GREENFIELD — The golf game of Greenfield-Central’s Tyler Young is more than just hitting it far and putting it well.
It’s got a lot to do with consistency and focus.
Young, the Daily Reporter Boys Golf Athlete of the Year, has been pretty focused on what he’s wanted to do since he was a four-year old.
His parents had a double-sided plastic club that gave him the opportunity to swing either right-handed or left-handed.
Instead of the more common right side, Young was always more comfortable and focused on being a lefty.
“They always tried to get me to swing right-handed, but I’d always be more comfortable back to my left side,” he said. “They tried to mold me into a right-hander, but I just couldn’t do it. They always said I’d fight them on it. They had me swing right-handed a couple of times, but I’d always shuffle my way back to the other side and start swinging left-handed.”
Over the years, it has been harder to find equipment, but the equipment he has found he’s made to good use.
Just completing his junior season, Young has improved in each of his three varsity seasons. He started as a mid-80s golfer his freshman year to getting under 80 once as a sophomore. He was consistently under 80 in the big tournaments this season and hopes to get closer to par as a senior.
This year, he won the Hancock County Tournament held at Greenfield’s Hawk’s Tail Golf Course. He shot a nine-hole round of 38, to win by two strokes and help lead the Cougars to the county team title.
He had a strong round of 78, one shot behind the leaders, to earn All-Hoosier Heritage Conference honors at the meet held at Yorktown’s Player’s Club. He was also one of only two county golfers to shoot in the 70s (79) in a return trip to the Player’s Club for the Muncie Central Regional.
He had a season low 18-hole round of 76 at the Delaware Invitational at the Albany Golf Course and was part of the school’s first sectional championship team in 26 years.
It was a good year for the junior and the Cougars.
“It’s great to win all that stuff with all the work you put into it,” Young said.
That hard work has not gone unnoticed.
Greenfield-Central first-year head coach Cliff Henderson, the county coach of the year, saw first-hand how hard his junior worked on being a better player.
“One thing about (Tyler) is he works extremely hard in improving his game on every level,” Henderson said. “He’s a well-rounded player, a student of the game. All the hard work is paying off for him.”
Henderson added, “When he gets going, he’s laser-focused. He knows where he wants to go and how he wants to go about it. … He’s mentally strong.
“All players at a certain point question their decision-making process. All players go through that no matter how old they are. He battles back more so than most. He could be having a bad string of holes and all of a sudden he’ll turn it around. It’s easy to get down on yourself and stay down, but he tends to be able to make those quick decisions that brings him out of a slump. He takes each hole, hole by hole and shot by shot. He doesn’t linger on too long and just moves on from there.”
Young adds that a big key to him was being consistent and being able to, if one part of the game is off, to be good at another.
“Just getting more consistent – If you’re going to play good golf, you’ve got to get really consistent and have consistent thoughts and a consistent swing – every day, all day,” Young said of his approach to his favorite game. “Developing in the offseason, in the winter, working out, training, really always having a club in my hand and always swinging at a golf ball, that’s the key in getting better and more consistent.
“(Consistency) is always something I look for. You have to have a consistent tee shot. You have to hit the fairways, and hit the greens. Sometimes you can’t and you can’t let that get to you so you have to rely on other things, like putting. That, especially, is why I did well this year.”
Young said he wants to do more of the same next year, and is hopeful to be a two-time county champ, as well as win the conference and sectional, noting the competition will be stiff in all three. He’d like nothing more than to win those tournaments, both individually and as a team.
He also has hopes of playing collegiately after graduation. He’ll continue to follow that plan of focus and consistency to try to reach those goals.
“Of course (I’d love to play in college). It’s always been the dream since my freshman year,” he said. “I’ve got to get lower scores that’s why this senior year is very important. Put up some impressive numbers and hope someone takes a chance on me.”
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2023 Daily Reporter Spring Sports Honors
Sport;Athlete of the Year;Coach of the Year
Girls tennis;Kylie Brandes, Mt. Vernon;Gabe Muterspaugh, Mt. Vernon
Girls track;Savannah Lake, Greenfield-Central;Brian Williams, Mt. Vernon
Girls field;Riley Nielsen, Mt. Vernon
Boys track;George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon;Nick Clarkson, Mt. Vernon
Boys field;Elliot Ryba, Greenfield-Central
Baseball;Blaine Nunnally, New Palestine;Shawn Lyons, New Palestine
Softball;Aglaia Rudd, New Palestine;Terry Stephens, Eastern Hancock
Boys golf;Tyler Young, Greenfield-Central;Cliff Henderson, Greenfield-Central
Note: The Daily Reporter selected one overall track and field coach of the year for girls and boys, but picked separate athletes of the year, one for track and one for field events.
