny Creamean, Luke Kruger and Logan Sutto.
GolJohnny Creamean is a 5’9” first-year from Winnetka, Illinois. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: When did you start playing golf and how did you discover it?
JOHNNY CREAMEAN: I played a lot of sports when I was a child, but my dad introduced me to golf probably when I was six or seven [years old]. I picked it up really quickly and I started focusing on golf pretty seriously around eighth grade. I dropped [other sports] and just continued to play golf throughout high school.
TBC: What do you love about golf?
JC: I love how there’s so many ups and downs in golf, and they can be very quick or very long. You just never know what [you are] going to get. Nothing’s really expected.
TBC: What is your favorite club and why?
JC: I would say my 60 degree. My teammates always say I have soft hands around the greens and it’s just the most fun to utilize within my game.
TBC: What are your goals for this season?
JC: To get to regionals and perform [well] there. Winning [a] conference [championship] is a goal as well.
TBC: Have there been any difficulties for you with adjusting to golf at a collegiate level?
JC: I would say [a difficulty] is managing time with academics and then going to [training]. Balancing and trying to figure that out is the main challenge.
TBC: What is something you have learned from the upperclassmen on the team?
JC: I’ve learned how to be more efficient with practice and preparing better for [upcoming] tournaments.
TBC: What does your match day routine look like?
JC: I always start with putting. I hit 20 straight putts uphill from six feet, then go warm up on the range from six degree to driver. Then I’ll go chip and putt some more and then go to the tee.
TBC: What hobbies do you have outside of golf?
JC: I like hanging out with friends, lifting at the gym and I enjoy school when it’s working [out] well.
TBC: What is your favorite golf memory?
JC: Winning the individual state championship my junior year in high school was a good accomplishment [for me].
TBC: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
JC: I can juggle.
Luke Kruger is a 6’3” first-year from Arlington Heights, Illinois. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
TBC: When did you start playing golf and how did you discover it?
LUKE KRUGER: I started playing golf when I was eight [years old]. I discovered it because my parents and grandparents pushed me to do it.
TBC: What do you love about golf?
LK: I’d say the best part about it is there’s really no perfection in a game like golf. You’re always chasing perfection and to know you can never attain it makes you work even harder to get as close to perfection as you can. Aside from that, I love the competition aspect of it and I just love being outside for four hours a day, sometimes more.
TBC: What is your favorite club and why?
LK: I’d say my favorite club is my putter, especially when it’s working. When I’m making putts, that’s when the rounds become a little more fun.
TBC: What are your goals for this season?
LK: [To] win [the] conference [championship] as a team, that would be pretty cool. I’d say [a goal is] just try to do the best we can to work on our overall team dynamic. Do better in our regular tournaments throughout the season, both now and in the spring, and work real hard in the winter to be as good as we can come offseason [and] conference time.
TBC: Have there been any difficulties for you with adjusting to golf at a collegiate level?
LK: The courses are a little bit harder. We [first-years] definitely aren’t used to playing as long of a course. We were playing [around] 6,800 [to] 6,900 yards back in junior golf and now we’re playing [around] 7,500 [to] 7,600 yards. Pair that with some bad weather [and] it definitely is a little harder. Other than that, playing with tougher competition is another challenge, but it makes you improve. You have to play better to match who you’re playing against, so it’s been a challenge, but I think it’s a challenge that all three of us really enjoy.
TBC: What is something you have learned from the upperclassmen on the team?
LK: That really nothing is going to be given to you, you have to work for everything. That goes beyond golf, [it] goes for life as well, in school and everything. We want the results, but the results [are not] going to come without the work. It’s something I knew, but in college golf especially, everybody wants it so it’s just [a matter of] who wants it more.
TBC: What does your match day routine look like?
LK: On a 36-hole day, it’s usually breakfast in the morning and [then] go warm up. Usually, I listen to either country music or Christian music before I play. Then [I] just go play and try to sleep as much as I can that night.
TBC: What hobbies do you have outside of golf?
LK: [I play] any sport. I just love the competitive feeling. I’d say basketball, baseball and football are some of my favorites. I like fishing [and] going on drives [while] listening to music, stuff like that. My favorite hobby would be lifting and being in the weight room.
TBC: What is your favorite golf memory?
LK: Playing with my dad when I was younger. When he first introduced me to golf, I remember we were in Florida on a family trip and he said ‘You want to go play?’ and I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.’ Ever since then, I fell in love with it and I think that’s a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.
TBC: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
LK: If [you are] around me, [you will] probably realize it, but I’m very outgoing. I love having conversations and meeting new people. [I love] just being around different groups of people and getting to know [them].
Logan Sutto is a 6’0” first-year from Monclova, Ohio. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
TBC: When did you start playing golf and how did you discover it?
LOGAN SUTTO: I started playing when I was about four years old and [I discovered it] from my grandpa. He used to take me to the course really early in the morning, [so] I learned from [him].
TBC: What do you love about golf?
LS: I love the challenge [and] coming out here just always wanting to get better. Golf is a really hard sport and a lot of people don’t see that, but I just love the challenge and satisfaction of when you’re playing games.
TBC: What is your favorite club and why?
LS: I’d say the driver because I hit nukes.
TBC: What are your goals for this season?
LS: [To] win conference [and] make it to nationals as a team.
TBC: Have there been any difficulties for you with adjusting to golf at a collegiate level?
LS: The courses are a lot longer than what all three of us are probably used to. Coming [to college], you don’t have as much free time so it’s a lot more stressful and kind of tense.
TBC: What is something you have learned from the upperclassmen on the team?
LS: They’re really good leaders and us three [first-years] really look up to them, they help us with school a lot too. As a team, we all just help each other. They tell us about the courses and what we need to fix [with our games], and we’ll do the same with them. I think they’re just really good leaders and we want to follow in their footsteps.
TBC: What does your match day routine look like?
LS: The first day is 36 holes, and we usually have an 8 [a.m.] or 9 a.m. shotgun. So [I] wake up really early, get breakfast either at the hotel or the course, have an hour-long warm-up and then we’ll go and play 36 straight holes. We get done around 7 p.m., go back to the hotel, do homework, go to bed and wake up around the same time the next day. We play 18 holes and then we drive home.
TBC: What hobbies do you have outside of golf?
LS: I’ll play any sport, like me and Luke will go to the field and kick field goals, we’ll throw a baseball [around] and we’re also in the intramural basketball league. I [also] love going and hanging out with friends on the weekends.
TBC: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
LS: I wash my laundry with water, nothing else.
