As the only senior and captain of this year’s golf team, Lucas Brown has led by example both on and off the course. Joining the team as a sophomore, Brown became immersed in matches and practices alike. Now finishing his final season, he reflects on his journey, leadership and what golf has meant to him over the past three years.

Q: When did you start playing golf and how did you get into it? 

A: I actually started a little later than most people. I began around the spring of my 5th-grade year. I played with my dad a couple of times, then that summer played a bit more. When COVID hit, golf courses were one of the few things still open, so I played all the time after that. So, I kept playing. 

Q: In your opinion, how is golf different from other sports? 

A: Well, it’s a team sport, but at the same time, it’s not. They make it a team sport for high school, you know? But you’re out there by yourself for four or five hours during a golf tournament. It’s just you and your opponent, and whoever you’re playing with. You have to stay focused and try not to make any mistakes for five hours. 

Q: Do you have any methods or tricks to stay focused for that long? 

A: Yeah. Staying in a routine is a big thing in golf. It’s kind of funny, me and one of my teammates, Tommy Claker, talk about this. When we play golf in the rain, you’d think it makes you play worse because the conditions are harder. But we both agree it actually makes us play better because you stay really focused. You have to be process-oriented. You’re thinking, ‘okay, put my bag down, put the umbrella in the bag, keep my gloves dry, keep my clubs dry.’ You’re always doing something. So, you don’t really have any time for your mind to wander. Everything’s a process. Keeping a routine helps your mind stay focused. 

Q: How has the season gone so far? 

A: Honestly, better than I expected. We had a couple of underclassmen–sophomores and juniors that weren’t even on the team last year, didn’t even try out, that have stepped up and started playing really well in the past couple of weeks. A lot of younger guys have kind of surprised us. I think it’s been going well. I’m currently playing the number two spot on the team. I’ve started trending in the right direction, and our top spot, Tommy, has been playing great all year. 

Q: What does it mean to you to be the senior captain of the team? 

A: I think it’s cool. It’s also weird because I’m a little older. I was born in July 2006, so I resonated more with the class ahead of me. I was always closer with a lot of seniors and didn’t have many friends in my grade. I was always friends with more people in the grade ahead of me. So, it’s kind of funny how I’m the only senior on the team this year. Not sure if you knew that—I’m the only senior on the team this year. It’s just a funny coincidence. It’s cool to be a leader, but it’s definitely different being the only older guy on the team. 

Q: How do you usually support and motivate your younger/newer team members? 

A: As far as supporting goes, I do a lot of coaching. I’ve got an internship where I’m learning how to teach golf lessons and fit golf clubs. So, honestly, I coach a lot of the younger guys on the team. Even Tommy, who’s better than me, I think he considers me his swing coach. It’s more of a coaching role than just a captain role. 

Q: What would you say is the biggest challenge you faced as the coach or team leader? 

A: I would honestly say that it’s that all the guys are a lot younger than me. It’s almost like the opposite of what you expect. You know, you hear in movies about the younger person being less mature and not fitting in as much. For me, it’s the opposite. A lot of these guys are younger, and I sometimes don’t fit in because they’re so much younger than me. There are times when I feel different from everyone else because of the age gap. It’s not the normal situation where there are six seniors on the team, and they kind of haze the younger guys. It’s almost the opposite because I’m the only older guy on the team. 

Q: Was it difficult moving into this year?  

A: Yeah, it was different. It was weird being the only senior. We just had senior night on Tuesday, and I was the only one. 

Q: What’s been your best round or performance as a high school golfer? 

A: It was yesterday. I played really well, but it was definitely a learning experience, and I think I can play better. I shot 1-over, 73 and finished third at the Mooresville Invitational. I was one under par going into the last hole of the tournament, and I think just the nerves of having one of my lowest rounds in competition and all that kind of combined. I hit one really bad shot on my approach to the 18th green and ended up losing by a shot. But I think it was a good learning experience, and in general, my game built up a lot of confidence. We’ve got our conference tournament, sectional, regionals and the state tournament coming up soon. So, yeah, it was cool playing well, but I definitely feel like I’m playing better and want to do it again. 

Q: Do you plan to continue playing golf after high school? 

A: Casually, yeah. Not competitively. I think that’s one of the reasons why golf is kind of a cool sport too, it’s a lifetime sport. I’m always gonna be good at golf compared to most people. It’s something I’ll keep doing. There’s a lot of baseball guys, basketball guys that will play their last game in high school, and I’ll be able to play for the rest of my life. You can’t really just go play football on any Saturday morning. But I can play golf, you know, anywhere. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in golf? 

A: Just practice, and I think just in general, be humble. It’s a sport where there’s a lot of ego involved. As I said, it’s all by yourself. So, I think people are always kind of lying to themselves a little bit to impress people. But at the end of the day, I think the biggest reason people quit golf is because they’re lying to themselves. If you think about it, and you’re playing and you tell yourself you’re shooting, you know, you shave a couple strokes or you cheat a little bit here and there on the course and you do that, then you get better. But you’re shooting the same scores, you’re going to be discouraged and quit because, you know, you’ve been lying your way to a 45 for a year and then you get better and shoot an honest 45, but you’re still shooting 45 in your mind. So, then you’re just like, “I’m not getting better,” and it’s discouraging. 

Q: What’s the most important thing golf/the whole experience of playing in high school has taught you? 

A: I think it’s just kind of what I just said: It’s just kind of like working in silence. Let your success do the talking. Nobody cares. Just do it. You don’t have to hype yourself up or anything. Just go perform, and that’ll do the talking itself. So, if you just kind of stay humble and stay in your own game, it’ll really provide its own fruits.