For someone who started playing golf as an activity to do with her dad, a 10th place finish at state is a pretty good result.
Sophomore Annabelle Bang has battled through adversity to show both herself and others what she is capable of on and off the course.
Bang was the lone qualifier to represent EHS in the Class B State Championship for golf and plzced tenth by shooting a 174. The tournament in Scottsbluff left Bang with numerous memories.
“It was very surreal because the past two years have been really hard with injuries and stuff, but I really enjoyed it,” Bang said. “It was a cool experience and a lot of fun.”
Making it to state is no easy feat, and many athletes have superstitions they must do before each game, match, or tournament. Bang is no different.
“If it’s a two day tournament, I get the same breakfast and drink every morning as a superstition, but I also usually use the same marker when I’m playing and the same marks on my ball,” Bang said.
Bang has golfed for five years, picking up golf clubs after retiring her softball bat and glove. Bang said she chose golf so she could spend more time with with her dad. She said he has always been a great role model to her, but she also has a professional player she admires.
“I look up to Tiger Woods the most because he’s one that I’ve been watching for a long time and I just like the way he plays golf,” Bang said.
After tearing her ACL twice in just a couple years, Bang was forced to give up her main sport: soccer. She started to focus on golf full time and grew to love the sport.
“My favorite part of golfing is just getting to new courses, but I really like driving because that’s my favorite club to use and it shows how powerful one can be,” Bang said.
Driving in golf terms is a long distance shot where golfers have to be both accurate and powerful. Along with that, there are many other hard parts of golf that usually are not taken into consideration by a non-golfer.
“I would say a hard aspect of golf that people probably don’t realize is putting because every green is different, and there’s many different types of hills you have to putt over, and you have to read them a specific way,” Bang said. “Sometimes if you don’t read them correctly and your speed isn’t right, it’s not going to work out.”
Every course is different, so golfers must always take the layout of the course into consideration when playing. Naturally, each player tends to like certain courses more than others.
“My favorite course I’ve ever played is Pacific Springs, because I like how open it is and it’s just a fun course to play,” Bang said.
After the state tournament, Bang said she is already looking forward to the next season.
“Next season I’ll try to do a lot better because I feel like I have potential and I’ll have a lot more time to practice,” Bang said. “I’m still happy about how I did this year and I’m really proud of myself.”
