Caroline Curtis, who has committed to Georgia, hopes to play on the LPGA tour. She has earned All-State and All-Prep League honors in her two seasons of varsity golf and was the 2015 VSGA junior girls golfer of the year.

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A Summer of Superlatives

7/15/2016

It’s been quite a summer so far for Caroline Curtis, and it's only mid-July.

The rising Collegiate sophomore celebrated the end of the school year by winning – in decisive fashion, no less – the Richmond Women’s Golf Association’s annual tournament with a victory over 1971 graduate Boodie McGurn in an All-Cougar championship round.

Then, a couple of weeks later, she verbally committed to the University of Georgia, whose women’s golf program aspires to make an impact at the national level.

“I took my first visit in October and absolutely fell in love with it,” she said. “Athens is such a cool college town. There’s such a sense of community and family there. I’m really, really looking forward to being part of that.”

In Caroline, Bulldogs’ coach Josh Brewer and assistant Whitney Young saw a young woman who is supremely talented as well as tournament-tested, focused, dedicated to improving her game, composed, gracious, and humble.

“Caroline’s confidence level is apparent,” said McGurn, her RWGA finals opponent and for years a top-ranked golfer at the local and state level. “It never comes off as cocky or arrogant. She’s just sure of herself, which I love.”

Chris Williams, Collegiate’s head golf coach, credits Caroline’s mental game as a difference-maker.

“She doesn’t wait until the day of the match,” he said. “Once she hits the practice range, everything she does is all about golf. There’s no joking around. She gets her work done. Then, as soon as she’s through with all of her stations, she’ll have fun like everybody else.”

Caroline’s performance in the RWGA championship round was spectacular. In fact, Vic Dorr Jr., who covered the tournament for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, used the adjectives “splendid,” “terrific,” “superb” in the first paragraph of his piece about the final day. Then, he added, “All are inadequate” and that Caroline’s accomplishment “literally defied description” and was “stunning not only in quality and sophistication but also in brevity.” In winning 6-and-5, Caroline played the 13 holes at the Richmond Country Club in 7-under and recorded eight birdies.

“It was really, really exciting and fun,” she said several days after the fanfare receded. “It’s such a great tournament. The women are so nice. The course was in great shape. I played some of my best golf. I was confident in my putting, my chipping, and I had a few half-swing shots that I had to make to be in position to make the birdies.

“I really tried to focus on staying in the present rather than thinking about what’s going to happen after the shot. A lot of my problem in the past was that when I hit bad shots, I thought about what could happen and what people would think. I’ve read a lot of (sports psychologist Dr.) Bob Rotella’s books, and they all tell me to stay in the present. When I do, I hit better shots.”

How does she put theory into practice?

“I just visualize my shot,” Caroline continued. “I know exactly where it’s going and how it will play out from there. I just see it in my mind. I have 45 seconds to hit a shot. Once I’m done, I can focus on who’s there, what I’m thinking, what everybody’s thinking. As long as I’m focusing for 45 seconds, everything else goes away.”

This past spring, Caroline began working on her swing with Atlanta-based Chan Reeves.

“My swing before was a lot longer, and I got my power from my arms,” she explained. “When I timed it right, it went really far and perfectly straight. If I didn’t, the dispersion of my shots was really far, my bad shots were really bad, but my good shots were really good. He (Reeves) made my swing more compact by changing my grip a little bit and shortening the length of my backswing so I get my power from my legs.”

She also works with Kinloch Golf Club pro Stephen “Slot” Slotterback on her short game as well as Charlottesville-based Brian Bailie on the AimPoint putting technique. Her success at the RWGA are testament to focus, training, and understanding of the concept.

“AimPoint is basically feeling out the slope with your feet which gives you a number,” she said. “Then, you put up your hand which shows you where to aim. That’s given me a lot of confidence.”

This summer, Caroline has played fewer tournaments than in past years, which leaves valuable time for practice, family, and just hanging out with friends. As she heads this week to the James River Country Club in Newport News for the VSGA Women’s Amateur, she’s in a good place, with her golf and with herself: still the skilled technician she was when she burst onto the scene with a runner-up finish in the 2013 RWGA tournament as an 11-year-old, still well-spoken beyond her years, still the epitome of poise and sportsmanship. No way have time and success changed her.

-- Weldon Bradshaw

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