The Hickory Corner: This golfer is a hickory natural

The Hickory Corner: This golfer is a hickory natural
By Brian Giboney, Special to Inside Golf
In life we all meet some very unique people. Through my other sport passion (skydiving) became good friends with perhaps the most interesting person the world over. Her name is Brittany Sanchez.

At age six Brittany started competing in gymnastics and by 11 was an Olympic hopeful training under legendary coaches Márta and Béla Károlyi. She would go on to win a national championship in vault, but by age fourteen she had missed her window and took up golf. Brittany played golf in high school and went on to play at the college level. In 2001, she added a second national championship when her Southern Nazarene University golf team won the NAIA National Championship. After golf Brittany started skydiving and BASE jumping. To date she has made over 5,000 skydives and 500 BASE jumps, and in 2011 added a third national championship – this time in skydiving. But wait there is more. While all of this is going on she earned her bachelors degree, a master’s degree, and is currently putting the final touches on her dissertation on gene and sequence variants at Texas A&M who will soon be awarding her a much deserved PhD. To summarize: Three national championships (gymnastics, golf, and skydiving), two degrees, and a PhD all before the age of 34.

When I offered hickory golf to her, she did not recoil an instant. She was excited for the chance to try a new golf challenge. Twin Lakes Country Club was selected as the venue and off we went to the course.

No instruction was needed and her first hickory shot was a niblick that sent the ball airborne. The round was smooth and we ended up shooting a two person better ball score of 77. I certainly did not have my best stuff and was thankful to have her as my teammate or I might have shot in the hickory 90’s that day. After the round I asked Brittany to share her experience – in non-PhD terminology.

“The first thought on the range was these clubs do work and no big deal, but out on the course quickly realized how challenging it is playing with 100 year old hickories. The rewarding part is hitting a great shot (she hit several) with the old clubs. When I finally made a par it took me back 20 years to when I first started playing golf and made my very first par. The sense of accomplishment is real with the hickory clubs. I also appreciate my modern clubs much more now.”

If you are looking for a new sense of accomplishment on the golf course, hickory golf just might be for you. Meadow Park Golf Course has rental hickory sets available for you and you can also contact AP National Hickory Players for more information at 253-830-4496