ROCKTON — Maddie Midgett came to the conclusion that to really be in the swing of things as a competitive golfer she needed to take less swings on a softball diamond.
“I’d played softball forever,” the Hononegah High School senior said. “I’d played on the jayvees at Hononegah for two years. But it really came down to making a choice between golf and softball.”
After earning All-NIC-10 First Team for golf as a junior and senior, it’s obvious she made a wise choice.
Wednesday, she officially announced she will attend Carthage College and play golf for the Firebirds.
Midgett decided golf offered her some things softball could not.
“It’s a little calmer sport,” she said. “If you do something badly during a softball game it can directly impact your team. Golf is a team sport, too, but it’s a bit more individual. Plus I think if you improve yourself it immediately impacts your game. I liked that aspect of golf.”
She admits she’s a late bloomer as far as hitting the links.
“I hadn’t even golfed until my freshman year,” she said.
During the dark days of COVID, her father Greg decided to take her along to the course and give her some pointers.
“He really encouraged me to give it a try,” she said. “I found some random clubs in the garage and off we went. My dad taught me a lot and I found out I liked it. I really only had golfed a couple of times before I went out for the Hononegah team.”
“I could see as a freshman Maddie was a very dedicated and motivated golfer,” said Heidi Milner, who coached her for the first three years of her prep career. “Every practice she was there listening to everything we said and then practicing every skill. What impresses me most about her is her positive attitude and sportsmanship. It was a privilege watching her grow as a golfer.”
Anthony Miers, her coach her senior year, echoed those sentiments.
“She was our No. 1 golfer and our captain and she filled both roles well,” he said. “She’s a diligent and hard worker and even when she wasn’t happy with her game she was still 100 percent supportive of everyone on the golf course. That’s really special.”
Midgett sought out lessons from the junior golf instructor at the Beloit Club, Pamela Saladino. And she upgraded her original “random clubs” to a set of TaylorMade clubs.
She went on to shoot an 83 in the regional at Atwood Golf Course her senior year.
“I typically hit the ball straight,” she said. “So even when you don’t hit it as far as some people, if you hit it straight you can do pretty well. Last spring I started to think that I could compete in college, at least at the Division III level. That’s when I did some college visits and reached out to Carthage.
“I found the coaches at Carthage very welcoming,” she said. “The campus is on Lake Michigan and I loved that. I think the program is competitive and in addition to local tournaments they take some road trips. They went to Texas and Las Vegas last season so that would be exciting.”
Midgett plans on playing in some local tournament this summer and she has an appointment next week at the Ironworks Golf Lab in Beloit that should help her in those endeavors.
“I’m finally going to get a set of clubs that are fitted for me,” she said. “Now that I’m going to compete in college, I think it’s time.”
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