College golf event will see substitutions, players wearing mics — and coaches hitting shots

Coach Belichick, you’re in.

Bill Belichick flings off the hoodie, straps on a New England Patriots football helmet and pads and lines up under center.

Coach K, you’re in.

Mike Krzyzewski peels off the black suit, slides into a Duke Blue Devils basketball jersey and shorts and steps to the free-throw line.

Conrad Ray and Mike Small, you’re in.

As part of the inaugural Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge announced Wednesday, the “coach’s challenge” will take on true meaning for the first time, as the respective Stanford and Illinois men’s golf coaches can force their counterpart to hit a player’s shot during the March 21 event. Safe to say the transition from sideline to game action will work a bit better in golf than it would in most other major sports.

That won’t be the only unique decision Ray and Small will have to make.

Five head-to-head matches will be played at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. But the coaches can call on one of two subs to hit a shot for a teammate — also a first for college golf.

Additionally, every match will be live-streamed on callawaygolf.com and amateurgolf.com, with the opening match also being live-streamed on golfweek.com. And all players and coaches will wear mics throughout the event.

“That’s why we created this challenge — to give fans complete inside-the-ropes access from start to finish, and to do it in a way that is authentic, engaging and fun for the fans who live-stream it,” Jeff Neubarth, Callaway director of content and production, said in a release.

Ray and Small should be up for the literal challenge.

Ray was a Stanford teammate of Tiger Woods, Casey Martin and Notah Begay and part of the Cardinal’s Stanford’s 1994 NCAA championship team. He qualified for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2005 and has played on world tours since 1998, achieving 12 top-10 finishes.

Small was an Illinois teammate of Steve Stricker and part of the Illini’s 1988 Big Ten title team. He has played in 13 major championships and made the cut in 15 of 34 PGA TOUR events since he began coaching at Illinois.

“We’re big supporters of college golf, and this is an opportunity to try something new with two of the best collegiate teams in the nation,” Neubarth said.