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CB: Even with all of his recent problems? KC: (Laughing) Yeah. Why not? Maybe I could help him out a bit.
hen it comes to high school girls golf in Antioch, Deer Valley has remained the team to beat over the past several years. That may be true again this season, but Antioch High has made strides to close the gap a little. A major reason for that is Kelsey Cast. The senior played both basketball and softball for the Panthers before picking up a club for the first time two years ago. Now she’s already ascended to the No. 1 slot on the golf team. Here are a few things we chatted about when we played nine holes on the Diablo Course at Brentwood Golf Club on Sept. 17.
Hole No. 7
With Antioch’s Kelsey Cast
Hole No. 1 Par 4, Distance 352 (Chace) / 302 (Kelsey), Chace’s score: 6, Kelsey’s score: 4 CB: What’s been the hardest part of learning the game over the past two years? KC: Probably keeping my concentration throughout the whole match. You have to focus on every single shot, and you have to think about so many different things, it’s kind of hard to stay focused. CB: And actual on-course technique? KC: Short game. Definitely short game.
Hole No. 2 Par 4, Distance 275 / 256, Chace: 7 (water hazard!), Kelsey: 4 CB: What’s the best round you’ve had? KC: Best round? I can’t remember who it was against, but I got a 40. I just remember every shot was where I wanted it to go. Every putt just seemed to fall in the hole. It was like all my hard work was paying off. CB: Was there a point where it crossed your mind that I might be pretty good at this? KC: Yeah, but at first I didn’t want to think that because I’m not the type of person that goes around thinking I’m real good at stuff. People started telling me I was getting better, and as my scores got lower I started to believe it.
Hole No. 3 Par 4, Distance 322 / 303, Chace: 5, Kelsey: 5 CB: So when was the time that you most wanted to quit the game? 16
SportStars™
September 23, 2010
Hole No. 4
Hole No. 5 Par 3, Distance 149 / 121, Chace: 4, Kelsey: 3 CB: What it was like for you to adjust a very individual game after being a part of basketball and softball teams in the past? KC: It was hard at first not having anyone to rely but yourself. You do get used to it as you start practicing and playing. You have a team, but it’s based on how you play. You can’t rely on them to make a good shot for you. You have to do it yourself. It was hard at first, but you get used to it.
Hole No. 8 Par 5, Distance 495 / 454, Chace: 6, Kelsey: 7 CB: What’s an interesting fact about you that people probably wouldn’t know until reading about our round in the magazine? KC: I could probably memorize any song after hearing it just twice. I can’t remember anything from pre-calculus or anything. But if I hear a song twice, I can basically memorize the whole thing. CB: Do you play music yourself? KC: (Laughing) No. I can’t hold a tune, either. But I try.
KC: I think I tend to think that after every bad shot...It probably really came in a tournament when I seemed to go into the sand on every hole, sometimes it was twice a hole. I guess I just wanted to spend my day at the beach that day because that’s where I was all day long, on the sand. I try not to let those rounds get to me, but it’s hard when you have bad shot after bad shot.
Par 4, Distance 335 / 305, Chace: 5, Kelsey: 4 CB: What are your thoughts on this year’s Antioch team? KC: I like this team a lot. I think we’re going to do better than our previous years because we have a lot returners and everyone is really comfortable with each other. We help each other out at practices and give each other tips. I think it could be a good year for us.
Par 3, Distance 156 / 136, Chace: 5, Kelsey: 4 CB: Was it hard for you adjust from a softball swing to a golf swing? KC: A lot of people think it would be a hard thing, but I didn’t really find it too difficult. Sometimes after softball, I’d come out to the golf course and practice. And sometimes after golf I would go home and hit softballs into a net. I’d just keep the two things separate.
Hole No. 9
CB: What do you prefer? Being in a team-oriented sport, but be out in an individual setting? KC: I like both of them just because of the social part of the team. I’m usually good friends with my teammates. But it‘s also good to come out by myself and give me time to think and try my best and push myself.
Hole No. 6 Par 5, Distance 507 / 451, Chace: 6, Kelsey: 5 CB: What would be your dream golfing foursome? KC: I’d probably say Coach (John) Luis in there just to be comfortable, because he always gives me positive enforcement. Then, I’d go with Paula Creamer because I like her style. And then, let’s throw a guy in there. How about Tiger Woods?
Par 4, Distance 327 / 287, Chace: 5, Kelsey: 4 CB: What are you plans for college? Do you want to try to golf at the next level? KC: I have a few colleges in mind that I’d like to go to, but I haven’t really settled on it. I would like to try (and golf). If I had the opportunity to, I would. So far, I really like UC Santa Cruz. And I’ve got a call from CSU San Marcos in Southern California and I really like Sonoma State, too. CB: Do you know what you want to study? KC: Journalism. I just really like writing. I took an Intro to Journalism class last year, and I also did our school yearbook. I’m not sure exactly what type of journalism yet, but that’s what I’d like to do. Final score: Kelsey 40 (tying her career-best score over nine holes), Chace 49. — Chace Bryson, photo by Butch Noble
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