She may be small in size, but on the golf course, sophomore Abby Martin plays much bigger than her height.  Standing just 4’11”, Martin has been playing golf for years.

“I started playing golf September before freshman year right at the beginning of the school year,” Martin said. “Golf is something my dad and I have done together since I was a little kid, and I kind of just wanted a place to settle in and I wanted to be a part of a team atmosphere. The desire to do well and to succeed definitely has pushed me to practice and work hard throughout the past two years.”

To some people golf may not seem like much more than a nice walk, but hitting a 1.7 inch ball with a club can be quite challenging.

“There are only a few things in golf that you can control, like composure, preparation, and attitude, so in those things I try to excel because they’re key factors in determining your outcome,” Martin said. “I practice between three to six days out of the week for about 3 hours. It’s definitely difficult to keep a routine practice schedule when you’re a student and also involved in other extracurricular activities, but I do my best to balance them all. During season we have tournaments every to every other week, which consists of 6 hours of straight walking in whichever strenuous weather conditions mother nature decides to throw us.”

This year will be her second year on the team and she is already considered the leader of the varsity golf team.

“I can count on Abby to lead the team during practices through her words and actions.  She is a source of encouragement and positivity and she help focus the team at practice and during meetings,” Coach Romi Irons said. “She helps organize community service and team building activities with the coaches, and she serves as a communicative liaison between the team and the coaches.”

The increased responsibility has translated into an improved focus on the course which has led to the best results of her golfing career.

“This season has definitely been a turning point for me this season score wise,” Martin said. “I mean yes I see it as an important accomplishment in my career but I definitely know that there’s a huge margin for improvement on my part, and I’m super excited to grow as a player through this program.”

Tuesday, April 8 is the second day of the district golf tournament.