Junior golfer credits off-season for her success

Golfer Carly Bea Brown has had an outstanding season. The junior took seventh place at the District Tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the Fair Play golf course in Norfolk. Brown also contributed to the team’s 11th place finish at the State Championships at the Norfolk Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Brown has made drastic improvements since last season and has attributed a lot of her success to the work that was done in the off season and with Westside’s sports psychology coach Garet Moravec.

“The off-season helped me grow so much as a golfer. I worked really hard on my swing and mechanics,” Brown said. “I also went to coach Moravec, and he helped me with the mental side of my game.”

Westside head coach Jered Hellman was also happy with the improvements Brown has made in her game in the off-season.

“Carly has improved her scoring average from last year by nearly 10 strokes.  Her game has elevated in every aspect,” Hellman said. “Carly puts the time in that it takes to be successful at a high level in the sport of golf.”

Brown’s best performance of the season was at the Metro Championships, where she shot a round of 80 and finished in fifth place. Brown talked about what she believes her strong suits are and also what she believes she could improve on in order to do good at the higher level.

“My driver has always been the strongest part of my game, lately I haven’t been able to hit it well, So I had to really dial in on my short game, which I feel is the most improved part of my game,” Brown said, “I need to play freely with no pressure to be able to just play like how I usually play.”

Brown ended the season with rounds of 94 and 91 and finished with a total of 185 at the Norfolk Country Club. Coach Hellman explained what he believed Brown would need to do in order to compete and place at the state tournament.

“As with any golfer, consistency is the key to having success at tournaments,” Hellman said. “Carly Bea has not been as consistent as we would like with her driver lately.  She has been putting in tireless work to get it straightened out and I look for it to be a strength for her at our upcoming tournaments.”

Hellman also talked about the impact that Brown has made to the other golfers on the team and the program throughout the season through her display of leadership.

“Carly Bea is one of the leaders of our team.  Carly Bea is the type of leader that leads by example, Carly is the hardest worker we have on the golf team, and she also has an amazing attitude.” Hellman said “Carly shares the same competitive fire as I do, and the passion has spread throughout our [entire] golf program. “ 

Brown will be back next year as a senior, looking to make a strong final run to finish her high school career on a positive note.