Sabrina Long

Sabrina Long, age 11, has been playing the game for a little over one year. After regularly attending the summer junior golf camps, Sabrina joined up with WCCC Director of Instruction Cody Barden for private instruction just a few months ago.

As a beginning junior golfer, Sabrina enjoys developing game skills under Barden's tutelage: keeping her clubface square and pivoting properly when she swings. "He's a really good teacher," Sabrina says of her swing coach. "My lessons really help... he's very encouraging." Sometimes they will do fun exercises to solidify new concepts, a teaching style that Sabrina appreciates. Her excitement for improving her game is evident in her practice schedule: "I usually practice about one or two times a week, and I have lessons on Saturday afternoons. I always practice after that."

This past summer, she competed in her first tournament, the girls division of the club championship saying, "It was fun to get some experience. It was my first time doing a tournament... I'd like to do them again."

Sabrina is excited about her future as a junior golfer and beyond, calling the sport a "lifetime skill." She is already thinking about mastering new techniques (such as putting) and participating in tournaments next year. This Northwestern Middle School sixth-grader likes the drive of competition and, as she says with a smile, "I like to win."