"I didn't know how much better I could get. That's what I've gotten through Clippd."
Florida State University sophomore Katherine Cook on her start in the game, competing in GSGA tournaments, and how Clippd is helping her achieve her goals.
My grandmother introduced me to golf. She had a house overlooking the 16th green at Glen Arven Country Club in Thomasville. I have two sisters and she was adamant that one of the three of us would be out there playing golf. She brought the game to me and my love for it just gets stronger and stronger.
My grandmother would pick me up after school and take me to golf lessons. I'm fortunate in that I still work very closely with all the people that she brought me to. It's a tight-knit community at Glen Arven; the people are like family. They have watched me grow up, so it's just a really special place for me.
I grew up with a group of really good junior players. They tend to come in waves at golf clubs and I was fortunate to grow up during a wave when we had a lot of really good golfers coming through. Every day after school, we were out there practicing. My parents just went and dropped me off. It really did push me to become a better golfer.
I played against a lot of boys growing up and I've learned a lot of shots just from watching them play. I played on the boys team at Brookwood High School. In my freshman year, we came in third in the state championship and then COVID hit. In my junior year and senior year some of the really good younger guys came up. We pieced it together and won back-to-back state championships, which was awesome.
I've been playing in the Georgia Women's Amateur Championship since I was 12 or 13. We have a lot of really good older amateurs as well as up and coming younger players. The competition in GSGA events is there and I've seen the level grow astronomically. You're all from the same state, you all have that stuff in common, but also there's strong competition too.
When I had my first call with Coach Bond at Florida State, it just felt right. I grew up with that family feel around golf and the more I met everybody and saw how close the team is with the men's team, it just felt like it was when I was growing up. It felt like a healthy environment to be pushed through.
When I got to college, they sat us down and told us we'd be using Clippd. I was curious; I really didn't know what the feedback was going to be. I knew the strengths in my game and I knew my weaknesses, but I didn't know how much better I could get by improving different parts of my game. That's what I've gotten through Clippd.
With Clippd I have validation on what I do really, really well, but I also know the things I need to work on. That's how I've been able to grow - and I've grown a lot. I've seen my stats get better and better and better since the time that I started at Florida State.
Alice Hodge is a senior on our team and she's really been encouraging me through Clippd. We follow each other on it and she'll look at my Round Insights and we'll talk through it. Being able to uplift your teammate through looking at their round and what you did really well has been really cool.
My sports psych has always told me to go out there and keep the stats I need so I can see the improvement. Coach Bond has said that as well. It is a huge confidence piece because oftentimes, building is not linear. There are a lot of ups and downs, but over time you're getting higher and higher and higher. So that's been really important for my confidence, for sure.
It's a dream of mine to play in the ANWA; Augusta National is a four-hour drive from my home. last year, I got to go watch some of my teammates and one of my best friends play out there, which was super special. Do I want to be inside the ropes? 1000%. But, we'll take it one day at a time and see how much better we can get.
So many amazing golfers have come out of Georgia, and so many are coming through right now. We're beyond blessed too have the golf courses that we do. Just being able to be a part of it and be around all the great players that continue to grow throughout Georgia is awesome. I know a lot of them and I'm sure I'm going to meet so many more.
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