Of all the fantastic sports teams at Apex High School, one team that has been shining through is the women’s golf team. Age holds no bounds when it comes to sports at Apex, and women’s golf is no exception. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Abby Loding, a junior here at Apex High, to talk with her about her experience in golf and how the season is going so far, and I got an inside scoop on the team’s chemistry.

 

Q: What is your name and your grade?

A: “My name is Abby Loding and I’m a junior.”

 

Q: How long have you been playing golf?

A: “About seven years.”

 

Q: Have you been playing here since freshman year?

A: “Yeah, on the team, but I really got started when I was about ten.”

 

Q: Does someone in your family inspire you to play golf?

A: “My dad. He and I used to go out all the time, but I beat him now.”

 

Q: What is your favorite part about being on the Apex team?

A: “The group of girls that I’m with. They’re just so wonderful and make practice really fun, which is really nice, and we support each other.” 

 

Q: What’s the most challenging part?

A:  “The way high school golf is it’s a team sport, so there really aren’t very many challenges, except there are only two upperclassmen this year, and the rest are freshmen.”

 

Q: If you weren’t doing golf, what other sports or activities would you do?

A: “I’m a dancer. I have been dancing for fourteen years. I’m also involved with DECA, and I work. I’m a babysitter, and I also tutor some kids.”

 

Q: What are your likes and dislikes about the matches?

A: “Some likes are I get to play with the same people because it’s based off of skill level, and our skill level doesn’t really change, so I play with the same group of girls every week, and it’s fun just to see them and how they’ve progressed over the years. Some dislikes: it’s really hot when we play. It’s always, like, ninety degrees. Our match yesterday (10/14/19) was really nice because it was only sixty-seven degrees, which is really nice.”

 

Q: What do the practices usually look like?

A: “Probably some range work and then some putting work. Then play around.” 

 

Q: How’s the season been going so far this year?

A: “Good! We’ve consistently received third place. Our senior Maddie and I  are going to regionals next week. Hopefully we do well at regionals and make it to states. We made it all the way to states last year, but we qualified as a team.”

 

Q: What are some memories that you’ve made with playing golf at Apex?

A: “There’s a lot of them. Most of my memories are just laughing. There’s a lot of laughing in our practices, and there’s a lot of focusing on certain aspects. One of my favorite memories is a birthday party. We had a birthday party after one of our matches; it was one of the best rounds ever! We celebrated this player’s birthday, and we surprise her, and she was so excited. She was really happy, so that was fun.”

 

Q: Do you have a favorite year so far for Apex golf?

A: “Probably my junior year because we have four freshmen, so they’re just full of energy, and they just make every practice better because they’re just excited and bubbly. This year I’ve been hurt. I’m coming off of a back injury, so it was fun just walking around the course with them and seeing them progress.”

 

Q: What’s the chemistry on the team like?

A: “It’s good! We get along really well. They (the freshmen) really add to our team dynamic. Everybody collaborates in a certain way, and it just works.”

 

Abby’s love for the sport is an amazing example of how hard work and dedication can get someone so far. This entire team is like one big family that support each other in everything. We wish them all good luck in qualifying for states and hope this is the best season yet!