Addison Goen played Hole 4 at Grandview Golf Course many times before Monday evening but never in a varsity match. 事实上, 安德森’s girls golf meet against Connersville was just the Lady Tribe’s second team contest in half a decade.
Goen started things off with a drive out of the tee box she appeared very pleased with and waited for her opponent to tee off before the two walked toward their respective golf balls. Hole 4 is a par-4, so the two still had a lot of work to do from this point.
Goen continued her strong start with an impressive chip shot to land her on the green, just a few feet away from the hole on her third shot. She sank the putt to start her evening off with a par.
“它更短一些, so most of the time my drive will get up (the fairway) pretty good,戈恩说。. “… I was really impressed with myself.”
她是女士部落的No. 1 for a reason, but she didn’t earn this spot due to seniority. All four competing members of 安德森’s five-person roster are freshman, 包括Goen, and they all began their golf journeys just a year-and-a-half prior when joining 安德森’s seventh-grade squad.
Goen remembered accompanying her father to some of his leisurely outings to local golf courses when she was about 5 years old, only sometimes climbing out of their cart to try and hit a ball like her dad. She practiced many times at Grandview leading up to this matchup against the Spartans, but after her first high school competition on her home course was finished, 她打出了全队最好的52分.
无. 2, Adelyn Swain, finished with a 55. Wedged in the middle was Brielle Schott, the Tribe’s No. 他得了54分. 琪琪·埃文斯，第一. 最后一杆57分结束了比赛.
当比分被计算时, 安德森’s 218 combined score narrowly finished better than Connersville’s 223, clinching the Lady Tribe’s first team win of the 2020s.
“My score didn’t really matter because I felt good about how I played,戈恩说。, 虽然 she later claimed she wasn’t happy with her 52 finish. “… I just love being out on the golf course, honestly.”
What makes golf most enjoyable for Goen is who she competes alongside, as not only has she only ever played the sport with her four teammates, 但他们都是一起长大的. Swain even called Goen her best friend.
“I don’t really like to do any other sports because everybody else knows what they’re doing, 而我不会,斯温说. “But with this, nobody had ever picked up a club, so we were all on the same page.”
埃文斯, who’s 57 score Monday evening was her best ever, explained how the Lady Tribe has formed its collective bond.
“Just being ourselves, and we encourage each other,” she said.
Coach Chuck Graybiel did plenty of encouraging as 安德森 battled against Connersville, too. His golf cart zipped around Grandview Golf Course perhaps more than anyone’s as Graybiel constantly checked in on his athletes.
Though it wasn’t to see what their scores were. It was to ensure they didn’t lose confidence in themselves. Swain was a perfect example of what Graybiel’s words have done for the quintet of freshman in such limited time, as she outlined her struggles with self-confidence on the golf course but admitted her new coach’s mentality has helped her self-talk turn more positive.
“如果你击中了它，谁在乎? Don’t even think about it,格雷贝尔说. “想想下一个镜头.”
安德森 girls golf is a historic program. Before its recent struggles to even recruit enough members to field a team, the Lady Tribe won 11 sectionals and two regionals — 虽然 the most recent sectional title came in 2005, and the last time 安德森 won a regional came 45 years ago.
But that isn’t Graybiel’s concern right now, nor is it occupying the minds of 安德森’s five freshmen. For now, everyone within the program is more concerned with enjoying the game.
“Even 虽然 it’s crazy that they’ve only been playing for a year-and-a-half, they’re capable of shooting better than what they are right now,格雷贝尔说. “… I think a lot of kids take golf too seriously. If you’re not having fun and just playing, you’re not going to be good.”
If that philosophy rings true, 安德森 certainly subscribed to it Monday.
“I love having my friends as my teammates,” Schott said. “We just have fun, and we try to boost each other up.”
To cap off 安德森’s improbable win, the Lady Tribe had been practicing for just a week and only had one prior meet under its collective belt heading into Monday evening. 安德森 put its previous loss to Richmond aside, 虽然, and will look to capitalize on this momentum when it faces Frankton and Tipton at 4:15 p.m. 周三.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.