As an eight year-old at summer camp, current Senior Ava Kaplan joined her dad on the golf course. Soon enough, she began learning the game, but in a different way than one would think.
“They actually had me hitting left-handed clubs because they didn’t have enough right-handed clubs. So it was very impromptu, and I had no idea that this would be the sport that I would love for the rest of my life when I started,” Kaplan said.
Later on in her progression, Kaplan would hit right-handed,she has seen a lot of improvement in her golf game with her continued play..
“I’ve seen the most improvement in my mental game and being able to handle adversity when things don’t exactly go how I expect them to. I’ve gotten a lot better at not letting one bad hole or one bad shot affect me negatively for the rest of the round and having more resilience and perseverance,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan’s strengths come from her play on the golf course and as well as her mentality.
“I have really good mechanics that allow me to use force to hit the ball to counteract how short I am. And I also think that one of my strengths is how much I love the game,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan has a great relationship with her coach, Jeffery Emory, and has taken a very important lesson from him.
“I would say that the most important thing he’s taught me is that I don’t need to try to be something I’m not, and being myself is enough, and the effort that I put into the game of golf will come out eventually, I just need to be patient and wait for my moment to shine,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan is committed to Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. She is looking forward to continuing her golf career near Boston, where she was born and raised.
“The moment I set foot on campus, I knew that I wanted to go to college there. Everyone is so welcoming. And the golf team was so welcoming when I stayed there for a weekend. I just loved the environment of the team. Everyone was always uplifting to each other, and there was not a lot of negative competition going on,” Kaplan said.
Wando girls golf coach Jeffery Emory has had a front row seat to Kaplan’s development over her high school career.
“She was always really fiery, and she could play a little bit, but she had good form, good technique, but she struggled a little bit with putting it all together. So it was fun to watch her mental game catch up to her physical game a little bit, and then her getting stronger, being able to hit the ball further. Just a whole maturation process took place over the last four years with her. Mentally, physically and … becoming a very good team leader,” Emory said.
Emory has high hopes for Kaplan to continue her success at the collegiate level, but she has to be ready to be pushed more than ever.
“I do believe that she will be successful. You know, when you go from high school to college, [Coaches are] going to push her through, and I don’t see any problem with that whatsoever,” Emory said. “College coaches don’t recruit you if they don’t want you there. So I know their coach wants her there, and her determination is a big reason why he wants her there. I got a feeling she’s going to grow even more.”
