Golfer Avery Struck, who grew up in Halfmoon Bay, is back on the Sunshine Coast, having just finished her sophomore year at Arkansas Tech. After a challenging first year at West Texas A&M University, Struck has found her home with the Golden Suns.
The season started well, she said, “and then we just continued to get better – the whole team – not just myself.
“It was just awesome, it was so nice to go somewhere and not have to worry about what anyone thought about you or anything like that,” Struck said. “The last school and this school – it’s just night and day – it’s so great.”
Struck was in Nebraska recently for the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) Invitational where she played through minus seven-degree weather and nearly 60 km an hour winds. “It was so cold they were shovelling snow off the green,” Struck said. “I shot 79, which, considering the conditions, was not bad at all.”
The next day was even better for Struck.
“I ended up having 13 pars in a row and then I made an eagle – then I parred and then I doubled and I finished with two birdies,” Struck said. “So I went two under and came third. That was probably the biggest highlight of my season, having the under par round.”
Struck’s team, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns, came close to winning the NCAA Division II women’s golf super regional competition on May 2 to 4.
“We made up 15 strokes on the last day to tie with the third place team,” Struck said. “We unfortunately lost on the third hole of the playoff – they sunk an incredible birdie putt and deserved to win. Although it would have been nice to have gotten the victory, [the other team] really worked hard to do it. I couldn’t do anything but congratulate them.”
Struck is now back on the Coast and will be working at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club over the summer.
“I’m going to get together with Jim [Pringle]; he’s my coach. We’ll set up a practice plan for what I’m going to do over the summer. You can never be too good.”
Pringle said he first met Struck when she was 14 and was impressed by her natural talent. “Right from the first time we went to the range, her talent level was so far advanced from most of the kids I’ve coached that it’s made coaching pretty easy – just give her the encouragement to go and she’s been fantastic,” Pringle said.
The two will be working primarily on Struck’s mental game and how to deal with performance under pressure. Pringle said her swing is “already there.”
“She’s had some great results this year, no question,” Pringle said. “But there’s always the challenge of dealing with expectations, especially your own expectations. I think that’s what any golfer faces – the ability to perform at a high level every time you go out there. No question that that’s the greatest challenge.”
Struck is planning on competing in the Sunshine Coast Amateur Tournament at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club on the August long weekend – but she said she’s already excited to get back to school.
“We know now what it takes to go to Nationals and how hard we have to work and how much effort each individual has to put in, so I feel like this year we’ll come back fighting stronger and more prepared,” Struck said. “I wish that this had been my freshman year and that I was with these girls for all four years, but I’ll take what I can get with them. I’m more than happy.”
