For the Love of the Game

Today, the Richmond Times-Dispatch presented its All-Metro golf team, and Collegiate’s Caroline Curtis and Jack Montague were among the first-team honorees.
Their selection is a no-brainer. That’s for sure. Their accomplishments, the result of athletic talent honed by desire, determination, and a single-minded dedication to excellence, speak for themselves.
 
The highlight of their stellar 2017 school seasons (on which All-Metro was based) was their peak-at-the-right-moment showing in the VISAA championship at the Meadowbrook Country Club where they shot 1-under 69’s to earn co-medalist honors and lead the Cougars to a second-place finish.
 
They were actually just getting started, however.
 
A month after the state tournament, Caroline, now a junior, won her second consecutive RWGA championship. A couple of weeks later, Jack, a senior, captured the RGA title. We’re not talking junior events, mind you. Their competition included the crème de la crème among seasoned practitioners of the sport.
 
Following the local events, both played tournament golf throughout the country during the summer and fall.
 
Among her highlights, Caroline, who’s committed to Alabama, tied for third (69-75-73) in the Swinging Skirts AJGA Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, CA, in August; placed fourth (72-68-75) in the AJGA Girls Championship in Greenville, SC, in September; and tied for twelfth (72-77-73) in the PING Invitational in Stillwater, OK, in October.
 
Jack, who’s signed with Virginia, finished fifth (72-74) in the Mid-Atlantic Junior Boys Invitational in Baltimore in October and won (72-68) the Michael Breed Invitational at the Independence Golf Club in Midlothian.
        
One late November morning, they joined me in my office to reflect – candidly and humbly, as always – upon their burgeoning careers, their accomplishments, and their plans, their hopes, and their dreams.
 
The weather’s getting colder and not ideal for golf. Is this your off season?
 
Jack – I’ll take maybe two months off from tournament golf, but I’ll still be practicing. I’ll do my best to get stronger and prepare myself for the school season coming up and college next year.
 
Caroline – I’m taking off three to four months from tournament golf and about a month and a half from any golf at all.   I’ll work on my fitness, strength, and getting mentally tougher. I wake up a lot of mornings before school and do spin classes. Anything you do in the winter makes you tougher.
 
You’ve been so successful. Neither of you will sneak up on anyone again. How do you maintain your edge?
 
Jack – I just keep working to improve everything. Short game is an area you can always improve. Then, just working on swing changes and refining everything. Good, disciplined practice is important. Doing everything you can in the weight room. The better physical shape you’re in, the easier it is to keep your mental edge because you’re not fatigued.
 
Caroline – It’s good, focused practices. It’s going hard in the weight room. It’s drawing from not-positive experiences where you’ve missed the putt or hit a bad shot and letting those drive you to get better and better.
 
In the context of our team, is there competition between you?
 
Caroline – Jack and I help each other get better. We kind of play off each other. It’s friendly competition. We do drills together to see who gets a better score. We want to beat each other, but for the team.
 
Jack – Healthy competition is really important. It’s little things, like a closest-to-the-pin contest on the range or a putting contest or a chipping contest. I don’t like to lose. Caroline doesn’t like to lose. Pressure situations in practice help your game develop.
 
Why does golf continue to be fun?
 
Caroline – I really love the game so much. I love the little parts of it like if you’re one centimeter off, it can change something by 50 yards. What definitely keeps me driven is taking what I did wrong and making it right. I love competition. I love to win.
 
Jack – I didn’t start playing tournament golf until my rising sophomore year. It’s still fresh. I love golf, the competition, the challenge. It’s just you against the course. That’s what keeps me coming back.
    -- Weldon Bradshaw
 
(Note: The Virginia High School League golf season occurs in the fall, and the T-D has traditionally recognized its “best of the best” from among the public school ranks in December. This year, though, selectors decided to include worthy independent school golfers based on their performances during their season, which actually occurred this past spring.)
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