An Eagle Among Birdies

Senior Discusses Future Golf Career

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Photo courtesy of Carson Vickers

Finding the ball, senior Carson Vickers swings for success. Vickers planned to attend St. Edward’s and play golf, but after COVID-19 resulted in the golf programs being discontinued, Vickers has had to adapt his plans, but said he will continue to practice and play golf. “I would say that [my] love of the game is the main reason that I’ve been able to get to where I am,” Vickers said.

Noah Hedges, Reporter

The people who are able to play golf at a high level have been proven to be on a different level of self confidence and patience by many major golf casting programs. Countless hours are spent on either a course or a driving range, perfecting just one shot with one club, and then switching to a different club and doing the same exact thing. 

Senior Carson Vickers seems to have come pretty close to that high of a level of play. He was committed to play golf on scholarship at St. Edward’s University, starting in the fall of 2020.

“My favorite thing about golf is that there is always something to work toward,” Vickers said. “Golf can’t ever be perfected.”

Getting to this level of play in golf clearly can’t be easy, as even though it doesn’t seem competitive, top high school and college teams are composed of four to seven players, as opposed to the 44 players that you would find on a football field. 

“I would say that [my] love of the game is the main reason that I’ve been able to get to where I am,” Vickers said. “I practice about 30 hours a week, which includes practicing at home and at the golf course.”

Over the past golf seasons, Vickers has proven that he is a player to be reckoned with. In the 2018-2019 season, Vickers was the first The Athletic’s Department All-Region Honorable Mention, and in the 2017-2018 season, Vickers was on the honorable mention list for TAD All-State.

After years and years of hard work were put into golf, Vickers was offered a scholarship to play golf, and he accepted his offer while committing to St. Edward’s on Dec. 24, 2018, during his junior year.

“My original plan for college was to go to St. Edwards for four years, study business and eventually get my MBA,” Vickers said.

Once the spring of 2020 came around, the tide took a turn for the worse in regards to Vickers’ future at St. Edwards. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, St. Edward’s made the call to discontinue the golf programs at the university. 

Despite setbacks, Vickers has a plan to continue playing golf. Vickers said his current plan is to attend St. Edward’s for at least one year, and then transfer for the 2021 golf season. 

“I’m going to work with my swing coach and prepare myself for the 2021 season and hopefully transfer after my freshman year to go and play college golf somewhere,” Vickers said. “If I’m not able to do that, I will happily finish my degree at St. Edward’s.”

In this time of trouble and conflict, it can be hard for people to keep high spirits and keep their patience, but for Vickers, being a golfer has given him all of the virtues needed to get through this situation, and according to him, his high hopes and love for the game are going to be huge for his success in the near future.