Justin Gums: No Complaining, Just Golf
9/29/2021 5:14:00 PM | Men's Golf
What the senior from California goes through to play the game of golf
The following appeared in the TCU football game program on Sept. 25.
FORT WORTH - It was lunch period at Lodi High School and Justin Gums was headed off campus to In-N-Out Burger. He ordered a 3x3 with animal style fries and what would be his last-ever chocolate milkshake. By sixth period, he noticed something wasn't right.
"I had to go to the bathroom like crazy," said the Lodi, Calf. native. "I thought it was a stomach bug at first. I kind of put it off. I didn't think anything was wrong."
Gums' parents, Joe and Dawn, started to notice their son making frequent trips to the bathroom. Soon after, Gums visited a doctor who sent him to a gastroenterologist. After multiple tests Gums was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract which affects the innermost lining of the large intestine and rectum.
Most people with an inflammatory bowel disease are diagnosed in their 20s or 30s.
"I was 16 when I got my first colonoscopy," said Gums, who has had two more since then.
After multiple variations of treatment, including a stint where Gums received four shots per week over six months, nothing worked. The bathroom visits were 15-20 times per day and as a result, Gums lost 75 pounds in four months.
"The food wouldn't stay in me at all," said Gums.
Gums would eat and then 20 minutes later, there were multiple trips to the restroom. It was more problematic on the golf course where Gums would have to plan when he ate based on the location of the restrooms.
"There were some times where I would have to have someone drive me in a cart over six holes away to use the restroom," said Gums.
In 2018, Gums arrived at TCU and immediately connected with a gastroenterologist in Fort Worth. Through a combination of immunosuppressant drugs, Gums has been able to better manage the disease.
Having earned the reputation of a long hitter in high school, Gums has continued to hit it far at TCU through the help of sports nutritionist Brooke Helms and strength and conditioning Coach Michael Wood.
"He's one of the longest guys off the tee that I've ever had and he's one of the longest off the tee in college golf," said head coach Bill Montigel. "If he can keep that going, that's going to be huge for him."
Now in his fourth season at TCU, Gums' latest round of 6-under 66 was a career-low and tied for the tournament-low at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton. In a tournament that featured nine of the top 25 collegiate players in the nation, Gums finished tied for seventh.
"In terms of my mental performance as well as my golf performance, I felt like that was the best it's been," said Gums, who is majoring in economics. "The ability to stay present and understand your tendencies and react to those tendencies and a way that's beneficial to playing good golf is something that kind of clicked that week."
What makes a round of 66 more satisfying is knowing the preparation that went into it.
The day before the tournament starts is the practice round with a 7:30 a.m. start. Gums' roommate wakes up at 5 a.m., but he wakes up at 4 a.m. to begin… the process. At the clubhouse breakfast, Gums will scan the buffet to see what he shouldn't eat (dairy and high sugar foods) and should eat (eggs and pasta). Knowing that if he goes without eating, he won't have the energy to play well over a five-hour round and if he ingests the wrong thing, he'll be looking for the restroom in 20 minutes. But if Gums needs one, he already has it mapped out.
"There's one bathroom that intersects between holes two and three and six and seven," said Gums. "Then you have the clubhouse. Then after that there's nothing until you get back to the clubhouse."
Other players are noting what type of grass is on the course, how to manage the greens, where the best place is to miss a green, what clubs should be used on what tee and how the club interacts with the sand in the bunker. Gums adds a bathroom check to the list.
"Justin's such a tough kid and never makes an excuse," said Montigel. "He's kind of a dream guy to have in your program. Most kids would be complaining and whining and he doesn't say a thing about it."
"I've never been one to complain about what I have," said Gums. "I always try to make myself equal to everybody else. I don't want any extra treatment for it. I've never been one to make a big point about it. I just try and handle the adversity that comes with it and get on with life."
FORT WORTH - It was lunch period at Lodi High School and Justin Gums was headed off campus to In-N-Out Burger. He ordered a 3x3 with animal style fries and what would be his last-ever chocolate milkshake. By sixth period, he noticed something wasn't right.
"I had to go to the bathroom like crazy," said the Lodi, Calf. native. "I thought it was a stomach bug at first. I kind of put it off. I didn't think anything was wrong."
Gums' parents, Joe and Dawn, started to notice their son making frequent trips to the bathroom. Soon after, Gums visited a doctor who sent him to a gastroenterologist. After multiple tests Gums was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract which affects the innermost lining of the large intestine and rectum.
Most people with an inflammatory bowel disease are diagnosed in their 20s or 30s.
"I was 16 when I got my first colonoscopy," said Gums, who has had two more since then.
After multiple variations of treatment, including a stint where Gums received four shots per week over six months, nothing worked. The bathroom visits were 15-20 times per day and as a result, Gums lost 75 pounds in four months.
"The food wouldn't stay in me at all," said Gums.
Gums would eat and then 20 minutes later, there were multiple trips to the restroom. It was more problematic on the golf course where Gums would have to plan when he ate based on the location of the restrooms.
"There were some times where I would have to have someone drive me in a cart over six holes away to use the restroom," said Gums.
In 2018, Gums arrived at TCU and immediately connected with a gastroenterologist in Fort Worth. Through a combination of immunosuppressant drugs, Gums has been able to better manage the disease.
Having earned the reputation of a long hitter in high school, Gums has continued to hit it far at TCU through the help of sports nutritionist Brooke Helms and strength and conditioning Coach Michael Wood.
"He's one of the longest guys off the tee that I've ever had and he's one of the longest off the tee in college golf," said head coach Bill Montigel. "If he can keep that going, that's going to be huge for him."
Now in his fourth season at TCU, Gums' latest round of 6-under 66 was a career-low and tied for the tournament-low at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton. In a tournament that featured nine of the top 25 collegiate players in the nation, Gums finished tied for seventh.
"In terms of my mental performance as well as my golf performance, I felt like that was the best it's been," said Gums, who is majoring in economics. "The ability to stay present and understand your tendencies and react to those tendencies and a way that's beneficial to playing good golf is something that kind of clicked that week."
What makes a round of 66 more satisfying is knowing the preparation that went into it.
The day before the tournament starts is the practice round with a 7:30 a.m. start. Gums' roommate wakes up at 5 a.m., but he wakes up at 4 a.m. to begin… the process. At the clubhouse breakfast, Gums will scan the buffet to see what he shouldn't eat (dairy and high sugar foods) and should eat (eggs and pasta). Knowing that if he goes without eating, he won't have the energy to play well over a five-hour round and if he ingests the wrong thing, he'll be looking for the restroom in 20 minutes. But if Gums needs one, he already has it mapped out.
"There's one bathroom that intersects between holes two and three and six and seven," said Gums. "Then you have the clubhouse. Then after that there's nothing until you get back to the clubhouse."
Other players are noting what type of grass is on the course, how to manage the greens, where the best place is to miss a green, what clubs should be used on what tee and how the club interacts with the sand in the bunker. Gums adds a bathroom check to the list.
"Justin's such a tough kid and never makes an excuse," said Montigel. "He's kind of a dream guy to have in your program. Most kids would be complaining and whining and he doesn't say a thing about it."
"I've never been one to complain about what I have," said Gums. "I always try to make myself equal to everybody else. I don't want any extra treatment for it. I've never been one to make a big point about it. I just try and handle the adversity that comes with it and get on with life."
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