It’s summer, and school’s out. But the best high school golfers in the state continue to play, trying to improve their skills and their competitive edge.

Megan Mahan has had plenty of success on the fairways. She finished first at the NEPGA Elite Tour event at the Four Oaks Country Club in Dracut last month. She was a key player during Austin Prep’s first undefeated season last fall, when the 15-0 Cougars won the Catholic Central League Championship and finished second at the regionals.

But the rising senior’s biggest contribution in golf hasn’t involved swinging a club.

After a close friend’s father was diagnosed with cancer when the two girls were in the fifth grade in North Andover, they decided to start a fund-raiser to help with research. For the annual October scramble at the Middleton Golf Course — which includes a dinner after the tournament — the girls decided to make baked goods available for purchase.

They raised $1,000 the first year, and the fund-raiser has continued to grow. It now includes a raffle with prizes from companies such as the Cheesecake Factory, the Liberty Hotel in Boston, and Kelley Greens golf course in Nahant.

Her friend’s father passed away, but the girls have raised nearly $17,000 in his memory.

Mahan, 16, is never far away from the course. During a summer week, she plays nearly every day either in Middleton, at Mount Hood in Melrose, or Gannon in Lynn, works out once or twice, and plays a two-day tournament.

At Austin Prep in Reading, she plays on a team dominated by guys, something that has helped shape her as a golfer.

“I learned from playing on a boys’ team that you have to play your own game, you can’t worry about what other people are doing,’’ she said. “When you just focus on what you’re doing, you make out a lot better.’’

Over the summer, nearly all young golfers in the region are competing like Mahan to elevate their game to a higher level.

Sam Caron, 17, a rising senior at North Andover High School, plays anywhere from five to seven days a week.

“I work at a golf course [North Andover Country Club], so I’ll work in the morning or afternoon then I’ll go to the range for an hour and a half or two hours, then I’ll putt and chip for an hour,’’ he said. “Sometimes I’ll play nine or 18 [holes] before or after. I’m doing something pretty much every day.’’

For someone as competitive as Caron — who has also been playing golf since he was 2 and his father put a club in his hand and took him to the driving range — it’s what he thrives on.

“[Competing is] probably the thing I love most,’’ he said. “I’m really competitive and I love to compete at a really high level.

“Going from high school, we have some good players in our league — especially in the latter part of the season. They’re such solid players and they push you to hit shots and play better.’’

With the vast amount of time put into the sport, most kids competing at a high level in high school have a hard time giving the game up.

Abigail Taney recently graduated from Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, where she was an honorable mention for the Northeastern Conference Golfer of the Year award last fall. Taney completed the cosmetology course offered by the voke-tech program, but realized that may not be the career path she wants to follow. So she’s looking to attend the Golf Academy of America in the fall of 2017 to explore potentially teaching the game.

Taney, who also caddies at Kernwood Country Club in Salem, enjoys the camaraderie as much as the sport.

“What I like the most with the junior tournaments is you meet lots of people from different states and they’re really nice people so you can make lots of friends,’’ she said. “And when it’s all done, you can still have those memories with you.’’

Owen Picariello, a recent graduate of Marblehead High School, also will continue with golf. Picariello, who was named the Northeastern Conference’s Golfer of the Year last fall, will be attending the University of Alabama this fall, where he will play for a club team.

Though he is reaching into some uncharted territory geographically, he knows the preparation he has from playing in New England will be more than adequate once he heads south.

“The junior golf in Massachusetts and the New England area is some of the best in the country,’’ said Picariello. “The competition is pretty good around here, especially in the summer and in the state tournament — it just makes you so much better playing with that high level of competition around here.’’

Then, there’s the young guns. Though he’s only 13, Josh Lavallee of the Bradford section of Haverhill already is competing in the elite field with high school and college-aged golfers.

In his first elite tournament this summer at Four Oaks, he placed second.

Lavallee’s skills will be put to the test in Pinehurst, N.C., in the Teen World Competition July 23-25, a showcase for the top 100 13- to 18-year-old golfers in the world.

“I like competitive golf, I kind of get an adrenaline rush to try and win because it kind of gets me hyped up going to tournament,’’ Lavallee said.

Logan Mullen can be reached at logan.mullen@globe.com.