Golf Team Has International Flavor : Community college: Players from Northern Ireland, Africa and the U.S. help make Saddleback world class.

Even if Bill Cunerty, Saddleback’s golf coach, was the most cunning recruiter in the history of collegiate athletics, there is no way he could have intentionally brought together his current team.

Because to do so, Cunerty would have had to travel to Northern Ireland and Africa as well as Colorado and Van Nuys before stopping in his own district.

The truth is, Cunerty says, he doesn’t recruit all that much.

Instead, he relies on past achievements, solid reputation and a top-notch practice facility to sway players toward Saddleback.

Cunerty’s team has won 12 conference titles in his 13 years. The Gauchos have won State titles in 1983, 1985 and 1989, were second in 1982, 1984 and 1988 and third in 1986, 1987 and 1991. Saddleback was fourth last season.

No community college program in California has a nicer practice facility than Saddleback, which has an on-campus driving range open to players from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“We had nothing like this at San Jose State,” freshman transfer Aki Amaya said.

Amaya and team captain Jason Reeder average 75.5 strokes per 18 holes. Colin McElderry, a sophomore, is at 75.6; sophomore Jason McDaniel averages 75.9, freshmen Justin Grandy (76.5) and Jerome Valentin (78) round out the first six for Saddleback.

Cunerty figures this year’s team has a strong chance of winning another State title. Saddleback already has won the Orange Empire Conference title with a 17-1 record. Saddleback is 83-3-1 against all opponents.

The group’s 18-hole scoring average is 374, four shots better than the Saddleback season record.

“They certainly are as good as any of our State (championship) teams,” Cunerty said. “Our depth is such that they push each other all the time. We have a deal where the throw-out score (highest of the six) has to clean the van and no one wants to do that.”

Reeder came to Saddleback after hearing of its reputation. He grew up in Fruita, Colo., near Grand Junction. He played four years of varsity golf at Fruita Monument High School and advanced to the State tournament each season.

But after high school, he wasn’t ready for a four-year college, so he looked at California community colleges on the advice of his older brother, Randall, a teaching professional at Los Angeles Country Club.

“This team doesn’t give up,” he said. “We all know how hard everyone works and we all get along great. We’ve never really had any fights except when we argue about who hit the worst shot of the day.”

McDaniel is from San Clemente, but Cunerty reached into the past to recruit him. McDaniel, 25, said he was more concerned about partying with friends than graduating from high school in the late ‘80s. He went to work full-time and temporarily gave up on college.

McDaniel continued to play golf but knew he could be much better if he worked harder at it. Finally, a year ago, he made a serious commitment to college, moving in with a friend’s family to cut down on expenses.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “I’m having the time of my life. It’s just incredible.”

McElderry came to Saddleback from Northern Ireland. He wanted to move to the United States to play golf year-round and heard about Saddleback from John Adams, a former Gaucho whom he met playing golf in Palm Springs while on vacation with his parents.

McElderry went home last summer to play in local tournaments, but likes the year-round warm weather of Southern California.

“I was just looking around for a place to play,” McElderry said. “I figured this was one of the best and I wasn’t wrong either.”

Amaya, who turns 21 today, adds to Saddleback’s global make-up. He was born in Japan and moved to the United States at age 10. He and his twin brother, Yasu, played golf at Van Nuys Birmingham High School. Yasu went to Fresno State, where he currently plays, and Aki went to San Jose State.

One of Aki’s roommates was Bob Jacobson, who had played at Saddleback. When things didn’t work out at San Jose State, Amaya visited Saddleback on the advice of Jacobson.

Amaya commutes to Saddleback from Torrance, where he lives with his parents. He gets up about 6 a.m. and gets to school before 8 a.m. He practices at the range for about an hour, then goes to class, then back to the range, waiting for traffic to ease.

“It forces me to practice,” Amaya said. “I can’t go home and take a nap because it’s so far away.”

Valentin came to Saddleback from the San Diego Golf Academy but is from much farther away--Africa. After high school in Dakar, the capital of the West African nation Senegal, he came to Florida, where he stayed for nine months. He worked on his golf game and his English.

He heard about the San Diego Golf Academy, which teaches the game and the business of golf, and went there two years ago. After graduating last December, he was ready for college and made some inquiries. Several people mentioned Saddleback, and he figured it must be the place.

“I was lucky,” he said. “You have to meet the right people to get the best advice and I did. . . . I really like it here. I have a lot of time to practice and if I have a problem, I can ask one of my teammates for help. Everybody is not in his own corner.”

Grandy comes to Saddleback from Trabuco Hills High School. He didn’t start playing golf until he was a freshman in high school and used to sneak on the Mission Viejo Country Club course near his house.

“At first I played because I had nothing better to do,” he said. “I was pretty horrible at first, but I kept getting better.”

Saddleback starts its quest toward a State title Monday, when the Gauchos play in the 36-hole Orange Empire Conference championship at Singing Hills Country Club in El Cajon.

The Gauchos hope to advance to the May 2 Southern California championships at Santa Ana Country Club, then to the State tournament May 9 at Mission Viejo Country Club.

“This is really a unique team,” Cunerty said. “The other day I was driving the van home from a match when it hit me. They all like to listen to jazz and were doing homework. Plus, they work really hard. If they are not in class or doing homework or asleep, they are hitting balls.”