Throughout his three years at Iowa State, junior Tripp Kinney has made his impact felt on and off the golf course.

Between his dedication to the golf program and the leadership he displays to his teammates, Kinney has become a key piece in Iowa State’s program since he arrived in 2016.

The biggest part of Kinney’s impact comes from his passion for golf.

His love for golf fuels his drive and work ethic, something his coach, Andrew Tank, admires.

Tank has coached Kinney all three years of his career at Iowa State and describes Kinney as a committed and fierce competitor.

On the course, Tank sees the passion and the drive to be the best come out in Kinney’s play.

His coach and teammates said Kinney’s long game has been one of his strengths. They connect Kinney’s work ethic to his consistent play on the course.

“When I think of Tripp on a golf course, I just see a ball flying,” said sophomore teammate Lachlan Barker.

With that type of skill and dedication, Kinney has become a staple in Iowa State’s golf program.

“You can just tell he wants to be good and he is going to continue to do what it takes to get better,” Tank said. “As a coach that is what you want, someone who comes everyday to get better. He does what it takes to be great and is not afraid to do the work.”

Growing up a Hawkeye

Kinney has not always been cheering for the Cyclones. He was a fan of the Cyclones’ rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes, for most of his childhood.

“When I was like 10 or 11, I attended Iowa State golf camp but at the time I was a Hawkeye fan,” Kinney said with an almost guilty grin across his face.

Born in Waukee, Iowa, about two hours west of Iowa City and an hour south of Ames, Kinney was at one point in time on the other side of the rivalry that separates Hawkeye and Cyclone fans all across the state.

Despite the pride Kinney had for the Hawkeyes when he was a child, he became introduced to Iowa State golf long before the recruitment visits were even allowed.

Around the same time he attended golf camp, Kinney became aware of the golf scene in Iowa and beyond, as he began to follow Iowa State golf — more specifically Nate McCoy. McCoy was a senior in the 2011-12 season at Iowa State, right around the time Kinney learned about the history of golf at Iowa State and the program it had to offer.

Having seen McCoy’s success as a golfer after growing up in Des Moines, Kinney began to see himself playing collegiate golf in Iowa.

By the time he was 16, Kinney was more passionate about golf. He quit baseball and basketball and solely focused on his golf game.

Tank began to notice Kinney’s growth and drive for the game around this time and approached him to play for the Cyclones.

“I had seen him emerge on the junior golf scene around the state,” Tank said. “I became really impressed with his passion and just him as a person.”

Kinney understood his passion and skill with the game could possibly lead to collegiate golf, so when the time came to begin the recruiting process when he was about 16 years old, Kinney returned to the facilities at Iowa State and was impressed, so impressed that his stake in the state-wide rivalry shifted for good.

“Going from a Hawkeye fan my entire life and then coming out to Ames and seeing the facility was kind of a turning point, and ever since then I never looked back,” Kinney said.

Kinney’s consistency and hard work has paid dividends for the men’s golf program.

His list of accolades include four top-10 finishes, currently second on the team in stroke average (70.67) and second on the team in birdies, along with being a driving force behind two straight trips to the NCAA Championships.

During the summer of 2018, he won the Iowa Amateur Title, becoming the ninth Iowa State golfer to win the event, while also being the first Iowa State golfer to win it since Ben Herrera in 2009.

“He has been a part of arguably the two best seasons Iowa State has had in recent years,” Tank said. “I think he is hungry to push that forward to make the program even better.”

A quiet leader

Kinney says time and time again that while he may be a junior with more experience with collegiate golf than most of his teammates, he believes everyone on the team is their own leader and no one is above anyone else.

Regardless of their classification, teammates are respected and are allowed to call anyone out.

And while his teammates agree everyone on the team is equal in terms of respect, Kinney is described as a silent leader and someone who leads by example.

He doesn’t give the big speech to rally the team from a big deficit like in sports movies, but his team knows what his leadership looks like.

“Tripp is a very disciplined guy, he is always out there setting the example for us and gives us something to live up to,” Barker said.

Barker is from Willunga, Australia, and travelled home over winter break. Kinney joined him.

Barker said Kinney’s companionship allowed the two to grow as friends and golfers over in Australia. The two spent time sharing laughs, making memories and even working on their game from time to time.

It’s that type of companionship and commitment that makes Kinney the leader he is, Barker said.

“In a perfect world, everybody is a leader, but Tripp and Sam [Vincent] have more experience in college golf, so they have seen the most,” Tank said of his two juniors.

Vincent and Kinney have more than just experience in common. They were roommates their first year on the golf team.

Vincent could see Kinney’s impact right away.

Vincent, a native of Hamilton, New Zealand, had never met Kinney before they roomed together. He said their relationship evolved quickly from strangers living together to a true friendship.

“We can talk to each other about anything, not just golf,” Vincent said.

Kinney’s leadership and impact are not just felt by the underclassmen. Vincent knows that whenever Kinney steps on the course, he will give his teammates 100 percent effort every time.

Vincent said Kinney’s leadership is more of a pattern of dedication for the younger golfers on the roster to learn from.

“His leadership is more of a work-ethic thing,” Vincent said. “He holds himself to high standards and that rubs off on everyone.”