Girls Golf Notes
Michigan City junior always thinks ‘I can play better’
Taylor Skibinski was feeling down.
The Michigan City junior said she hadn’t broken 40 in “three or four matches.”
She broke it Aug. 19 when she shot a 39 in a match against LaPorte at Beechwood Golf Course.
“I was in a slump,” Skibinski said.
Ah, golf.
No matter how good it seems, it’s never good enough for the good players.
Skibinski was one of two girls from Northwest Indiana to qualify individually for the 2019 state meet. The other was her teammate Lia Thomas, the 2019 Post-Tribune Girls Golfer of the Year.
Skibinski set great expectations when she was the medalist at the LaPorte Sectional in 2018, her freshman year.
In some ways, she still is trying to live up to those expectations.
She already was under the microscope. Her older brother, Aaron, was the No. 1 golfer for the Wolves for several years.
Michigan City coach Drew White thinks Skibinski is too hard on herself.
It’s a point of emphasis for White.
Asked how she has improved from last season, White said: “I don’t know if she is better. One of her challenges is that she’s striving for perfection, but golf isn’t a game of perfection. You are going to have some difficult times out there. On a given day, sometimes you just have to be better than the people you are playing against, not necessarily the course. You don’t always want to shoot for a number.”
Skibinksi doesn’t back down. Perhaps that’s what gives her an edge and keeps her motivated.
“I would say, coming from a good golfer, that you are never satisfied with the way you shoot,” she said. “I always think I can play better.”
White wants her to find a happy place between playing better and not being too self-critical.
It could be the secret to better scores.
“I’d say she is hard on herself,” White said. “She just needs to realize that not every shot will come out perfect.”
Skibinski has time to figure it out.
Skibinski has lofty goals. She wants to qualify for state again and shoot under her personal best of 77 at Battle Ground Golf Course, where the Lafayette Jefferson Regional is held.
She wants to medal at the sectional and improve upon her finish at state, where she tied for 51st last season.
“I have some big expectations,” she said.
Whatever happens, Skibinski will work hard and let the chips fall where they may.
She has Thomas at her side to push her along. She and Thomas are the best 1-2 combo in Northwest Indiana.
White is glad to have the challenge of trying to defuse some of Skibinski’s intensity.
At least she cares, and that’s what a coach wants.
“I’m proud of both Lia and Taylor,” he said. “They have made our program and our team stronger. I come out here knowing that on a given day, one of them could put up a number.”
For years, the Brassie Golf Course in Chesterton hosted the meet. That came to an end when the Brassie tried to stop operating as a golf course this year. The owners wanted to convert the course into a development, but that didn’t happen. The Brassie opened this spring as a walking-only course.
The uncertain status of the course operations forced the DAC to find a new home.
Chesterton coach Toby Gentry said Sand Creek Country Club, where the Trojans practice, has offered to host the tournament. The DAC meet is at noon Sept. 14.
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