Shida, Young excel on golf course

Senior golfers Billy Shida and Joe Young hate losing to each other, but they also want each other to win.

In the five years they’ve known each other, the two have formed a special bond: teammates, roommates freshman year, close friends and arguably brothers.

Georgia College Head Coach Jimmy Wilson has seen their competitive fire firsthand. In addition to their competitive spirits, their success prior to college was what drew him to recruit both players.

“They fought each other tooth and nail before here, and they’ve done the same since they’ve been teammates,” Wilson said. “At the same time they root and pull for each other. They’re each other’s biggest fan.”

Growing up:

Shida has been playing golf since he was five years old when his father started taking his older brother and him out to play. Shida  learned even more from his neighbor Bubba Gwynn, who also played at Georgia College and helped Wilson recruit him.

“(Gwynn) took me under his wing and is still a big influence on me today,” Shida said. “I quit all my other sports when I was 14 or 15 so I could focus on golf.”

Young got his start on the golf course at age nine.

“Nobody else in my family plays golf, but my older sister worked at a golf course back home,” Young said. “I went there with her one day after school, and the owner introduced himself to me and has been influential to me ever since.”

Living in the small town of Cochran, Ga., Young said that golf was not always the most popular sport to play, but Charlton Norris, the golf course owner, helped him keep his focus.

“Having someone like that around helped a lot,” Young said. “I quit my other sports when I was 12 or 13 because I realized that golf was what I really wanted to do.”

Decision time:

It was the summer of 2006.  Shida and Young were entering their senior year of high school and had already put up an impressive résumé.

Wilson, who gets recruiting help from former players and friends, was given a tip on both of the talented golfers.

“Joe’s high school coach was my college roommate, and Billy’s next door neighbor played for me,” Wilson said. “I looked them up online and saw that Joe was the Southeastern Junior Player of the Year, and Billy was the Junior PGA Player of the Year. It was a no-brainer.”

Shida and Young met in a tournament that summer and immediately became friends. Shida wanted to come to Georgia College for a number of reasons.

“I knew a couple guys who had played for (Wilson), and I had heard awesome things,” Shida said. “It was in state, so it was very helpful financially.

Shida committed that October and then began calling Young every day to convince him to join the Bobcats. Young did just that, and both signed their letters of intent in November.

“It made all the sense in the world to come here,” Young said.

Memorable experiences

While at Georgia College, Shida and Young have continued to pile up the accolades.

Both have been perennial All-PBC players, All-Southeast Regional players, and both have received various All-American attention.

Young was the PBC Freshman of the Year his first year, and Shida was recently named the PBC Player of the Year for 2011. Shida and Young both recalled a turning point in their freshmen season in 2008 at the NCAA Division II Championships in Houston, Texas. The Bobcats finished in fourth place.

“Billy and I were new to the atmosphere. There was a rain delay in the second round, and we got called in for a little bit and spent some time around each other,” Young said. “When it was over, we both came out hot like something neither one of us had ever experienced, and were both just feeding off of each other’s energy.”

Shida added that in addition to the success on the golf course, their relationships with each other and other teammates, such as former Bobcats Niclas Johannson and Francisco Bide, have been as memorable as anything.

“That’s the coolest part right there. Joe and I have both won our tournaments, but looking back 10 to 20 years down the road, we’re going to cherish every memory we’ve made here,” Shida said. “It’s been a fun four years, and it’s gone by quickly.”

Competition and obstacles:

Shida and Young continue to push each other and root for each other at the same time.

“At the end of the day, if I beat Joe or Joe beats me, the other one is there to say congratulations,” Shida said.

“We both know how good we are and what we are capable of,” Young said. “He and I equally hate losing, and as long as we can feed off each other and keep getting better, the better off we are.”

Both players have had their fair share of hardships to overcome as well.  For Shida, it was Lyme disease as a sophomore and a partially torn shoulder pectoral muscle earlier this season. For Young, it’s playing off and on with an injured elbow.

“It’s an ongoing process. It’s not something either one of us want to talk about,” Young said. “Whenever it’s time to tee it up, you forget about what’s ailing you. But you learn a lot and become a better person. It drives you to play harder and know there’s a reason why you’re playing this game.”

Leaving behind a mark:

As they near the end of their careers at Georgia College, Shida and Young have one central goal: a national championship.

“This school hasn’t won one. We smelled it freshmen year and haven’t gotten as close since,” Shida said. “We have to get through regionals first. We took it for granted last year and didn’t make it, but this year is different.”

“We want to be remembered as great athletes and golfers,” Young added. “Overall, the most important thing we leave behind is our reputations, and that we were successful at everything we did at Georgia College.”

However, the end of the season in May won’t be the end of their golf careers.

Shida, a senior accounting major, will turn professional and be starting on the Hooters Tour.

“I want to enter some qualifiers and play for a couple years and see what happens,” Shida said.

Young, a senior management major, will also be turning pro.

“It’s going to be weird going from being teammates with Billy to playing against each other,” Young said. “Hopefully five years from now, we’ll be able to sit down next to each other and be having the same conversation.”