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  • Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen Dalton’s Mable McKone added to the area’s summer tournament winners with a recent victory in an Atlanta Junior Golf Association tournament in Carrollton.

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July 29, 2012

McKone is the next in area’s golfing pipeline

By Devin Golden devingolden@daltoncitizen.com

Mable McKone’s first time on a golf course wasn’t her favorite, and it wasn’t too long ago either.

The Dalton High sophomore shot an 88 through nine holes two years ago. While she’s still scoring in the 80s, now it’s through 18 holes and good enough to win tournaments.

The 15-year-old won an Atlanta Junior Golf Association tournament July 12 at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, adding to her second-place finish earlier in the summer. She shot an 84, 15 over par, for her first tournament win in her young golf career.

“I knew, with the girl I was playing with, I was doing better than she was,” McKone said. “You can look at the other fairway and see them hitting shots, but you don’t know. I was the second group of three groups to come in, and it was very exciting to come in and learn that I had won.”

This is her first summer competing in the AJGA after starting the sport as an eighth grader at Dalton Middle. She was on golf teams in eighth and ninth grades but never before then, putting her behind on experience compared to other AJGA golfers.

“It really depends,” McKone said. “A lot of the girls in AJGA have played a long time, but as for our school team, they have played about the same amount of time or more.”

Even her high school coach, Nancy Hallsworth, could not deny how talented the ninth grader was this past spring.

“She performed so well that she was on the region and state team,” Hallsworth said. “We won (Region 7-3A). She was shooting in the low 100s. I knew she had a low 90s game once she got some confidence. She had gotten better and better and better. It has been a joy (to watch). She has so much talent, a delightful personality and is a great student.”

Before venturing into the sport, McKone played basketball, softball and tennis, all sports she said she enjoys. But when her parents introduced their only child to golf, it stuck.

Well, not right away.

“The first time I went out, my Dad took me out. I shot an 88 on nine holes,” McKone said. “So I really didn’t think I wanted to go out after doing that.

“It’s a mental game,” she added. “I think you have to get past your nerves. Now that I’ve shot an 84 on 18 holes, I can tell myself, ‘I can do this.’ Now I know I can do it.”

The hard work as paid off. She can drive on average 200 yards and now expects to shoot in the low 80s. She finished the AJGA summer season 11th in points out of around 50 golfers and was invited as part of the top 12 to the two-day season championship starting today. Unfortunately, she could not compete because of a pre-arranged family vacation, but she has her sights set on the fall season and all those after.

“I was hoping to see how I would compare,” she said. “It was a two-day tournament and I was hoping to see what it would be like. There were many girls in the top 12 that I had never seen or met before. Hopefully I will be able to do that next year.”

Aside from being a fan of the sport on the course, she’s also a fan in front of the television. Her favorite player is Phil Mickelson but also enjoyed watching Bubba Watson win the Masters.

“It made me really sad when Adam Scott missed that putt (Sunday at The Open Championship),” she said.

Watson is a former Georgia Bulldog, a place McKone would love to continue to win tournaments if a college career is in her future. But she isn’t too picky. Continuing to play the sport through high school, through more AJGA seasons and into the next level would be the dream.

“I would love to, but you never know,” she said about the idea of playing in college. “I think that would be very neat and with all the scholarships available that would be amazing. I’ve always been a Georgia fan, so that would be fun.”

For now, though, she’s just happy to continue shaving strokes, hammering drives and sinking putts. Considering where she was two years ago, an 84 on nine holes would’ve been an improvement.

“You’re going to hear me talking about her for three more years,” Hallsworth said.

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