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Senior golfer Cole Horsley at team picture day. (Submitted Photo) -
Junior golfer Sofia Horsley at team picture day. (Submitted Photo) -
The 2023 Oglethorpe County golf teams include (back, from left): coach Dale Blalock, Phil Paradise, Cole Horsley, Baron De Mattei, Jake Turner, Ethan Dodd, Jake Huff, Will Perry, Kit Perry and coach Melissa McGarity; (front, from left): Jackson Wallace, Sofia Horsley, Avery Kort, Ella Crowe and Peyton Duvall. (Submitted Photo)
The Oglethorpe County golf season has provided a sibling duo the opportunity to cherish more time together.
Senior Cole and junior Sofia Horsley said they have different experiences with golf. Sofia has played for a little more than a month, but she decided to join the team to spend more time with her brother, Cole, before he left for college.
“I have two good friends on the team, and they persuaded me,” Sofia said. “Then my older brother, it's his last year, and I was like, ‘Well, I might as well just play and see how it goes.’ ”
Cole’s path to the golf team was similar. He had friends on the team, and he wanted to participate in athletics after he stopped playing baseball.
“I played baseball my whole life,” he said. “Baseball was in the spring and golf was in the spring, so I just picked up golf, and it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made.”
On the course, Sofia has prioritized success with her driver. She said a strong start often puts her in the best position to come away with a low score.
Cole, on the other hand, said his biggest strength is his chipping.
Beyond the siblings, the boys team came away with a region win last season, and both teams took region titles in 2022. However, a continuing challenge for both teams is the lack of a home course in the county.
The team splits its time between the Elberton Country Club on Mondays and the University of Georgia Golf Course whenever it can find availability.
So, players have been creative.
“We all live out here, kind of in the country,” senior Jake Turner said. “So if we really need to, we can just go out in the yard and chip around. It’s not like we’re in subdivisions or anything. So that's a plus.”
Despite having to drive 30 minutes or more to get to a course to practice, coach Dale Blalock said he has been happy with the results.
“We’re better, I think a little bit better than we were last year, and we’d like to get to the area tournament,” he said. “I'm hoping that we can at least be in the top three.”