The list of accomplishments in the classroom and on the golf course for Sarah Grace Drop are too numerous to list here. The recent high school grad from St. Anne-Pacelli High School has been busy all of her life it seems, but especially during her high school years.
Drop ended her high school days ranking in the top ten of her class with a Grade Point Average (GPA) somewhere above 4.0 and finished her senior year as a member of four honor society associations. Her list of community service endeavors is equally impressive as she logged 150 hours as a volunteer during 2014-15 teaching beginner golfers the basics of the game.
While the 5’3 student athlete is interested in academics and giving back to her community, her whole demeanor changes when she is encouraged to talk about her real passion thus far in her life—golf. It is because of this passion combined with exceptional natural talent and notable work ethic that Drop recently signed a golf scholarship to play with the Lady Cougars of Columbus State University.
“I am really excited about the chance to play and to also stay close to home. I love golf and have loved it just about as long as I can remember,” she says.
The quiet and reserved Drop smiles when she recounts that she has been swinging a club since the age of two and although she is right-handed for everything else in her life, she hits a golf ball with her left.
“I was trying to play with the clubs like my older brother. It was a mirror image kind of thing where I was standing facing him and when he would swing the club with his right hand, I would do the same thing which meant I used my left. It kind of stuck with me,” says Drop.
Whatever the reason she swings a golf club left-handed is not nearly as important as the fact that her swing comes as natural to her as breathing. Once several years ago, her parents took her to someone to have her swing adjusted but Drop said the professional took one look at her swing and pronounced it as perfect, advising them to allow her to keep doing it the way Drop wanted.
Eventually Drop began taking lessons from a swing coach, Columbus State University coach Mark Immelman. According to Drop, Immelman “tweaked” her swing a bit but basically she has kept her same technique.
During her middle school years at St. Anne’s, Drop began to gain a reputation for her golfing abilities. Her father was the community coach for the school up until his daughter entered high school. Along about the sixth grade Drop started to realize her potential to play golf was a given for high school and the opportunity to play at the collegiate level was within reason.
“I would be at tournaments and people would just come up to me or tell my dad that I had a real natural talent. I just loved playing and still do but I really began to see me moving ahead to a place with a college team,” she says.
Unlike a lot of other sports for female athletes, golf sometimes doesn’t draw a lot of female participants for high school teams. Drop has been the varsity number one player all throughout high school but sometimes there have only been one or two other females in the Pacelli program. While she has valued every moment playing for the Vikings, Drop admits she is looking forward to being a part of a true female golf team at CSU.
“I am not really a loner but I have discovered the individual nature of golfing plus being the only girl at times has caused me to like working on my own, even in the classroom. I do better not in a group but taking assignments on my own. Still, I am excited about finally being a part of a whole team of female golfers. High school golf teams usually have more boys than girls but I have made a lot of great friendships with other female golfers from other schools,” she says.
Drop sees her strengths in golf as her putting skills (it is her favorite part of playing) and being consistent with her drives. She says she also knows her ability to focus has served her well.
“Golf is such a mental game. I am really focused on my game. It’s like I have a blueprint in my mind about everything I need to do and the whole time I am playing, I am thinking ‘this is what I need to do here and build on this here in order to do this here’ so that I see what I am doing,” she says with a smile.
Seeing what she is doing has apparently worked. Drop has made it to the state level of high school competition as an individual every year of high school, last year leading her team to state for the first time. She has numerous other awards, honors and trophies for her efforts on the golf course. Last year she had a nine-hole season average of 40.
Because she hasn’t had a lot of mentors in the form of female golfers along the way, Drop has been sensitive to her status as a role model to young female golfers. Whenever she encounters one on a local golf course playing with a dad or at Godwin Creek’s youth program, the soon-to-be collegiate golfer makes a point to offer encouragement and give this simple advice.
“Stay with it.”
Getting to know Sarah Grace
Family: Parents, Karen and Alan Drop; one brother, Sean
Pets: A dog, Sasha
Favorite food: Chicken
Best place to eat: Olive Garden
Music she listens to: Hard rock, heavy metal
Person she most admires: Her grandmother
Favorite golf course: Willow Point (Alexander City, AL)
Best thing about attending Pacelli High School: Known the same people for so long, it’s easy to make friends.
Drop plans on studying Computer Science (game programming) with a minor in art.
Last year, Drop was the low round medalist for the Muscogee County School Tournament with an 81, the low round medalist in the sectionals for the Class A Private School Tournament with 84, advanced to the Class A Private School State Tournament, was the low round medalist for Georgia Club and was named to the 2014 Ledger-Enquirer All Bi-City Golf Team. At the time of this interview, she was the Red Oak Medalist vs Schley, Northside and Jordan High School and the Red Oak Medalist vs Callaway High School. She also placed fourth in the Muscogee County School Tournament.
Columbus Valley/Player Spotlight female/June 2015
Sarah Grace Drop
Pacelli High School
Columbus, Georgia
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
