During his first year at App State in 2020, junior Timothius Tirto Tamardi had an immediate impact and challenged program records for men’s golf, even in a shortened season. 

Tamardi transferred to App State from Bethune-Cookman, following former head coach Danny Forshey to Boone. While at Bethune-Cookman, he had two top-10 finishes and shot a career-low 70 in the MEAC championships.

“Coming from a smaller golf college or country to a bigger one, it’s a big change from the way I’m doing it now,” Tamardi said. “It was a transition that I had to have and it’s a reason I want to set the bar high for the freshmen.”

Before Bethune-Cookman, Tamardi came from his home country, Indonesia, to play golf in the United States. This transition was challenging for him, but he made the most of it, and eventually found his way to Boone. 

“Being in a bigger school but a smaller city makes me feel like I have a bigger opportunity to have something that I didn’t have before, it allows me to focus on my golf game and my academics more,” Tamardi said.

Tamardi finished with the second highest stroke average in App State history during the 2020 season with a 71.29 and received the Mr.Yosef award from the team for his leadership and work ethic.

“Tirto is a very fine young player, young person in general,” head coach Jason Allison said. “A lot of guys love to play, he loves to work and practice, and he’s usually the first guy warming up in the hotel. He has a working mentality and that’s probably why his scores are so consistent.”

After Allison became the head coach, Tamardi decided he would stay with the program, and during their first season together, they placed top-3 in all three of their tournaments during the fall season.

Beyond his success on the course, Tamardi has prided himself in becoming a great leader and becoming a role model for the younger players. This includes sophomore Addison Beam, who came in a year after Tamardi.

“Everytime you play with him, he seems to elevate your golf game, so that’s why I like playing with him. I feel like I have to play a little extra to keep up with him and he’s good to be around because of his work ethic,” Beam said.

Coming into the 2021 season, Tamardi has taken a leadership role even though he isn’t a senior yet,which has had an impact on his teammates and the program.

“Seeing how he plays and seeing how consistent he is makes me realize that I need to be more like that,” Beam said.

Off the golf course, Tamardi is known as a funny person even though he’s very focused and serious during competition.

“We get a good laugh out of him, but that’s when he takes his seriousness down,” Allison said.

With at least two more years left at App State, Tamardi has high expectations for himself as well as his team, including winning the Sun Belt conference.

“I want to be a positive influence, I think about my team, my coach, my environment and how I could impact others, maybe just the smallest thing like a work ethic,” Tamardi said. “I don’t want them to be lazy, and that’s the thing that I’m thinking about all the time.”