JR Bowers is a freshman at Worthington Christian high school. It was his first year playing golf for Worthington Christian. Aside from Golf, JR enjoys playing baseball and pickup basketball with his friends. He recently sat down with the IJ1 team to talk about his experiences playing on the 2016 WCHS JV golf team.
Q: Why do you like
Golf?
A: I like golf because of the relaxation of being outside
and being able to play golf with my friends and how fun that can be. Golf also isn’t a super competitive sport
where you go right at someone’s throat and get mad at them or something like
that.
Q: How has WC golf made an impact on your life?
A: I played last year, and that was my first year playing
for the school, but I’ve played golf since I was 4 or 5. My golf coach last year was Zac Hess who is a
young couples’ marriage counselor [at Grace Polaris church]. He always pushed into us the morals of life,
and how we can apply those to golf, like always being honest. It’s really easy
to trick someone and say you got a par when you really got a double bogey, so
he is always just telling us to be honest with ourselves and other players.
Q: What is your
favorite course to play?
A: My favorite course
is Apple Valley. I shot one of my best
scores of the year there. My dad told me
when I was going to play that day, that it was a really tough course and there’s
a bunch of trees and [it is] really hilly.
So I was glad he told me that so I could get mentally prepared for how
to take on the course and be focused, and I shot my lowest score of the year
there, which was an 80. I loved it
because it had the look of a PGA [Professional Golf Association] course without
the pressure of the PGA.
Q: How have your teammates helped shape you?
A: I would say that
the players around me have helped push me to become a more fundamental golfer
and to always focus on your game, not your competitors game. They are always an encouragement. For instance, the comradery we have when we
see each other at school, we don’t just walk by. We are always engaged with each other and
never put someone out of the group.
Everyone is included like a big family.
Q: How much attention
does Golf get at WC?
A: Golf, I would say, isn’t very big here. We only had 13 guys on the team and it’s not
like fans come out. It’s just your
parents and grandparents. But I it’s
always encouraging when you look up at WC Channel 3 and you see Mr. Stoll put
the week’s golf schedule up. It’s always
good to see that someone notices and wants others to notice too.
Q: How would you encourage others to come watch golf?
A: If they want to
come watch a match or something, I mean they’d have to make sure their homework
is done and stuff, but if you actually enjoy watching Golf, it’s just like any
golf tournament. you can pick one person
to follow or multiple people. We only
play 9 hole matches on weekdays unless there is no school, then we play 18
holes. On weekends we play 18 hole
matches. You get exercise, you get to
watch golf, you get to be outside. It’s
the best of both worlds.
~Tommy Robinson
