JAMESTOWN – For so long, Miley Michelle couldn’t play golf.
“I had a hip problem and it turned out that it was my hip flexor,” said Michelle, a senior with the Jamestown High School golf team. “…I couldn’t play golf because it was trapped and barely able to lift my legs. I got a lot of stretches to help with that.
Those stretches seem to help.
Michelle is one of the most experienced golfers on the Jamestown roster. The senior played golf in the fifth grade, and started playing high school golf in the seventh grade. Michelle said she stuck to sports because of mental challenges and a change in the nature of the sport.
“My granddad is the granddad who encouraged me to play golf,” Michelle said. “My grandpa and I have a very close relationship and golf is something we bond with, and that’s why I think golf is so special to me.”
Michelle began her final golf season with the Jays on August 4th.
“My feelings on the first day of practice were bittersweet moments because I was so excited about the start of the season.
Michelle is currently playing golf as No. 1 in the Blue Jays. The seniors have made more than 90 cards in every tournament they played this season.
“Golf is a sport where you can do really good one day, and the next one is terrible,” Michelle said. “Even so, I can see how all the effort paid off. It’s challenging, but very rewarding. You can also meet a lot of new people and make close friends.”
Michelle’s best score this season is sitting at 82, which he scored at Solis Valley on September 8th.
“My goal this year is to do better than last year,” Michelle said. “I want to shoot in the 70s, but I just really want to enjoy it and enjoy it last year.”
As of September 8th, the Blue Jays had golfed nine tournaments. The team only has two tournaments left on their schedule before the postseason begins. The 2025 Western Regional Golf Tournament is scheduled to take place in Dickinson on September 22nd. The state tournament will be held the following week at the Fargo Country Club.
“The golf season is extremely busy with having one or two tournaments a week,” Michelle said. “It’s pretty difficult to find time to actually practice what you need to work on, so whether it’s weekends or when you have time, I work on myself to practice on my own time.”
Michelle’s training during the offseason saw her spending time in driving range and playing golf rounds focused on getting in good contact with the ball.
“During the summer, I played a lot of scrambles to work on handling competitiveness and getting used to playing with different people,” Michelle said. “My game has progressed as I learned how to deal with the ups and downs of golf.
“Golf was a truly amazing experience despite being one of the most challenging things I’ve had to do so far,” she said.
Katylinger is a sports reporter for Jamestown Sun. Katie joined Sunstaff in the summer of 2019 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire University with a degree in journalism. She can be contacted by email at kringer@jamestownsun.com or by telephone at 701-952-8460.
