BYRON CENTER, Mich. — “You have to adapt, that’s kinda a key word,” said Sophia Howard. The second annual 2023 USGA adaptive open is next week.
“That golf course was really long for me, especially at that age,” said Howard.
Born without her right hand, Sophia Howard took up golf in elementary school. She’s grown in to quite the competitorior and took her skills to the national level last summer.
“There were a lot of different things I had to try and my course management was a lot different than it would’ve been if I would’ve played at home. So adapting to the environment, adapting to the golf course, and I had to be okay with trying things out that I wouldn’t normally do,” said Howard.
She finished in 13th last year, competing with women that were twice her age, and this year she’d like to place in the top 10.
“I think I’ll definitely play better than I did last year. I definitely think I’ve gotten a little longer, so I think it will be better overall. But really, just working on some bunker shots before I go and improving on my day-to-day scores,” said Howard.
Matt Koets is Sophia’s private coach at Railside Golf Club in Byron Center, and he’s seen a huge growth in her game since they started working together a few summers ago.
“It’s an honor to work with her. It’s inspiring to work with her. The challenges that she faces are unique, but she’s found a way to overcome them and I’m happy to be a small part in helping her do that,” said Koets.
While she loves being on the course, Sophia really enjoys the community aspect that the adaptive open gives her. Being able to play and hang out with others who have physical or neurological disabilities gives her opportunities that she didn’t always get when she was little.
“I just think it’s important to include everybody. Especially as a kid, I wasn’t the kid who was necessarily invited to parties or asked to hang out on the weekends, so I definitely understand what it feels like to be the odd one out. So, I just think that as we’re getting older and as our society is growing, I think it’s important to remember that we should include everybody. No matter what you look like, what you’re doing, everyone should be included and everyone has a purpose,” said Howard
The tournament is a three-day event that starts on Monday, July 10 at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina.
