The talk always fascinated Mary Grace Caldwell. She just wasn’t sure she believed it.
“You will be one of the few that plays college golf,” Caldwell recalls friends and coaches telling her.
Caldwell didn’t take those words to heart because she believes there always is room for improvement in your sport. It wasn’t until last season, when Caldwell was part of the New Hope High School girls golf team’ Class II state championship squad that she embraced the notion that she could take her game to the next level.
Caldwell realized that goal Thursday when she signed a scholarship to play golf at William Carey, a NAIA school in Hattiesburg.
Last season, Caldwell shot a final-round 86 to help lead New Hope to its first state title in girls golf. Her performance tied her for silver medalist honors, and her 86 was three shots better than her best round at the 2013 Class II state championship.
“I played some of the best round of golf I have ever played, and I was like I am finally at the point where I can kind of cool down a little bit and just take it easy for a little while because I am at the point I want to be,” Caldwell said. “But for me to always be good, I still have to practice, so I kept working and working. At that point, I felt like I was one of the best, but that is what people always told me. They told me if you always work you will be one of the best. That was proven last year at the state championship. That kind of changed the way I looked at golf practice.”
Caldwell said she always thought there never were going to be girls who could drive the ball off the tee as long as she could. But she realized other players could use their short games, their chipping ability, and their accuracy with their irons to make up for their lack of length. Caldwell said that realization helped her re-focus on the other parts of her game to help her keep pace.
New Hope girls golf coach Laura Trenor praised Caldwell’s growth as a player last season. She said Caldwell has continued to work on her short game to go with her strength off the tee to make her an even better all-around player. She is confident Caldwell will continue to mature as a golfer in college.
“The first year that I helped (as a coach on the team) she played good, but in the past two years that I have been coaching her, she has improved a lot,” Trenor said. “It is mainly because of practice. She practices every day that we for the school, and on weekends she goes out with her dad (Andy). I think getting more repetitions helped her get better.”
Trenor said Caldwell focused on her game from 100 yards in prior to the state championship. She said Caldwell knows she needs to continue to improve in her final high school season, which is something that will keep her and her teammates motivated in their hunt for another state title.
“I think she will handle it well,” Trenor said. “Two years ago when she played, she would get down on herself a lot. As she has grown and matured, it has been so much better. She will hit a shot that is not her best shot and on the next one she will hit one of the best shots she has ever shot. She has more confidence in those shots because she practices them.”
Caldwell praised former girls golf coaches Drew McBrayer and Laura Lee Holman for helping her realize the opportunity to get a scholarship. She said she has continued to work hard at her craft and that she is excited to compete against players who love the game as much as she does.
Caldwell said William Carey was the perfect choice because of its location and the fact that it has a well-regarded nursing program, which is what she will study later this year.
As for golf, Caldwell has examined the scores of her future teammates and see that they have improved. She is confident she will be able to make similar improvements when she takes her game to William Carey.
“I will want to focus and work hard in golf and on my schoolwork so I can look back and say, ‘I had fun in college because I got to play a sport I love while I was working on my schoolwork,’ ” Caldwell said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.