“I’m a very superstitious golfer. I wear specific types of socks, I have different hair bands I wear on my wrists, and earrings and lucky hats. I don’t like to leave anything up to chance,” said Lindsay Slocum as she described her pre-match ritual.
Her superstitions have done her well as Slocum has often been referred to as the best female golfer to come through Redwood. She was named to the MCAL all-league first team all four years of her high school career and was named the Marin Independent Journal’s all-Marin golfer
But no matter how well she has played, or how prepared Slocum is, she says she still gets butterflies before the first tee.
“I get pretty nervous, especially on my first shot during high school golf, because everyone’s watching you,” she said. “If you go first, both teams are watching you and all the coaches are looking at you. It doesn’t matter how good you are, the butterflies still get to you.”
Even with the nerves, Slocum finished sixth at the MCAL tournament this year, scoring a 77 and leading her team to a third place finish in the MCAL season with a 9-5 record.
Slocum said her advantage over the other golfers on the course comes from her ability to hit long drivers, which allow her to average 74 at the Meadow Club which Redwood’s home course.
But Slocum is more than an accomplished golfer, she is also an encouraging team captain.
“She waits there at the end of every match to congratulate you even if you didn’t do well,” said teammate Olivia Poletti. “She gives good constructive criticism, which is why it’s really nice to play with her since you improve so much just from her tips.”
Slocum said her favorite parts about playing golf on a team is that she gets to encourage the people around her and watch them improve and they do the same for her.
“You don’t get the same encouragement when you’re playing by yourself in the summer,” she said. “I used to be one bad shot and I was in a bad mood, which could potentially wreck my entire round, especially my freshman year. But now my teammates keep me more level-headed and we have fun.”
Slocum said that playing golf has been the one of the most influential aspects of her high school career.
“I would not be the same if I was not a golfer. My personality is just fit for the sport,” she said.
Once the season is over, Slocum said she continues to practice at least once a week in order to keep her muscle memory.
In order to stay in shape for her upcoming rookie season at Claremont-McKenna College, Slocum said she plans on practicing six days a week over the summer for three to five hours a day.
However, that major time commitment is not new for Slocum who has been playing golf since she received first set of clubs at age seven.
“It helps to have that outlet from school, to just go and play golf gives me a sense of peace,” she said.
Slocum’s family has been the biggest inspirations of her golfing career. She said that much of her play has been modeled after her Dad’s style.
“For me, golf is family bonding, I am really close with my dad and my family and golf has played a really large part with that,” she said. “You spend four hours out on the course and there is no TV, nothing else to do so you better talk to them.”
After starting golf because of the encouragement from her family, Slocum said she began playing competitively in the seventh grade and has continued since.
