Cody Booska spent his freshman year at Coastal Carolina University missing a sport that would become an important part of his life.
The Turners Falls native and Franklin County Technical School graduate was a two-time Western Mass. golf champion, but he didn’t think the sport was in his future when he decided to attend college in Conway, South Carolina.
Booska had the bug in his ear before he left for school, however. Johnson & Wales University – North Miami golf coach AJ Broderick called and asked him to come play for his team, but Booska had already decided to go to Coastal.
“All [freshman] year at Coastal, all I could think of was how I wanted to play,” Booska recalled. “I needed that competition back.”
Booska decided to transfer following that first year, taking his talents to North Miami for a collegiate golf career. Looking back years later, he’s certainly happy he made the move.
Those memories have flooded back lately, as Booska was selected to the Johnson & Wales University – North Miami Athletics Hall of Fame after a standout career where he was part of a top-ranked NAIA program. The school will hold a virtual induction ceremony on April 23 at 7:30 p.m., where Booska will officially be enshrined for his efforts.
“It’s awesome,” began Booska of the selection. “I definitely feel very fortunate. One of the best decisions I ever made was transferring [to JWU]. We had an unbelievable team. We were No. 1 in the country for a bit. It’s cliche but I met a bunch of my best friends for life there, and a few got into the Hall of Fame with me, so it’s cool to be a part of it with those guys.”
It’ll be a bittersweet event for Booska, who graduated in 2018, and the rest of his Hall of Fame class. Johnson & Wales, which has its main campus in Providence, R.I., voted last summer to close its North Miami campus, meaning this event will be a part of the “Ultimate Send-Off,” according to a press release from the school.
Still, Booska said his time spent in Miami was memorable. When he first stepped on campus after transferring from Coastal Carolina, he said his swing needed considerable work.
“I had this big, old hook that went way left,” he recalled. “And I knew it was going to happen so I’d just play with it. I remember looking at my coach and saying, ‘I know this needs to change but I can’t find a good time to change it.’ I’ll never forget, he looked at me and just said, ‘Right now. Let’s go right now.’”
Booska was selected as a First-Team All-American (NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Association) during his senior year, and recognized as a NAIA PING First-Team All-American. He recorded a season stroke average of 72.40 in 42 total rounds during his final season as a Wildcat, and was the top player on the individual leaderboard 11 times.
“It became a mental game for me,” he said. “I’ve always hit the ball very well, but struggled on the greens. I found a way in college and it all clicked together.”
While his college career is now behind him, Booska is still living in Florida. He’s currently working at Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, and lives in Fort Myers with his girlfriend. He said he hasn’t had much time to play golf in recent months, but isn’t completely giving up on a future competing in the sport.
“I would say I’m not 100 percent counting my golf career over as far as pursuing professional golf, but right now I’m definitely not playing as much as I’d like,” he explained. “I’m probably only playing two or three times a month right now if I’m lucky. Just working a ton, starting my day at 4:30 a.m.”
Still, when his induction ceremony happens later this month, Booska knows those competitive juices will undoubtedly be flowing again.
“My time at [JWU], it’s something I can always go back to and look back fondly on,” he said. “It’s one of those things that will always be with me, and it’s cool to have my time there remembered and recognized with a Hall of Fame selection.”