Mark Noonan is a man with plans on top of plans. One of those plans is to be patient and prepared even when some of his others are thwarted by things he can’t control.
Noonan was drawn to Chico State, in part, because he wanted to escape winters in Chicago. Alas, he spent the winter back home in Chicago. The snow just melted two weeks ago.
“Hopefully, this will be the last one,” he laughed.
In the meantime, the golf program’s nominee for the prestigious California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Scholar Award as the member of the team with the highest GPA, hasn’t lost site of the big picture.
“I’ve been able to get outside and golf a little and I have an instructor here that I have been working with a lot,” Noonan said. “I’m trying to focus on school and get through some of my harder classes right now, so that when we do get back to playing, I can give more of my time to golf.”
Noonan’s self-discipline is something he learned from watching his father.
“I’ve always looked up to my dad,” Noonan said. “He’s a very hard worker and it kind of rubbed off on me. I’ve always known that as soon as my feet hit the ground in the morning I’ve got to be putting in work to reach my goals.”
On the golf course, that hard work began really showing up in high school. Noonan helped lead his Adlai E. Stevenson High School squad to a pair of top-three State Championship finishes, a North Suburban Conference title, and an Illinois High School Association Section crown.
Individually, Noonan earned four tournament titles, three All-Conference honors, two All-Region awards, and an All-State selection. He also received the conference sportsmanship award as a senior.
Noonan also claimed five titles on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour and eight as part of the Illinois Junior Golf Association.
When it came time to choose a college, Noonan knew he wanted some sunshine.
“During the winter out here, there’s a lot of time you just can’t really go outside,” Noonan explained. “When it snows or gets cold, you’re pretty much inside the whole time. When it comes to golf, the practices aren’t as nice. You can’t really replicate the outdoor experience with golf, so I always knew I wanted to go somewhere warm.”
Noonan was interested in a number of schools in California, but an email he got from fellow Chicago Blackhawks fan who also happens to be the Chico State Men’s Golf Head Coach, Nick Green, caught his attention.
“You could just tell that he had given his message a lot of thought and attention,” Noonan recalls. “I really appreciated that. I came out on a visit and loved my teammates and got along with Coach Green, and that was it.”
It also helped that the team has a bunch of hockey fans.
“It is nice to talk hockey sometimes,” said Noonan.
One of the biggest challenges for Noonan was adapting to the differences out on the golf course. The grass is different. The weather is different.
“In Monterey you could see the ocean in the background,” Noonan said. “That’s something you don’t get here in the Midwest.”
It’s been a while since Noonan has seen the ocean though. Back home since the start of the pandemic, he’s been visiting an indoor facility that’s actually a large bubble. After about 60 yards of flight the ball hits the wall and slides down.
Noonan also has a putting mat in his basement. It has some contours in it and Noonan has some drills he likes to do. He and his dad have also been known to have a putting competition down there.
None of it is ideal, but Noonan is making the most of it.
Pre-pandemic he said the strengths of his game were his wedges and putting. Now, his ball striking (a struggle his freshman year) has become one of the strengths.
“I just try and look at the big picture,” Noonan said. “Some experiences are going to be challenging during the pandemic, but I try to take everything and turn it into an opportunity. I’m confident that the work I put in today will pay off when things hopefully do return back to normal.”
That’s the plan.
