THE temperature was an arctic minus-21 degrees when Joshuaa Robards left his college campus in Kansas City and returned home to Newcastle for Christmas.
Apart from getting accustomed to the cold, Robards used his first semester at the University of Missouri Kansas City to work meticulously on his short game.
The 19-year-old hopes that hard yakka pays dividends at the Australian Amateur starting at St Michael's and NSW golf clubs on Tuesday. Both coastal courses are brutal when the wind blows.
"I am a hell of a lot better around the greens," Robards replied when asked what aspect of his game had benefited most from his first six months in the US.
"They focus a lot on scoring in America. Our coach drills the importance of being better around the greens and on the green. We spend a lot more time on the short game.
"It shows in my game. Hopefully that will be a big help next week.
"If it does get windy, the short game will be huge. It is a lot easier to miss greens, miss shots, and that is where you have to make it up."
Robards is part of a strong Hunter contingent at the national championships headed by NSW high-performance squad members Josh Fuller and Jye Pickin and including Harry Atkinson (Kurri), Jake Riley (Toronto), Brij Ingrey (Cypress Lakes) and Bryce Pickin (Charlestown).
In the girls' event, the region will be represented by Ella Scaysbrook (Newcastle) and Amy Squires (Nelson Bay).
Robards, a NSW junior representative and state junior champion, said golf on the collegiate circuit was a step up.
"It has been a lot colder than I thought it would be," Robards said. "It has been a heap of fun. The calibre of the fields we play in are all high end. To win you have to play very, very good golf. We work very hard but it is awesome. I love it.
"We played five events from September to November. Then have six events from February through to May.
"We are top-three in our conference. It is very close between us, Oral Roberts and North Dakota State. It could be a real dog fight."
As well as play golf, Robards is studying a double degree in electrical engineering and computer programming.
"It's a big workload. When we travel, I do a lot of work. It's a balance and I have found it OK," he said.
Robards had a couple of weeks off to do his "final exams" but believes his game in is good shape.
"I'm prepared due to the amount we play in America," he said. "I'm playing two practice rounds with Jake Riley, which will get me into gear and ready to go."
