By Kurt Dusterberg Emily Hawkins seemed destined to play golf, if only because she could see the course from her backyard. Her parents, Tom and Cathy, live near the 16th hole at Sapona Ridge Country Club in Lexington, where they are members. “I started playing when I was 9 or 10,” Hawkins says. “My dad…
By Kurt Dusterberg Chandler Metz flies under the radar among North Carolina junior golfers. The Wilkes Central High School graduate has never hoisted an individual tournament trophy. His name isn’t connected with a prominent golf instructor and you probably won’t find him honing his skills on the driving range. But he has a game that…
By Kurt Dusterberg Rachael Mast spent part of her summer in Puerto Rico on a mission trip with Tyro United Methodist Church. While her group put a new roof on a community center, she gave the walls a fresh coat of paint. “I’m learning a lot about the people here and how God moves in…
By Kurt Dusterberg Hailey Joy won her first golf tournament at age 10. Aside from playing against a field of all boys, her lasting memory of that competition is her wardrobe. “I remember that day I wore a T-shirt because I forgot my golf clothes,” she says with a shy laugh. “So I have a…
By Kurt Dusterberg When Brandon Einstein talks about growing his golf game, he often starts with a story about just plain, old growing. It all started in the summer after his freshman year. “I went from 5-foot-6 to 5-10,” said Einstein, a junior at West Forsyth High School. “I’m 5-11 right now. And I went…
By Kurt Dusterberg Mallory Fobes has grown accustomed to going it alone on the golf course. She is the only member of the girl’s golf team at Forbush High School, a 2-A school in East Bend. While that sounds like a losing proposition in a team format, the sophomore quickly found out she could carry…
By David Droschak The sudden death playoff at the North State High School Challenge in Kannapolis was a look into what may be future Southeastern Conference showdowns. Zach Brown of R.J. Reynolds, a sophomore who has committed to Georgia, defeated Michael Sanders of the Cannon School, a junior headed to LSU, on the first playoff…
By John Brasier Jake Rutter’s future goals in golf are simple. “I just want to keep playing golf,” he said. Rutter isn’t sure whether that means playing college golf. But he does have that option. He said Davidson College coach Tim Straub offered him a roster spot, and he has other options as well. “Some…
By John Brasier Madison Isaacson is already off to a fast start in 2017 after a strong showing last year. Isaacson, a junior at Ragsdale High in Jamestown, shot a solid 5-over-par 149 in mid-March to win the TYGA Archdale-Trinity Chamber Junior Open at Holly Springs by a whopping eight-shot margin. Already committed to play…
Junior Golf Pyramid By David Droschak Starting your child out in a golf program may not be a simple as it sounds if you’re new to the game. Proper direction from the start could mean all the difference in the world as to whether a 10-year-old falls in love with golf or finds the whole…