Novice Quickly Climbs Golf Ranks

When freshman Hailey Tang joined the varsity girls’ golf team, she barely knew how to hit the ball. However, according to varsity team captain and senior Valerie Rockwell, out of all the people on the team, Tang has progressed and learned the most. “Her growth as a player was incredible. [She was] definitely the most improved player,” said Rockwell.

“When I joined the team, I was pretty bad. I hadn’t played much before. My parents were golfers, so I’d played a little bit, but I knew almost nothing when I got on the team,” said Tang. “I didn’t know anyone at all. I was really nervous because I thought that I wouldn’t really get along with anyone,” said Tang. But on the first day of practice, she made new friends and felt perfectly at home. “The best part was, as I got better, I also started to become very good friends with everyone on the team.”

Tang was a quick learner. “She became super good, super quickly. I was very impressed by her progress,” said Rockwell.

Out of the Campolindo’s 13 female golf players, only 6 were chosen to represent the school in the DAL tournament on October 17, the final tournament of the 2016 season. Tang was the only freshman selected.

Tang did well in the competition; according to her coach, Garry O’Neil, “her performance was incredible in the tournament, especially for a freshman. Her growth from the beginning of the season was especially incredible. She went from being someone who knew very little about the sport, to becoming very skilled.”

The varsity golf team practiced 4 times a week, and the practices lasted 2-4 hours. “Hailey would try as hard as possible during the practices, and she would be very dedicated. She had the biggest heart out of all the players. She really wanted it, so she got better,” said O’Neil.

“Playing on the team was truly a great experience, I would most definitely do it again,” said Tang.