Lachlan Barker is not an average college student.

Traveling over 9,000 miles to play golf for the Cyclones, Barker’s journey to Iowa State is one filled with good timing, genuine friendships and a passion for the game of golf.

The beginning of his journey

Barker was born in Willunga, Australia, a town with a population of 2,308 people, according to a 2016 Census report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This part of Australia is on the rural side of the spectrum, with about 16 percent of citizens working as technicians or trade workers, according to the Bureau. Barker said his parents were not his introduction to the game of golf. Rather, it was his next-door neighbor.

“I was about five years old, and I was in our backyard when I heard a noise over the fence. My neighbor, Albert, was hitting golf balls in his backyard, and I was like, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’” Barker said. “He let me come over and give it a try, and I was trying to hit a few shots and immediately loved it.”

Barker said his parents never played golf, but his dad played rugby while his mom played netball, a sport derived from women’s basketball. Despite no one in his family ever playing the sport, Barker jumped right in.

“I asked my parents for golf clubs for Christmas that year, got them and never looked back,” Barker said.

From there, Barker became one of the best junior golfers in Australia. He won the South Australian Junior Championship and the Malaysian Amateur. During his time as junior golfer in Australia, he was awarded the honor of captain for the South Australian junior squad twice. His success caught the eye of Iowa State coach Andrew Tank, who knew Barker had the resume to be a great golfer for the Cyclones.

“The first time I heard about Lachlan was through my former boss and college coach,” Tank said. “He currently runs Australia’s national development program, and let me know that Lachlan was someone good to look into.”

Any potential employer will look at a candidate’s resume to see if they have the experience and talent to be successful. Tank saw both in Barker.

“On paper, his resume was strong because he was one of the best junior golfers in Australia at the time,” Tank said. “He had been to multiple international tournaments and had been competing well at every one of them.”

Tank has recruited many golfers from Australia to play for the Cyclones before but said he only visits the country about every two years.

He knew he wanted to see Barker play in person, so when it came time for Barker and other golfers to travel to the Junior World Tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course in California, Tank went and watched. Barker and Tank had been in contact with each other prior to the event but had never actually met one another.

“I played my first round [at Torrey Pines] and did really well, I think I was leading the tournament,” Barker said. “Coach [Tank] came up to me and my mom after and said he would love to chat about me playing collegiate golf at Iowa State. After he gave his whole presentation, I basically verbally committed to go play at Iowa State.”

Barker and Tank met each other at exactly the right time, according to Barker who said his plans would have been different if not for the meeting with Tank that day.

“My full plan wasn’t college golf,” Barker said. “If he hadn’t come up to me, I probably would have gone back home to my university, which has no college sports, and eventually gotten my degree and turned pro off my own back.”

Barker said his entire indication of what Iowa State would be like only came from Tank’s pitch at Torrey Pines.

As stated by the NCSA (Next College Student Athlete), a recruit is allowed to make five visits to Division I schools, with a visit usually lasting about 48 hours. Barker was one of the top golfers in Australia’s history but did not get to experience the typical recruitment process.

No campus tour. No facility tour. No meal with the coach.

“I never visited a college campus in the U.S., including Iowa State,” Barker said. “Some other schools had contacted me, but I never really got around to meeting with them. I guess you could say my decision was impulsive.”

Culture change

Barker played golf for most of his life back in Australia, and he knew coming to the U.S. would present a different way of doing things. Tank and past players from Iowa State had reached out to Barker and provided advice for how to transition to life at Iowa State the best he could.

“Lachlan and his family really value education, and that was very important to them. We had to make sure Lachlan was the right fit for college life and the responsibility of being on a team,” Tank said.

Barker understood coming to the U.S. for collegiate athletics was a big deal, and he was ready for the opportunity.

“Once I got over here I knew I had more structure to my day and my week would be constantly filled with things to do,” Barker said. “I only knew Sam [Vincent] from some tournaments we participated in back in Australia. There were some nerves when I first arrived, but they quickly disappeared.”

Tank said he saw Barker become more comfortable with the team right away and hit the ground running when he first arrived; he was not intimidated by the college golf environment.

Barker’s freshman season was filled with success. His stroke average broke Iowa State’s rookie scoring mark and he was second on the team in birdies (112), top-10 finishes (5), rounds in the 60s (5) and eagles (5). In his first official event for the Cyclones, Barker finished in 15th place by shooting 72-70-72 at the Badger Invitational.

While golf is a popular sport in Australia, Barker says that he noticed right away the U.S. takes golf more seriously. The size of the courses and the range of talent he faced also stood out to Barker.

“Golf is a lot bigger over here. It gets a lot of attention almost every week,” Barker said. “You have the Golf Channel over here, but back home you might see golf on TV maybe once or twice a month.”

Iowa State acquired another recruit from Australia this fall with freshman Jackson Kalz, who joins the Cyclones all the way from West Beach, South Australia. Kalz ranked fifth in the Golf Australia junior rankings and won the 2018 Northwest Amateur in Spencer, Iowa. Kalz says he noticed the difference in the U.S. attention toward the sport as well.

“I saw the competition aspect of it is treated a lot more serious over here, and both Lachlan and I felt it our first tournaments just by talking with each other before I came to Iowa State,” Kalz said.

Kalz has only been around Barker for a brief period of time but already feels Barker’s influence and leadership.

“I knew him from back in Australia, so it was great knowing I would come here and have someone who is known for taking people under his wing as a mentor,” Kalz said. “Lachlan is so casual on the course and doesn’t let anything distract him. He told me some people take it too seriously and become panicked.”

Tank admired how quickly Barker wanted to learn and said he has gotten so much better since his freshman year in a variety of ways.

Coming to a new country and system can be difficult, especially when you’re far from home like Barker is.

 However, despite being 9,367 miles from his hometown in Willunga, Barker said he only thinks about home during one part of the year.

“During the winter I think about home because our winters in Australia are like 50-60 degrees with basically no snow,” Barker said. “The first winter I was here I kept thinking in my head, ‘Why am I here right now? everywhere I go it is so cold. I should have stayed home’, but other than that I don’t really think about home. I miss them and like to perform well for them, but my home doesn’t push me, I push myself because my goal is to win.”

Tank said Barker talks about home often, specifically about his hometown and his family’s history. Barker’s country is part of what makes him unique.

“We talk about it a lot,” Tank said. “He is actually the first South Australian player I have ever had, and he has taught me a lot about his rural hometown and the people he grew up with.”

Leaving his mark

“He is an excellent ball striker, so I have learned the best way to keep my ball in play from watching him play,” Kalz said. “He takes an aggressive approach on the course and likes to take chances. I have taken aspects of his style and made [them] a part of my playing style.”

Even Barker’s coach notices how he approaches the game every day and appreciates what Barker has provided to the whole team.

“[Barker] is a level-head on our team, I know every day that he is never too high or too low which is great to have someone who is consistent,” Tank said. “He’s a smart golfer in how he understands what his game is and what he needs to improve for our team to be successful, which I know rubs off on the guys.”

He may be considered an underclassman, but Barker already knows what type of legacy he wants to leave at Iowa State.

“I want to leave this team in a better place than where I found it; the seniors told us that all the time last year, we should all want to improve something before we are finished,” Barker said. “I would like more personality to be left with the guys here, and I hope we all can break some records and achieve some big things.”