Meet Goldsboro area golfer Karsyn Laine Roberts
GOLDSBORO, N.C. — Meet Karsyn Laine Roberts. She is 16 years old and is in the eleventh grade at Wayne Country Day School. Her passion is golf, and she is well on her way to having an amazing career in the sport.
Karsyn started playing golf when she was 6 years old. Her grandfather, Phillip Hannant was an integral part in the development of her love for the sport. He is quite the golfer himself. He has been playing for over 60 years.
He began by practicing with Karsyn and her sisters, Ella June (13) and Zada (10) on their farm where they were free to hit as many golf balls as they liked. As Karsyn began to develop her skills, he started taking her to the local golf course to play.
Karsyn plays at both Lane tree Golf Course and Walnut Creek. When I asked her if she had a preference, she explained that both courses are great, and each course has different challenges that aid in the improvement of her game. She won the Wayne County amateur this past summer and shot a 65 on her home course – LaneTree.
Not only does she play golf for Wayne Country Day, but she also plays on an independent tour. She was also NCISAA player of the year for 2021! Her goal is to play golf on a college team; she would like to play for a North Carolina school, or at least play at a college close to home, and her dream is to play on the women’s pro golf tour.
Karsyn was made to play golf. She explained to me that she is naturally calm, cool, and collected on the golf course and this gives her a big advantage over her competitors, as golf is such a mental game. Her motto is one shot at a time. She has had to work to know that one pesky hole on the course cannot ruin her chances of finishing the course under par! She also attributes her putting success to a video by Bob Winters where he really encourages the athletes to believe in themselves. She keeps his words in the front of her mind while she is headed up to take that long putt. She is extremely centered and focused in all aspects of her life and this is a key factor in the success that she has had so far.
She also has a very specific pregame ritual which helps her to get her head right before her games. The night before a tournament, she writes down her goal for the next day in her goal book. Then she listens to music on the way to the course, ACDC to be exact! Her dad loves ACDC and so listening to some heavy metal has become a part of her pregame routine. When she arrives, she says a prayer and then she has a great mantra that she repeats before every game. “Golf is a privilege. I must earn the right to play. There are many challenges and there are many rules. I will respect the game. I will try my best. I will play my best when my best is needed. I will stay focused. I will win on my own and no matter what, you’ve got to love it. If you can’t love it, the heck with it!”
Karsyn loves being a part of the Wayne Country Day team. She likes that fact that, with a team, you have more support and that she can support her teammates as well. Playing in a tournament as an individual can be a bit more stressful. However, she said that the part she likes most about playing in tournaments is the fact that it gives her so many opportunities to meet new people and make new friends. She explained to me that in almost every tournament, she is playing against different people. This also gives her the opportunity to travel. Playing in different tournaments consistently presents her with new challenges. She just finished a tournament in Louisiana in November. This was a national tournament called Notah Begay at the Coushatah Casino on the Koasati Golf Course. This was a tournament of very high-level players that had to qualify to participate. She, however, was invited to play by the PKBGT Tour. Karsyn shot a 68, 74 and 72 finishing 2 under par giving her the 4th place win out of 38 players! She competed in Pinehurst Forest Creek Golf Course in December. Put in how finished here.
Karsyn has an incredibly bright future in the world of golf. She is sponsored by Taylor Made. They have given her woods, gold balls, gloves, and hats! Let’s also be great stewards for Karsyn. Let’s cheer her on to victory in the achievement of her goals, and hopefully one day we will be watching her on television as she dominates the Women’s PGA tour!
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