Lafayette junior Drew Steiner adjusts to life as golfer up north
EASTON, Penn. (BVM) — Being able to live in Florida full time is a young golfer’s dream. This gives players the privilege to play golf all year. Drew Steiner is a Florida native and now a Division I golfer and junior at Lafayette College.
Steiner grew up in Boca Raton, Fla., and was introduced to the game of golf at an early age.
“My grandfather put a golf club in my hand at the age of four and I fell in love with it immediately,” Steiner said.
Steiner’s grandfather lives at Boca West Country Club and Steiner started taking lessons with a pro there a year later. Growing up, Steiner played a variety of sports, including, basketball, soccer, track, and golf.
“I really did not take golf seriously until about the age of 12, which is when I started to play in tournaments,” Steiner said.
Between the ages of 7 and 13, Steiner played golf for fun at Boca Municipal Golf Course and Osprey Pointe Golf Club.
“After middle school, I realized that golf is what I like and ended up giving up all my other sports,” Steiner added.
Once Steiner’s parents saw that their son was committed to playing golf and being competitive, they decided to move into a golf community where he could play full time. When Steiner was 14, he and his family moved into Boca Grove Golf and Tennis Club, where they still reside.
Steiner’s average day would be going to school and coming home to play golf at his club. In the summer, since Steiner did not have school to worry about, he would wake up every day around 10 a.m., eat breakfast, take his golf cart from his garage and onto the driving range where he would hit golf balls for a couple hours, and then play a round.
Although Steiner did have every day to play golf, he still felt as if he needed more time to invest in it. In the middle of ninth grade, he decided to transfer out of St. Andrews, which is a private school he had attended since the third grade, and into Score Academy. Score Academy provides its students with a combination of both learning and being able to practice their talent the same amount.
“In the mornings, we had school, and by 12:30, I was out on the golf course practicing,” Steiner said.
Steiner believes that this extra practice time played a big role in his success with golf.
“I saw a lot of good tournament results that came after my first year at Score Academy, including qualifying for the Florida Amateur,” Steiner said. “I feel that if it weren’t for that school, I wouldn’t be playing Division I golf right now.”
In his junior year of high school, Steiner sent out emails to all of the golf coaches in the Patriot League, Ivy League, and others. He received many offers from different schools, but his first offer was a call from Jim Hutnik, the coach of the Lafayette men’s golf team.
“Coach explained to me all of the ins and outs of the team and who else he was recruiting,” Steiner said. “I visited the school a couple of times and was able to really picture myself there as a student.”
Later that year, Steiner made his commitment official and would begin playing for Lafayette in the fall of 2018. However, a big transition was in store for Steiner once he landed on campus. This being that the weather in Pennsylvania is not the same all year as it is in Florida.
“I knew what I was going up against with the weather, but I always wanted to leave Florida for a bit and try something new,” Steiner said. “In Florida, we do not really have seasons, so I wanted to experience that.”
Steiner’s first semester away from the Florida weather was a bit of an adjustment and unfortunately, he struggled with his game early on.
“I wasn’t used to not being able to practice outside during the winter, but thankfully our team has access to indoor facilities with simulators and putting greens to keep our games in check”, Steiner said.
His sophomore year, Steiner definitely seemed more adjusted to the weather up north, and was able to improve his scores. He finished with multiple under-par rounds and helped his team significantly in the Patriot League events.
Steiner has no regrets of moving up north to a cooler climate, even if it means he cannot play golf outside all 12 months.
“I love everything about my team,” Steiner said. “We have a great group of guys and even though golf is an individual sport, we all play for each other. Our goal is to win a national championship and that can only be done if we all play as a unit.”
The third-year Division I golfer looks forward to what’s in store for the second half of his Lafayette golf experience.
