Hathaway Brown girls golfer Amanda Bingaman answers 6 questions: Varsity Timeout

Hathaway Brown senior golfer Amanda Bingaman. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Bingaman)

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- With nearly her whole family being involved in golf, Hathaway Brown senior Amanda Bingaman has plenty of people to give her advice on her game.

"I like it just because they know what is going on when they come and watch with me," Bingaman said. "They know what's happening. I really enjoy it because I can just go out and play with my brothers."

Bingaman is in the middle of her senior season at Hathaway Brown, but golf isn't the only thing that defines this student-athlete.

With the season in full swing, Bingaman discusses golf and what she does when she's not playing.

Q: How did you get started playing golf?

A: "It runs in my family. All of my cousins, brothers and my parents play. They've always been nagging me to pick it up and try it out, but I never did. The summer going into my sophomore year I finally did."

Q: What do you remember about the first time you played golf?

A: "I remembered that it was very difficult and very frustrating. More so than anything I had ever tried before. I thought that it would just be like picking up the club and hitting the ball, but there were so many things that could go wrong."

Q: What golfers do you like to watch, and what do you pay attention to?

A: "Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are my favorites. I pay attention mostly to their short game because everyone plays different, but the short game helps."

Q: What's the best golf advice you've ever received?

A: "The best advice I've received is to just go out there and hit it and not think about it too much. Once it gets in your head, that's when things start usually going wrong."

Q: What's it like competing against the course?

A: "Golf is a bit more stressful because it is just you out there. You're on a team, but you're really just playing against yourself. The good side is that you know it's all on you, but that can also be a bad thing on bad days."

Q: What do you do when you're not playing golf?

A: "I do community service. I tutor underprivileged kids at a church down town on Saturdays. School takes up a lot of time. I also have a fellowship. It's a year long project where you get a loan from the school to research and further develop one of your passions. I went to Iceland at the beginning of the summer. A big part of their culture is knitting. I research the Icelandic culture and how it connects to that."

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